The exquisite tapestry and beautiful ink sketches of late local artist Keitha Taft are set to be featured at Castlemaine’s Phee Broadway Theatre foyer next week as part of the shire’s annual 2023-2024 exhibition program.
Keitha’s proud husband Tom Taft is thrilled to be able to have the opportunity to share her incredible works with the wider community.
Tom says his beloved late wife suffered from crippling rheumatoid arthritis, which severely affected her hands, but this did not stop her from spending many painstaking hours creating her magnificent landscape works that brilliantly capture light and shade.
“Keitha was such a gentle soul, she didn’t have a mean bone in her body. Each of her works took months to complete. The artwork helped her to manage and forget her pain,” Tom said.
Many locals may remember the couple who had the Maldon Art Shop in Scotch Pie House for more than a decade.
“It was known as the ‘Red Gum Shop’ as I had fashioned a gum leaf shaped sign out of a piece of redgum for the front of the shop,” Tom said.
When she wasn’t hard at work with a needle and thread, Keitha was also a talented artist and enjoyed sketching various animals and other scenes.
After her death in 2007 following a battle with leukaemia, her works adorned the walls of Tom’s Castlemaine home unseen until his friend Rose DeMaria suggested he consider placing them on exhibition for the wider community to enjoy.
Rose assisted Tom to make the application to feature Keitha’s works in the shire’s annual exhibition program at the Phee.
“Rose has been wonderful assisting me to select the works to feature and curate the exhibition,” Tom said.
Rose said Keitha was an exceptional tapestry artist and she felt her work deserved to be enjoyed.
“Keitha was an immensely versatile artist who could put her hand to many creative expressions from still life and landscape drawings to lead lighting and arts and crafts,” Rose said.
Asked what Keitha would have thought of all the fuss, Tom laughed.
“She was a very shy and private person. We were each other’s biggest fans and we were happy in each other’s company,” he said.
“After 15 years I still miss her terribly, but I am so delighted she lives on through her work and it will be able to be enjoyed by all.”
The exhibition will open at the Phee Broadway Theatre foyer next Tuesday July 4 and run until Monday July 31.
The new exhibition will be officially opened next Thursday evening July 6 at 6pm and interested community members are welcome to attend.
