Glassblowing artist James McMurtrie's life's work and a new gallery in Pomonal came within meters of the devastating fires that tore through his hometown in February.
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The combination of growing up on a farm amongst nature and the creative influence of his artistic mother instilled in him the early love of artistic interpretation on which he had built his career.
James McMurtrie Glass Blowing Gallery and Studio is nestled in the shadow of the Grampians in Western Victoria. On a day of forecast extreme conditions, the unimaginable happened.
A suspected lightning strike started two fires that burned over the top of the mountain and headed toward Pomonal.
The fires destroyed 46 homes and additional buildings, fences, feed, animals, and almost everything in their path.
Mr McMurtrie's plans to finish preparing his new gallery for a grand opening quickly became a fight for survival for his family home and business.
His decision to stay and protect his property was mainly due to the generator-powered sprinkler system, which drew water from his own water supply.
He saturated the buildings and surroundings and spent the next hours doing what he could to save his property.
"It was a difficult few hours during the worst of it and the days that followed," he said.
Similar sprinkler systems helped save some of the small town's properties from embers, providing valuable time for the CFA to concentrate on controlling the fire.
His good fortune was not lost on the fact that so many of his neighbours and community were not so fortunate.
"The CFA, the locals, and everyone who helped were amazing," he said. "But many lost so much."
"And since the fire, the team of Blaze Aid workers have been fantastic," he said.
Mr McMurtrie said tourists and visitors have not returned to his gallery yet.
"Maybe it's partly because all of my signs have been burnt and the new ones have yet to arrive, and perhaps people have travelled elsewhere because of the fires, and they are hesitant to return, but business online has been constant.
Mr. McMurtrie enjoys making something beautiful from what could have been wasted. He recycles glass and metal into works of art.
The gallery houses the finer items, but the garden and surroundings contain a blend of glass and metal sculptures.
"Working with tools similar to those dating back to the first century B.C. fills me with a sense of history and tradition of the old techniques.
"Glass blowing proves to be an exciting medium with which I can experiment and express my ideas with immediate results daily," he said.
"I've always enjoyed using my hands to make things and to learn how things work. Growing up on a farm where the practical application of knowledge is of fundamental importance was a normal part of life.
" My early work with clay led me to even more fantastic imaginings, and I soon discovered my love of glass."
The gallery is open to the public, and if Mr McMurtrie is working in the studio adjoining the gallery, you can watch the Glassblowing Artist at work.
"Glass captures the world in a whole different light. Its fluidity and availability to achieve instant results reflect my desire to create beauty and interpret the world I live in, " he said.
Artists who work in steel, glass, ceramics, paper, music, food, and video often gather for a collaborative weekend workshop at the Glass Blowing Gallery and Studio.
