Margarita Sampson’s meditative pennant

the sculptor Margarita Sampson managed a Buddhist insight meditation centre this year
“the three pieces of cloth I have appliqued onto the banner are from a very old meditation cushion,”
“that had begun to wear through with 30 years of meditators sitting on it.”
“I trust it is now imbued with calm, good will and loving kindness!! My wishes for the planet and all who dwell therein.”
“I chose the pieces for the holes, as, in the words of Leonard Cohen – “There is a crack in everything, that is where the light shines in.”
view from the other side
settling in
with the gathering
have a look at Margarita’s whimsically surreal sculptures over on her website
represented by Stanley Street Gallery this brilliant artist takes her materials into a whole new dimension
namaste

Sculpture by the Sea

Fluid  Norton Flavel
stainless steel
“A reference to the notion of significance.”
Reality TV Anne Levitch
corten steel
Concrete Carpet Alice McAuliffe
carpet design rendered by high pressure water cleaner
Chronic Series Zheng Yuan Lu
black marble
“… Lu uses his art form to express what lies in between everyday experience and the indescribable.”
Dynamics in Impermanence  Nicole Larkin
birch plywood
The Golden Hour  Cave Urban
bamboo, steel
“The paradox of the sun begins and ends with a golden hour at the horizon. Sunrise and sunset are twins in spectacle but strangers in meaning; in a single day they declaim renewal and extinction.”
Transition Harrie Fasher
mild steel, plate, pipe, round bar and fixings
“… Transition depicts the energy required for movement between worlds. …”
Measuring the Sky Mimi Dennett
painted aluminium
Folly Tony Davis
jarrah wood, corten steel, pinus radiata, mild steel
Dearest Margarita Sampson
steel, wood, ply, structural foam, fibreglass, textiles
“Don’t get too comfortable.”
Old Man Crow enjoying the lushness, love how Margie encourages the public to interact with her work!
Sculpture by the Sea

lost the plot

Yikes! yesterday was one of those days when I really should have stayed home!
went into town to see 3 exhibitions, feeling out of sorts, like a shambolic, irrelevant dinosaur from last century but all the work was brilliant & inspiring
Infectious Ideas at Stanley Street Gallery
Margarita Sampson’s delightfully mad altered chairs are fabulous
Jane Frances Reilly’s Conversations no 10 at Courtesy of the Artist
a fabulously cohesive body of work combining her background in ceramics with metalwork
made with deep thought beautifully realized
Akiko Ikeuchi at the Japan Foundation Gallery
Akiko’s exquisitely ethereal vessels touched my soul with a deeply delicate touch
here’s a link to more of her work
then I hopped on the bus which nearly hit a woman who walked right in front of it whilst talking on her phone, feeling even shakier I went to the grocery store, got to the checkout and couldn’t find my wallet… emptied the contents of my bag onto the floor, it wasn’t there… got home, emptied the bag again… it still wasn’t there, rang around the galleries to see if I had left it anywhere… hadn’t… so I melted down… totally… recovered a bit, did some chores, then needing my glasses to do the bookwork, looked in my bag for said glasses and my wallet had magically reappeared…
WTF? a senior moment ? domestic blindness? hysteria? madness?
pleased to say that so far I have only burned the frying pan this morning…
x fingers today will be a better day…

the annual pilgrimage to Sculpture by the Sea

BJF13 Ben Fasham
stainless steel, bronze
Unknowable  Terra
Stone object in landscape
Statement : Here sits a large stone. It has been here for eons and it will remain here long after those who view it have come and gone.
Windspiral VI: the wind is your breath Bronwyn Berman
stainless steel, aluminium, timber
Statement: The wind is the breath of the earth, it is our breath.
Listen time passes Barbara Licha
Tree-spirit eggs Mark Elliott
Flow form IX Stephen King
stringy bark
Voyagers I & II Margarita Sampson
wood, silicon bronze, plants, soil
Statement: Like us, these shaman creatures are walking into their future, carrying precious cargo.
(photos courtesy of Old Man Crow with his iPhone)
Sculpture by the Sea is an annual event with over 100 sculptures along the coast walk from Bondi to Tamarama, you can see lots more photos on their website
and Sculpture Inside here

the annual pilgrimage to Sculpture by the Sea

Early this morning we made the annual pilgrimage to Sculpture by the Sea
Old Man Crow pacing it out towards the top of the headland where
“save our souls” by Cave Urban holds space
(the catalogue tells me this one is best seen at night)
artists statement: “Just as the flash of a lighthouse is a welcome sign of hope, safe harbour and humanity, it may warn the uninvited to stay clear of a hostile shore.”
My favourite is “the grove” by Margarita Sampson
what are these beautifully antlered beings saying to each other?
artist’s statement: “Honey is flowing in all directions”, Joseph Beuys
“that tranquil moment” by Stephen Marr
we want to live in Ken Unsworth’s “my house is your home”
“sisyphus” by George Andric
artist’s statement: “The artist strives to find some sense of order that is independent of the world that presents itself
– which at times can be deceptive and illusory.”
the play of light & shadows
“vessels of destiny” by Melissa McElhone
love her sense of whimsy
“to take care of ” by Hannah Streefkerk
Artist’s statement: “Even stones are worth protection. The shape of the tube bandages around the stones refers to natural shape”
inside the small sculpture pavilion Hannah’s covered stones are described as translated patterns and mended nature.
the sublime “dark night shrine 2014” Takahiro Hirata
Artist’s statement: “In Japan, an arrow is a talisman that shoots and protects against evil spirits.
The work envisages a shining arrow which breaks through darkness.”
the giant steel origami raven “nevermore” by Jonathon Leahey
“wanderers” by Brad Jackson
Artist’s statement: “The wanderers are a passing family group of traveling orbs.
Their origin, destination and intentions remain unknown.”
they seem friendly
& so we bade fairfarren to all the wonderful Sculpture by the Sea to do some gardening!