AFTER teaching in the TAFE sector for nearly 20 years, Sue Llewelyn has taken on a new challenge.
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Art is a big part of my world and I wanted to show what Bendigo artists were doing.
- Sue Llewelyn
She opened the Red Rat Gallery in View Street last November and has been helping Bendigo artists promote their work.
"I had been teaching graphic design and visual arts," Ms Llewelyn said.
"But when I stopped teaching I needed a redirection on what I wanted to do.
"Art is a big part of my world and I wanted to show what Bendigo artists were doing behind closed doors."
The gallery is located in the old View Street laundromat, which was disused for a number of years.
"When I took it over it was vacant but it is such a beautiful building," Ms Llewelyn said.
"I really admired the old raw walls and exposed beams. It's has created a lot of interest in the building itself and its history."
Artists who feature in the Red Rat Gallery include found-material sculptor Graeme Matthews, silversmith Dietmar Schultz, collage artist Ian Stewart, metal artist Alexander Day, Ann Forko, Suzie O'Shea and potters Bill Shanley and Tanya Higgins.
Ms Llewelyn said a lot of artists didn't show their work consistently but Red Rat promoted the arts precinct.
"It's good to show people what is made locally," she said.
"It's is a powerful attractor and values adds for Bendigo as well as the local artists.
Before opening Red Rat Gallery Ms Llewelyn worked in her studio on her Golden Square property.
She has been an artist for 30 years and always loved combining ideas with physical materials.
"That practical challenge of melding of something concrete and abstract (always appealed to me)," she said.
As for the origin of the name of her gallery, Ms Llewelyn said the concept should represent a lot of artists. "The notion was the rat had a bit of an attitude like me and that in the art world you need perseverance and survival skills," she said.
"To me that image works well (as a rat)."
The Red Rat Gallery is located at 41 View Street, Bendigo.