"Muddy Waters Gallery"

Judi Bilkey ARTIST
Muddy Waters Gallery
64 Railway Place
Elmore 3558 Mobile: 0418699109

My name is Judi Bilkey, I am 61 years old and a Psychologist in my own practice in Echuca spanning 20 years. I have 2 children, 2 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren and 2 dogs….Zorro and Poppy.
Running a small private practice tended to take up much of my spare time and eight years ago I felt I was burning out. I enrolled in an art class with Kristen Dyer at the local adult learning centre in Echuca. There is no denying that this changed my life. I am still a psychologist and I now also call myself an artist. Studies with Kristen over the past 8 years mean I have explored almost every creative medium. I have awoken several of my undiscovered passions; the most prominent being repurposed or recycled materials to create works of art.
In the beginning, together with my fellow fledgling artists, we formed a group and called ourselves the “Murray Mizfits”. Each year we held a group exhibition; these became the springboard for my work to be shown in many gallery spaces in Echuca, Heathcote and Malmsbury the Collingwood Gallery in Melbourne. This led me to follow my dream to own my own gallery, and, 3 years ago I purchased a double story residence in the heart of Elmore. I now firmly believe that: “My art is my home is my life and my life is my art”. The Studio space competes with the cooking space and I am rarely idle. Friends comment that they don’t know if they are in a kitchen or studio; a garden or an outdoor workshop. It is in this studio that I have developed a reputation for selling my designer clothing in Elmore.
My passion for scowering OP Shops, metal yards and farms for found objects, barbed wire, old clothing and linen has lead me to build a space that transforms the outdoors into an exhibition space for my garden sculptures and designer outfits which I sell in my gallery. My clothing designs have been worn to race meetings, by brides, formal outings, and have been sold throughout Australia.
My gallery is Muddy Waters Gallery, 64 Railway Place, and Elmore. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Muddy-Waters-Gallery/161903937214548?sk=wall I was invited to take part in the 2014 Sustainable Couture event in Alice Springs http://www.sustainable-couture.com/. I am now one of the regular designers for this event; I have plans to expand the Sustainable Couture label to Victoria. I entered the “Ag art” competition at the 2014 Elmore Field Days and was awarded the encouragement award. In October I was invited to submit entries to the Wearable Art Competition in Alice Springs. http://www.wearableartawards.com.au/. I am also a member of Echuca Moama Artist Initiative and in 2010 I coordinated their Echuca Arts Festival.