The front of Transformations Gallery and Gift Shop is certainly different. Local artist Rebecca Wells painted the shop. It certainly stands out due to the bright colours. To see it follow the link here. The shop is situated in the middle of Gunbower, next door to Kevin Williams’ Art Gallery. Rebecca’s art features around the town. Her murals are quite distinctive. The shop also sells some of her weavings and prints.

These days, particuarly after Covid restrictions, lots of shops are empty and towns take on that sad, depressing, feeling. Up where I live, in northern Victoria, it’s quite rural and many of the rural towns have been on the decline, since way before COVID. Occasionally, empty shops have been filled up with displays, just to look a but more upbeat. I decided, when I bought an unused shop, that I wanted to contribute something to the community. My idea was to create shop where local art and crafts people could display, and possibly sell their work. it didn’t take long and my shop was full of creative pieces.

To emphasise the nature of the shop, a local artist, Rebecca Wells painted the front with a colorful mural. We decided to illustrate the idea of Transformation. I used the name Transformations previously, when we had a Gallery on our farm. My husband and I love to take old bits and pieces and give them a new life. He works in wood and metal and I work in textiles. The dragonfly and the frog features prominently on the shop front, as both creatures transform. The rest of the mural playfully features the native wildlife of the area.