Olivia O’Connor

Carving

Olivia O'Connor, woodcarver and artist with sculpture art

THIS IS MY STORY

About

I specialise in handmade rocking horses and rocking horse restoration, I am living and working in South Gippsland, Victoria.

I grew up on a farm on Australia’s Mornington Peninsula. It was the perfect environment to develop a love for natural materials, such as wood and leather, and to appreciate the beauty of the countryside.

A love of working with timber led me to I study Furniture Design and Construction at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, for one year before being accepted into the competitive Prop Making course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney. During this three-year specialised degree, I worked with wood, leather, foam-sculpting, model- and mould-making and puppet making.

WHAT I DO

My Work

Wood Carving

Sculpture

Prints / Engravings

Rocking Horses

KEEPING UP WITH O’CONNOR

News

I’ll be at the Heide Makers Market the 2nd Saturday of the month September – December!

www.heidemarket.com
It never fails to humble me when clients ask me to share in their history and creature a piece just for them, to be treasured and become an heirloom ❤️ that’s exactly what happened earlier this year when Timothy asked me to carve his wedding photo for his 5th wedding anniversary (where the traditional gift is made from timber) in December. Carved slowly by hand from Fijian Mahogany, this was a treat for me as someone who loves layers, texture and pattern in relief carving. I did a rough practice carving (2nd pic) to establish how deep I needed all the separate elements to be and then I deliberately paced myself through carving the real piece and finished with oil. And yes, it was hard to keep this a secret from you whilst I was working on it!🥰🥰🥰🥰#woodcarving #wedding #anniversay ... See MoreSee Less
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Always a thrill to see my work in the pages of @woodreview ❤️My Leadbeater’s Possum Trophy for @alia_vic presented at @library_vic is a finalist in this years Maker of the Year (Art and Objects). The first pic shows the finished trophy, the cardboard and plasticine model and the carving tools I used to make this piece (not pictured, mallets, vices, rulers, bandsaw, thicknessor or panel saw). Congratulations to Graham McDonald for taking out first place 🔥 Thanks to both @woodreview and @alia_vic for this opportunity 🥰✨ ... See MoreSee Less
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‘Rising Tides’ one of my favourite pieces from my year of seagulls 💙🤍 ... See MoreSee Less
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Hello there! @followersThis Saturday (15th November) I have a collection of woodcarvings, woodblock prints and wood engravings (framed and unframed) that will make a thoughtful gift for the gorgeous people in your life ✨ (and Christmas is rapidly approaching 😅). I’ll be popping everything in my stories at 9am on Saturday and hope to see some of you there 🥰 ... See MoreSee Less
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Introducing Charlotte ✨Whilst most of my rocking horse work is focused on restorations now, I still like to accept the odd request for a new rocking horse and I am currently limiting myself to 1 per year. It’s always lovely to be back how I started, with hand carved rocking horses. One of the things that originally drew me to rocking horses (besides a love of real horses) was the different techniques and materials all coming together; carving, airbrushing, hand making the leather saddles, making the stand, a small amount of metal work and letter carving complete with gold leafing 🎠#rockinghorse #madeingippsland #handmade #dapplegrey #charlotte ... See MoreSee Less
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LEARN THE CRAFT

Workshops

From 1 day classes where you’ll dip your toe into the world of woodcarving, through to 5 day workshops, making something decorative or learning technical skills. Join me in a workshop, let the creativity flow and the fun begin!