Scenic World Stage 2

Stage 2 involved a very long and slightly arduous road trip to and from Katoomba, with 2 days of install sandwiched between. All of the pieces got there in basically one piece and are now hanging in the rainforest on the floor of the Jamieson Valley. I am pretty happy with the result, but it has been huge, and I am exhausted. Shame I have to go back to work on Monday.

These first three pics give you an idea of the location: 1. view from the cable car looking up to Katoomba, 2. view out over the valley and 3. looking down to the bottom station from the cable car.

 

 

I think I was pretty fortunate that we had good weather for the install. Standing in the rainforest for 9 hours was hard enough, but add some rain and it would have been horrible. Fortunately, Scenic World employs install teams and the pictures below include some of them - it was their job to climb and wrap the trees so that the sculptures make as little impact as possible. The pics start with the works on the boardwalk waiting for install, and continue to the end result.

 

 

Stage 3 is to return to Katoomba next week for the opening and to run a kid's workshop. More photos then.

Scenic World Stage 1

Okay, so ages ago I told you about my acceptance into the annual Scenic World Sculpture exhibition, which is held (funnily enough) at Scenic World, Katoomba. Stage 1 is to make the damn work, which is titled Elimatta, an aboriginal word meaning 'Our Home'. It consists of 20 little worlds in glass containers which will be hung from trees as a cluster in the forest. Stage 1 is done, Stage 2 commences on Saturday when we head off to Katoomba to install. Freaking out a little bit. Aside from the distance and inconvenience to my family, I am worried about the stuff breaking and not being easy to hang, etc. But then I have been freaking out pretty thoroughly for the last few weeks, struggling to get the thing done according to rules about not interfering with the forest too much and juggling that with an assignment due for Uni.

Anyway, I will endeavour to update you with all it all as it progresses, and there will also be updates on the Scenic World Website. In the meantime, here are some photos of some of the pieces:

 

 

 

 

Master of Arts

Really chuffed to have been accepted into the Masters program at USQ. Does the confidence no end of good to get a 'yes' now and again!

I will obviously be studying it by distance (a decision made to fit around work). I am excited to get into some of my favourite topics in life; in particular that whole metaphysics thing. A welcome and timely change from the institutional thinking that is (despite my best efforts) starting to infiltrate the grey matter. Yes, now I will really sound like a looney talking about all sorts of existential ideas, and yes, I plan to inflict it on you good folk!

 

 

Memories of the Coast

It is already 2 weeks since we got back from a week's holiday at Caloundra. Of course that was before the big wet and starting back at work, so it is quickly becoming a faded turquoise memory. So am posting a couple of photos that will no doubt inspire some art work at some stage. This is the osprey; its magnificence totally lost on itself, but not on me. I was able to observe the pair who are long time residents of the King's Beach area going about their daily business.

Pretty happy with this photo.

 

popping in for a bite to eat

gives a new meaning to a takeaway fish lunch



wading cousins



Director's Cut - Blake Prize

You may or may not recall that a piece I did was selected to be in the Director's Cut of the Blake Prize (ie shortlisted but not selected as a finalist). The gallery is now on line and you can visit by clicking on the link:  Blake Director's Cut

Blake Director's Cut

Another Rock Pool

This piece is called Heartbreak Hotel. Complete whimsy, but the result reminds of some post-apocalytpic world I have read about in some novel or other. Where else would you ride sharks to picnic at a deserted and flooded building?

 

 

 

 

Moving On

Rock Pools has still got a week or so to go and I have to thank everyone who has a) gone to see it and then b) made lovely comments about the work. You may have figured that the works refer to real rock pools in that they are perfect vessels for tiny worlds isolated but linked, just like us in our own little worlds.

One of the good moments of the opening was when one of my friends told me about a young boy who was touching one of the pieces. As I watched him, I could see his utter fascination with the tiny worlds, and since that was kind of the point, it made me very happy (didn't tell him not to touch). Also very pleasing was watching his Dad, clearly using his son's childish fascination as an excuse to get down to floor level amongst it as well. Priceless.

Thought I might use this space to talk about some of my favourite pieces in the show. If you have been reading this blog for long enough, you know I have a developing fascination with the Divine Feminine and have been reading a lot about Goddess religions that were the norm way before Jesus arrived. The whole show alludes to this, particularly a reference to the ritual of 'scrying' - usually performed by Priestesses using a reflective surface to see the past, present and future, and a way of communicating long distance quite a while before mobile phones. Anyway, the following piece is called Swan Lake, and I'll let you draw your own conclusions. (Yes, she has the Stigmata and yes I will likely be burnt at the stake myself). I like it because I think it is quite a strong piece and at the same time a wee bit whimsical.