Olivia O’Connor

Carving

Olivia O'Connor, woodcarver and artist with sculpture art

THIS IS MY STORY

About

I specialise in handmade rocking horses and rocking horse restoration, I am living and working in South Gippsland, Victoria.

I grew up on a farm on Australia’s Mornington Peninsula. It was the perfect environment to develop a love for natural materials, such as wood and leather, and to appreciate the beauty of the countryside.

A love of working with timber led me to I study Furniture Design and Construction at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, for one year before being accepted into the competitive Prop Making course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney. During this three-year specialised degree, I worked with wood, leather, foam-sculpting, model- and mould-making and puppet making.

WHAT I DO

My Work

Wood Carving

Sculpture

Prints / Engravings

Rocking Horses

KEEPING UP WITH O’CONNOR

News

I’ll be at the Heide Makers Market the 2nd Saturday of the month September – December!

www.heidemarket.com

3 days ago

Olivia O'Connor Carving
CONVERGENCE I’m delighted to be part of this exhibition at @thehiveoceangrove gallery, a selection of contemporary makers who all use timber - it promises to be something really beautiful. I do hope you can make it ✨💖Visit @thehiveoceangrove to see the works of@hausfits_designs @seans.unique.woodworking @lucasguilbert_sculpteur Jake Lunnis and myself. 🥰 ... See MoreSee Less
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I saw @timmytychilders playing a little gig last year, amongst the gum trees and the fairy lights. He said that he often liked to think what the trees in heaven were like and now that he’d been to Australia, the trees he’d been imagining were our beautiful eucalyptus trees. I think of it often and through my own work I am trying to capture the moments of awe that surround us every day in the natural world and hopefully encourage people to pause for a moment and let it all sink in. ... See MoreSee Less
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2 weeks ago

Olivia O'Connor Carving
Lovely to have my seagulls soaring through the artworks as part of ‘Look Up, Listen’ bird themed exhibition by @tooraartsnetwork @st.thomas_toora 📸 1st slide: @karli_michelle_commercial 2nd slide: opening times for this week✨☀️🦆🪶💖❤️ ... See MoreSee Less
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I really love working on commissions because so often it pushes me to try something new and incorporate a range of techniques that I mightn’t have necessarily grouped together if I were in charge of all the design decisions. I also love chatting with people and clients about wood carving and hearing just how they connect with my work, as they welcome into their memories. Left to Right: reference image, finished carving, practice carving. I don’t always do a practice carving, but this was the first time I have wanted to get this many layers and depth into a relatively shallow relief carving. I used the practice to ‘map out’ in full scale the depth each layer would have to be, making sure I didn’t unnecessarily remove timber to create the illusion of depth. I also used it to practice the many different texture and patterning styles…very roughly! Commissioned as a beautiful and thoughtful anniversary gift for his wife ❤️❤️❤️#woodcarving #wedding #love ... See MoreSee Less
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LEARN THE CRAFT

Workshops

From 1 day classes where you’ll dip your toe into the world of woodcarving, through to 5 day workshops, making something decorative or learning technical skills. Join me in a workshop, let the creativity flow and the fun begin!