Let your creative curiosity take flight in Ballarat

From gold leafing in a bluestone cellar to capturing moody backstreets on film, the new Made of: Ballarat Experiences series will take you off the beaten path with local makers and creators this autumn.  

Recognised as a UNESCO City of Craft and Folk Art, Ballarat is the perfect place to switch off and choose your own analogue adventure.

Follow the tunes of Linda Franklin’s singing suitcase and descend to the cellar of Craig’s Royal Hotel, one of Ballarat’s oldest pubs.

Here you’ll learn the art of embellishing vintage prints with pure gold leaf.

In true goldfields style, this experience is topped off with gold-dusted cakes and champagne with an extra bit of sparkle.  

More earthly treasures await at Lake Esmond, where ceramicist Steph Wallace will introduce you to the art of wild clay pottery.

In nearby Mount Pleasant, enjoy a gin flight from Kilderkin Distillery and then take your newfound botanical appreciation into visual artist Laura Day’s studio, where you’ll spend a relaxing afternoon creating a stencilled painting inspired by the natural world.

Laura will guide you in the technique of negative space abstract painting and teach you how to use plants, leaves and natural elements as stencils for your creation.

Further floral inspiration can be found in the Windflower boutique, where Claire McArdle will help you cast a piece of custom silver jewellery.

You will use various tools, types of wax and techniques to create your own wax models, one of which will then be expertly crafted by Claire into an ever-lasting silver ring, a pair of earrings or pendant.

If you’re looking for a fun way to spend quality time with mum, step into the colourful Ivy&Coco Studio and try your hand at painting a ceramic pot or vase.  

Learn how to apply different paints on various mediums and gain an understanding of how colours and patterns evoke different emotions.

Meanwhile, two new walking tours round out the series.

Capture Ballarat’s backstreets on film with expert photographer Jacqueline Matisse.

Jacqueline will help you see Ballarat’s historical buildings, hidden laneways and open spaces through the lens of a 35mm camera.

Or wander art-filled laneways with award-winning poet Megan J Riedl.

Visit some of Ballarat’s eclectic art installations, lesser-known galleries and studios, buildings and monuments to prompt your poetic aspirations.

Itineraries will adapt with the seasons and in line with special events, so there’s always new curiosities to uncover.  

Find out more about the new Made of: Ballarat Experiences at madeofballarat.com

Main image: Hand paint a pot or vase at Ivy&Coco Studio