Assemblage sculpture in the cottage grounds

 

We have been away from the cottage for 9 months or more. It is always a joy to reintroduce ourselves to the plants but also the assemblages Fiona and I have made and scattered about the grounds of the cottage.

This time I particularly like the combination of the daffodils and the assemblages such as in the case of the background to the cube in the opening photo.

Following are images of most of the pieces in no particular order or priority.

I like how the art ages and just seems to settle even more into the garden landscape. We don't have plans to make any more pieces in this trip.

Still standing strong in the landscape

 

In 2017 my sculpture Buttress Root was installed on the banks of Little Yabba Creek. The sculpture was selected to provide a canvass for poems about the landscape including the few remaining large trees with buttress roots. The piece is 2m high and 4m long and made from 10mm thick aluminium. The poems were CNC routed into the flat sheets before they were rolled into the trunk and sinuous root forms. The concrete foundations ate buried 1.5m into the ground!!! 

On Friday Fiona and her dad had to return home to Maleny from Noosa via Kenilworth because of the closure of the highway when a bridge was damaged. The trip home meant Fiona would cross Little Yabba Creek so I asked if she would stop and take a few photos of the sculpture as I wanted to see how it was holding up. Because the sculpture is installed on the flat near the creek it can be subjected to flooding as well as dealing with folk climbing on it etc.

As you can see from Fiona's photos Buttress Root is standing strong and still shining on after 9 years in the open.

Following are a series of images of the work from a few different angles 

Some of the signage informing the public about the sculpture.

We think a bird has found an alternate use for the brochure holder.

Looking towards the Mary River; and the canopy of trees. Little Yabba Creek feeds into the Mary River.

More about patinated bowls and posts

 

I have sold the first Memory Keeper and Meditation-Incense Bowls I made so I'm looking to make a few more from the remaining patinated copper cut from the old laundry copper boiler. I tried two different finishes with the two I just finished. As you can see from the photos above I did not renew the patina on the hammered bowl - but I quite like the outcome. On the bowl below I refreshed the patina colour using a patina solution - gives a rich free-blue patina colour. Both bowls have been given a light coat of varnish.

I'd be interested in folk's opinions as to which they like as I will be doing another four bowls in the coming weeks.

As you can see from the photo below I have finished adding rusty bits to the two small (80-90cm tall) posts I was making by repurposing the timber from a bench seat I had made and that had been in use for 3-4 years.

Fiona and I will install these posts in our garden in a couple of weeks.

Post assemblage-sculpture

 

Over the weekend I have been working on a couple of small post assemblage-sculptures for our side garden. 

I almost completed one as you can see from the opening photo. The post is about 80-90cm tall and 15cm square. The timber is salvaged rose gum I think - an Australian hardwood. 

A few years ago I had made a bench seat for G to take a rest on as he did his daily walk. Later it was moved to near a post sculpture F and I did for the area we planted out when we came to live at the village - see photo below.

The area is being redeveloped so we removed the post sculpture which is now at the front of our home; we salvaged the top planks of the bench seat. The timber is a bit worse for wear - see photo below of the timber on the work bench; but we thought it  could be repurposed as small garden post sculptures.

Some of the process-progress photos follow. 

The timber looks better after a good sand with a belt sander. The squiggly groove routed freehand into the timber with a small can shaped router represents the local creek. As you can see from one of the progress photos the groove is painted with Japanese black ink so the line will stand out. Rusty bits are added from our rust stash - though there is not to choose from these days.

The posts are given another sand once the black ink dries to remove and 'smudges' etc.

If time permits I will finish the second post during the week; and then they will be installed.

Rearranging-refreshing

 

Fiona and I spent some of our creative time moving and rearranging some of our garden sculptural pieces. We did this because we want to see and appreciate some pieces more out the front of our home; and because by rearranging we see the pieces with new eyes.

The opening photo with early morning sunlight shows the arrangement we have achieved so far - I say so far because we will be adding to what is there and maybe achieving a different balance.

The following photos simply show some of the pieces in morning light.

I took a photo of the trio of posts across from our front door; but took it from behind as we rarely take the time to see things from different angles.

Installation and painting of a different nature

 

Over the last few days we have had some sunny weather that has enabled Fiona and I to do outdoor chores  on the cottage and for a neighbour. 

As you can see from the photos above and below my art installation this week took on different form - installing a safety mirror for a neighbour across the road. The post is a salvaged piece of scaffolding from another neighbour on whose land the mirror was installed. Grand community effort!!!  

We have started the job of sealing the northern wall of the cottage in preparation for painting over some old pebble render. Photos below show me up a borrowed extension ladder; and Fiona testing a few sealant paints.

The wee shed out the back, aka the workshop, needs some patching and then a repaint. Fiona used a bit of left over paint on the shed. We will need another warm (above 12 degrees) and dry day to paint the shed.

We also got time to give the bin enclosure a make over; and put in a rusty support to give it an added arty dimension. Of course the paint colour matches the cottage trims now!!!

Getting these jobs done on clear and warmer days means we can immerse ourselves in indoor creative pursuits on inclement day.