Focus on South West artist Rita Winkler
Rita Winkler appreciates living away from noise, traffic, and city life. She would much rather go bush than go to coffee or the city.
Bushwalking and camping established a deep connection with the earth. Her family ventured far from her Pforzheim home at every. Walks through European landscapes was central to the family’s ethos.
Rita trained as a jeweller and designer in West Germany and worked for companies with solid design ideals. Uprooted in the mid 80’s, she determined to forge a life as a practicing jeweller in her new home – a condemned building without heating in the small apple growing town of Donnybrook in Western Australia’s south-west.
Fortune came in the form of an offer of a jewellery teaching position at the local TAFE. “I didn’t speak English but within 9 months I could. It wasn’t easy but I am a very determined person. I started by learning all the English terms for jewellery and the equipment”.
Coming to a new country means losing your roots and putting down new ones. Pivotal was an exhibition ‘Recognition’ at the Bunbury Regional Gallery. Then travel to the northwest of WA and central Australia.
‘Outback Silhouette’ echoes a road trip from Perth to Ayres Rock and the Olgas. The gravel. Desert. The bush camps. Fresh air and silence. “It was something I’d never experienced, and I knew it was what I was waiting for”.
‘Staircase to the Moon” was made after witnessing the full moon in Broome.
Staircase to the Moon. Rita Winkler.
Raindrops are falling on my head. Rita Winkler
‘Raindrops are falling on my head’ is testament to her community. “Rain is vitally important, and Wellington Dam is nearby. It overflows – or doesn’t - in September. We wait for the news on the radio and when it overflows people go and see. There’s always a sigh of relief. It comes down the hill like lace”.
‘A whale of a time’ captures Australian’s love of water, beaches, and the ocean. “It’s an acknowledgement of our life here, and important to life here in the Bunbury region”.
Rita has created an enduring practice supporting herself entirely from making jewellery. She talks of retiring – but is already planning her next studio.
Rita is represented by Beaver Galleries, Canberra, Yallingup Galleries, and Aspects of Kings Park, Perth.
