This week at Stories from the Studio we have the pleasure of taking a sneak peak in the studio of Jo Morris. Jo Morris,  her husband Bob Withers and their dog Mo are the owners of Orchard Street Gallery, a gorgeous little gallery in the beautiful town of Taralga, just north of Goulburn.  

“The Orchard Street Gallery gives us the opportunity to exhibit our own work, and importantly, a chance to support our extended community of artists and as-yet-unknown local and indigenous artists.”

Jo is currently showing works on paper at Orchard Street Gallery until January 8. These drawings express Jo’s interest in mark-making as a visual record of our human connection to the rhythms and patterns inherent in natural forms. 

As a Post Grad’ student at Sydney College of the Arts, her dissertation and exhibition entitled ‘Sembyo, The Way of the Line’ earned her a Master of Visual Arts degree, with her works at that time exploring new technologies available to artists in the area of 3D printing.

The artworks on show this month are monochromatic ‘diaries’ of her connection to the Royal National Park coastline on Dharawal country, where she lived for 3 years prior to the pandemic. Using a combination of oil sticks, conté chalk pastels, lithography pencil and Japanese ink, these gestural images remain close to her heart and are a very personal expression of her connection to the natural world.

Orchard Street Gallery is open 10 – 3 Friday, Saturday & Sunday, and will be closed public holidays. There’s still time to see Jo’s current exhibition!