In 1991 artist Elizabeth Fisher and her husband bought a house at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in the Sydney suburb of Gordon. At the time the garden was an overgrown mass of bamboo and privet. Although they couldn’t see it, they knew that the remains of an old garden sloped down to a creek somewhere at the bottom of the property. As they set about clearing the mountains of weeds their excitement grew, because beautiful stone walls began to appear one after the other, along with a charming stone gazebo in the ‘picturesque’ style, reminiscent of Sorensen. The garden once belonged to Benjamin Minns, a painter who was head of the Watercolour Society of NSW in the 1920s. He was one of a colony of artists who lived and worked in the area at the time. Minns’ wife was a writer, who apparently did much of her work in the stone gazebo.
The garden today
From the house there is a breathtaking view of the garden, which has a magical, old-world quality about it. Feature plantings include 80 year old tree ferns (Cyathea cooperi), elephant’s ears (Colocasia esculenta) and rock orchids (Dendrobium speciosum). When it rains waterfalls cascade down to the creek at the bottom of the garden, which fills with white water. The garden’s natural amphitheatre provides a perfect setting for Elizabeth’s sculptures of ballerinas, mermaids and children.
Artists in residence
Once again the house is a-buzz with creative talents. Elizabeth and her business partner Joan Blumentals, who is also an artist, work and teach in the studio.
Elizabeth is an internationally acclaimed painter who has spent much of her artistic career in Canada. She loves gentle subjects, skies with clouds, fields with flowers and restful beach scenes. Elizabeth also makes sculptures from fibreglass, and then paints them to give a sandstone finish. Joan has been creating bold flower paintings in brilliant colours for about four years now. Her pictures give a feeling of happiness and gaiety to the viewer, and fill their homes with a sparkle of colour. She particularly likes painting poppies, because they are so vibrant and decorative.
Elizabeth and Joan together make items such as one-off reproduction Louis XIV court shoes and boots which can be used as doorstops or bookends. Other artefacts include French provincial doll’s houses, candelabra and mirrors.
Further information
Elizabeth’s paintings and sculptures can be purchased by contacting Elizabeth and Joan Design, phone: (02) 9880 2606, fax: (02) 9418 2542 or Bundanoon Art Gallery, phone: (02) 4883 6868. Prices for the paintings start at $750, and sculptures cost between $1200-$2000 each.
