June 22nd, 2020Mike finds bliss, after his fashion
“ISO,” as it inevitably became known, produced an extraordinary range of reactions.
Over in Sailors Falls, Mike Lelliot could scarcely have been happier. “I find it so enlightening,” says the 49-year-old artist and creative designer, of the pandemic months. “How great is it to be out here! Awesome. It’s paradise after being globally focused for so many years.”
“Here” is 22 hectares backing on to Wombat State Forest, home to Mike, wife Cath and their children Noah, 17, and Tillie 13.
Then there are the Great Danes, Trip, Harriett, Elvis and Queenie, plus an equal number of horses, coloured black, grey, nearly white and bay.
All of this is some distance from his Melbourne childhood in bayside Black Rock. From there he went to the Victorian College of the Arts and basically living in the inner city from age 18 to 45.
Until the late 90s he was involved with four other artists in a North Melbourne warehouse called Fish, the scene for bands, parties, big events, lots of musos, artists and filmmakers. They included Glendyn Ivin, whose TV direction won Australia’s top award two years in succession and whose credits include Puberty Blues and Gallipoli.
With such forces firing it is little surprise that Mike took on the creative director role in Germany for the Australian-designed Crumpler messenger bags. After six years it was time for home. When the inner-city began to pall they hit upon the Sailors Falls house. After three years it is a home with gardens seemingly galloping off all around, a glasshouse, plants and shrubs galore.
In spite of such activity, Mike is sensitive to his surroundings. “We work with the land and not shaping it. We’ve learned how fecund the land is, how it is always changing.”
Their new home also changed their perspective as to what ‘local’ means. Such a change translates into action as he works on a new denim brand, called Black Bothy. Bothy is a term for a small hut or refuge in the Scottish Highlands and also the name
for the guest house they plan.
Once, the denim would have been a global brand, but now he will use local designers and artists and even foundry workers (for the buckles and studs) to produce the line here. Sales are likely to be in the scores rather than on a massive scale, which
leaves him happy.
An acre (0.4ha) of berries has recently been planted, they have a large old market garden glasshouse trucked from Adelaide to protect some plants from frost and find out about others. Crepe myrtle and English laurel are ready for planting in the rich soil.
Recycling abounds, while fence posts, mainly cut from fallen logs, are going in (a gash on Mike’s forehead – he stands at 202 centimetres – tells of the perils of cutting).
Inside their home all is relaxed with rows of sauces and preserved fruit, muddy boots and gumboots, paintings galore and a discarded Collingwood scarf. Here, over 10 days he perfected the baking of sourdough bread.
Nearby is a mountain bike and a glass cabinet of green China rabbits, while the big deck leading to a pond features a large roller-skating cat statue by artist David Bromley. A hammock hung between trees speaks of lazy days.
“I spend three or four days on the computer,” says Mike, “and the rest working outside.” He delights in the bush, finding it both incredibly alive and incredibly diverse.
Mike is now planning an art show. He makes a drawing, turns it into a file on his computer, then shapes it on thick plywood and cuts it to shape.
One of these is a woman with a dialogue balloon, singing the Kiss number, I Was Made for Lovin’ You Baby…much like its creator’s affection for his home.
Words: Kevin Childs | Image: Inkd Fotogrfa
The Local‘s artist series are supported by a grant from Hepburn Shire Council’s coronovirus community support program.
