Free Upcycling Card-Making Workshop at DVAS 

25/02/2026

Following the success of our Christmas card-making session, DVAS members are invited to our next workshop on Thursday, 5 March, from 6–8pm at the Edendale Homestead.

We are providing all the materials, most of which have been rescued and reclaimed to give them a second life. Whether you are an experienced card-maker or have never made one before, you are very welcome to join us; simple instructions and guidance will be provided. This event is all about community, sustainability, sharing ideas, and the simple joy of making something by hand.

We’ll have plenty of inspiration and materials ready for the upcoming Easter season, but the sky is the limit. You can spend the session crafting birthday wishes, thank-you notes, or "just because" cards for any occasion that strikes your fancy.

Additionally, you are welcome to bring and use (or donate to the DVAS "card-making bank") your own materials. We all have that one "overflow" drawer—the one filled with beautiful paper offcuts, stray ribbons, and half-used tubes of paint that are too good to throw away but haven't found a home yet. Instead of letting those treasures head toward the rubbish bin, let's recycle them creatively!

We also invited members of the Textile Art Community Art Space to join us. They are a lovely bunch of experienced creatives who are all about recycling. Some DVAS members belong to TACAS, it will be nice to bring the two worlds together. We will share ideas and techniques of card making.

www.textileartcommunityartspace.com

www.facebook.com/TextileArtCommunity

www.instagram.com/textileartcommunityartspace

NOT A MEMBER? We invite you to enjoy two complimentary trial sessions to fully explore our community and workshops before joining. We'd be delighted to welcome you!

Image: From DVAS Christmas Card-Marking Workshop, Dec 2025

A Heartfelt Tribute: "Dearest Edendale..." Exhibition a Resounding Success 

20/02/2026

The Diamond Valley Arts Society was delighted to celebrate the successful conclusion of Dearest Edendale…, a solo exhibition by multi-disciplinary artist and DVAS member Anna Madyarova. The opening night saw an exceptional turnout, with a vibrant crowd of art enthusiasts and local community members filling the gallery.

The evening had a friendly and artistic atmosphere, as guests explored Anna’s "metaphorical love letter" to the Edendale Community Environment Farm. The response to the collection was overwhelmingly positive, resulting in the sale of several key artworks across her diverse range of media.

A highlight of the event was the engagement of our younger visitors. The dedicated art desk remained a hub of activity, where children and parents alike found joy in bringing the Edendale coloring sheets to life.

Anna and DVAS are proud to have hosted such a profound tribute to our local landscape and look forward to seeing these coloring sheets continue to inspire creativity at Edendale Farm.

ARTIST PROFILE: Anna Madyarova

ARTIST WEBSITE: www.etoya.studio

Dearest Edendale... Exhibition by DVAS Member

16/01/2026

DVAS is proud to support a solo exhibition Dearest Edendale… by Anna Madyarova, multi-disciplinary artist and a long-standing member of the Diamond Valley Arts Society. Presented as a metaphorical love letter to the Edendale Community Environment Farm in Eltham, the collection serves as a profound tribute to the site’s role as a sanctuary for creative practice.

For Anna, the farm transcends its physical boundaries to become a "state of mind," offering vital psychological restoration within the constraints of metropolitan infrastructure. Through her work, she explores the farm as a landscape of ecological intimacy and radical stillness.

The exhibition showcases the artist’s expansive technical vocabulary, where her choice of media serves as a deliberate conceptual response to her subjects. The tactile warmth of textiles evokes the farm's sensory richness, while the archival permanence of silverpoint and the raw, tonal depth of graphite capture its timeless inhabitants. Anna further explores this connection to nature through coloured pencil drawings, utilising both the smooth clarity of paper and the organic grain of wood to articulate the specific essence of the Edendale landscape.

Complementing the formal works, the exhibition celebrates the launch of a community engagement initiative. Anna has transformed her photographic studies of the farm into a series of illustrative colouring sheets for children. Supported by the Diamond Valley Arts Society, this project will be donated to the Edendale Farm, ensuring that the spirit of the site continues to inspire the next generation of creative minds.

DVAS members and the general public are warmly invited to the opening and the exhibition. 

Visitors of all ages will have an opportunity to get creative at our dedicated art desk, where you can bring our brand-new colouring sheets to life using a variety of pencils and markers. 

WHEN: Sat 14 - Tues 17 Feb 2026, 10am - 4pm

WHERE: Mummery Room, Edendale Farm (30 Gastons Rd Eltham VIC 3095)

OPENING: Sat 14 Feb 2026, 1pm - 4pm

ARTIST WEBSITE: www.etoya.studio