Lou Callow and The Flying Teapot

"Lou Callow, local artist, teacher and all-round delightful personality, has been known to live...and breathe... her passion for all things artistic."

The Flying Teapot

It's impossible to profile Lou without spending a word or two on one of her most central works, The Flying Teapot. Lou bought a dilapidated house in Ballan with one intention, to create a home, but found herself creating a work of art and surprisingly, a ‘teapot' community. Her description of this process though is somewhat self-effacing, "We needed to build a fence to stop people wandering in. My partner carted seven tandems of rock, bought me an old pull start cement mixer and away I went. Pretty soon people walking by would stop and have a chat. An old brickie asked me if I had any idea of what I was doing, and I didn't. A lady from the local Gardening Club stopped and asked pretty much the same question...I didn't know gardens either. The following week I found myself gathered up by a lovely group of older ladies and part of their gardening network."

Having built the fence and garden she still wasn't happy. An excursion with her new found gardening gurus introduced her to the Mosaic Garden in Melbourne...Lou was hooked. The fence was rendered and the mosaic began. Night and day! Curious onlookers, some enthralled, others judgemental, watched the development intently. But to her surprise ‘significant' donations for the work rolled in: a favourite teapot, a grandmother's dinner plate, a perfume bottle collection. Eventually themes emerged. There's a section for the blokes, their old chainsaw chains and the odd worn out tool. Even the local kids got involved and proudly handed over favourite toys. Ballan had embraced the artist and the work.

The fence was no longer the barrier to keep people out. It drew people in. And so does the warmth and energy of the artist. My guess is that it's this quality and her passion for community arts that earnt her recognition as an Australian Citizen of Year. Lou was a key figure in establishing the longstanding Wombat Arts Network which she describes as an opportunity to do, ‘great, silly stuff like the Shoes and Bra exhibitions, and Masks and Mirrors. Café Bohemia was born in this time and it was great. There was great mateship."

Between her work on the Teapot, teaching and her community arts activities, Lou painted and studied. Somehow she managed to fit in a Masters in Arts Administration and a qualification in Arts Therapy. Why the arts therapy? According to Lou we all have the capacity to heal ourselves and the arts just offer another avenue. "It's a great approach especially when you're working with young people."

Lou has since moved on from The Flying Teapot - a tough decision. Its artwork still exists as a vibrant, almost ‘living' memorial, honouring all who have visited, donated a broken treasure, shared a story and some small piece of themselves. Importantly, one would hope that the Teapot continues to stand as a reminder of the generous, community spirited woman who created it. It is a testimony to her work, initiative and creativity.

Pencil a trip to Ballan in your diary, plan to stop at The Flying Teapot and absorb the contents of the fence and garden over a cup of tea and a bite to eat.

If you happen to see a woman down on the river bed creating stone mandalas you'll only need one guess as to who it is. Forever the artist.