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
Hello and Happy New Year! I hope you’re all settling in beautifully to 2025 and have exciting times on the horizon. For me this year is going to be quite varied (which you know I love!). I’ll be doing lots of rocking horse restoration (pic 1), more sculpture and print work for some exciting exhibitions, heading to @losttrades (pic 3 with @blueythe_bucketman at the fair last year) , hanging with my best friends (Ruby and Terry pic 4) and hopefully meeting many more of you in classes and sharing what I love about carving and printmaking (classes currently at @wooddustaus and @raretradescentre and some more to come!) and of course enjoying the beautiful this country that I am lucky enough to call home. Thanks for all your support and kind words, I do appreciate it! Here’s to a wonderful year for all of us ✨🐕❤️☀️🐎 #artist #woodcarver #printmaker #rockinghorse #southgippsland #wooddust #raretrades #losttrades #selfemployedlife ... See MoreSee Less
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I have a new series of reduction woodblock prints that are inspired by vintage travel posters, Japanese woodblocks and of course my love of big skies and birds (especially all the ibis I’ve been seeing lately!). They are currently on exhibition at Studio 11 (205 William St, Melbourne) and at @meeniyanartgallery L to R: Mountains of Colour - Yellow Sky, Swallow Fly - Morning Flight - Flying Home. Each print measures 38 x 60cm (paper size 48 x 76, frame is A1 size). Oil based inks on French archival quality paper. Super limited editions of just 2 or 3 per print! Available framed or unframed. Please contact me or the gallery with any enquiries. I do hope you like them ❤️✨😊 #print #woodblock #cranfieldinks #ibis #birdart #meeniyan #melbourne #printmaking#printmaker #art #exhibition #exhibition2024 ... See MoreSee Less
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‘The Morning Call of Black and Gold’Three hand carved cockatoos, gently flying across the sky (*wall!) at Studio 11, 205 William St, Melbourne. @lucymceachernsculpture @carolrocheartist and I would love to see you there for the opening of Land and Sky tomorrow (Thursday 17th)! #art #exhibition #opening #sculpture #melbourne #woodcarver #woodcarving ... See MoreSee Less
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You’re invited to the opening of Land and Sky!A beautiful group show with @lucymceachernsculpture @carolrocheartist and me!I do hope you can join us! All details are in the picture ✨ or message me with any questions ☀️ ... 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!