By Luke Voogt
Grovedale great-grandmother Joan Gorway is putting decades of experience sewing dolls clothes towards a mask-making charity drive at her beloved Anglesea Art House.
The 86-year-old former teacher has sewn about 50 masks in a few weeks, after already making 300 hats for nurses in a campaign run by Anglesea local Deb Elliot.
“I had material left from doing the hats,” she said.
“I did the markets for 25 years selling dolls clothes and god knows what. I still do the dolls clothes down at the art house.
“If anybody wants anything, I just knit or sew it.”
The art house is selling the masks for $5 each for its Christmas giving campaign for local disadvantaged families.
“We’ve got to take each day and make the most of it,” Joan said.
Joan is a life member at Anglesea Art House, which recently received a $10,000 Creative Victoria grant to boost its online presence.
The art house, which began in 1985 as spot for a small group of locals to paint, is now home to potters, glass-makers, knitters, drawers and more.
But with three quarters of members retired, few possessed the IT skills to bolster the art house’s online presence during COVID-19, president Jennifer O’Sullivan explained.
“To remain connected in some way is really important for us when we can’t meet on a weekly basis,” she said.
The grant helped fund online content and meeting spaces that would promote and connect the group during COVID-19 and beyond, Jennifer said.
“Now we’ve got a great photo library as well, that will hold us in good stead.”
Details: angleseaarthouse.com.au.
