Friday, September 28, 2012

Flight of the Glossy Black Cockatoo - cont.....

This is the fourth time I have done this post - is it me or is it the bloggersphere?

As Barry mentioned in the last post, Christine held her last Glossy Black Cockatoo workshop at Russell Family Park, Montville, yesterday.

'The Glossy Black Cockatoo lives around the Hinterland, but sadly is becoming endangered. This creative placemaking art project aims to remind people of the Glossy Black Cockatoo and its beauty and encourage them to help protect and save it.

Going on a Treasure Hunt for their food source – the She-Oak - helps show young people how hard it is to find the right food for the Cockatoos to eat.

By encouraging children to imagine the cockatoos flying around the hills and by making wings and masks and performing “the flight of the Glossy Black Cockatoo” we hope that we can raise awareness about these precious birds and the risks they face'.

Christine worked with and filmed hundreds of Mapleton Primary School children some weeks ago then dozens of children and parents in the park yesterday. Everyone made masks and wings then performed a little play flying down the hill and searching for the elusive she oak seeds. The whole performance was filmed by Christine.
...children making masks and wings with the help of locals, Lorraine and Jim...
...Christine demonstrating flying technique...
...Eric Anderson telling the story of the endangered Glossy Black Cockatoo, with Jim's painting in the background. Eric is part of the Glossy Black Cockatoo Conservancy Board and resident GBC expert. 
...this stand of she oaks was planted by Montville Primary school students 3 years ago to encourage the return of the endangered birds...
...'birds' flying down the hill and settling near the she oaks trying to find some seeds...

It was a great activity, entertaining and educating children [and parents] on holidays from various parts of Australia.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Glossy Black Cockatoo mask and wing making workshop

Yesterday was Kim's Creative Spaces installation of 'love and unity'; and if you check out this post by Noela you can see just how beautifully it turned out.

I could not get over to Montville this afternoon to check out how Christine Elcoate and Jim Cox's Glossy Black Cockatoo (GBC) mask and wing making workshop which was to culminate in a 'flight of cockatoos'. But I did go earlier today to see how things were going regarding the making of masks and wings.

From the following photos you can see that there was a great group of children and parents working with Christine and Jim when I arrived.

©2012 Barry Smith - Children creating masks and wings with Christine in the hat and Jim in the background
©2012 Barry Smith - Great shady working area for the workshop
Jim provided a beautiful painting of the Glossy Black Cockatoo to provide inspiration of the children.

©2012 Barry Smith - Jim Cox's inspirational GBC painting
And Christine's fibre vine and leaves were just gorgeous on the railings.

©2012 Barry Smith - Christine's creative fibre vine and leaves
I'm sure Christine or Noela will give a bit of an update on the later stages of this placemaking event; and better photos given mine were taken with the iPhone. All photos of children were taken with parents' written permission.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Kim's 'Celebrating Love and Unity'

Kim Schoeberger has been busy cutting, painting and preparing hundreds of leaves ready for her workshop and installation today titled 'Celebrating Love and Unity'.

The lagoon in Russell Family Park was once a watering hole for members of the indigenous Gubbi Gubbi people as they made their way to Baroon Pocket for their annual gathering. At these gatherings stories were told, tools and ornaments exchanged, conflicts resolved and marriages arranged.

Such gatherings speak of love and unity, and by trailing hand-written messages of love and family on a sea of heart shaped leaves, Kim celebrated how Russell Family Park is still a place for gathering and for families to spend time together.

She invited people to write messages of hope, peace, love and unity on the leaves, then they were floated in rubber tubes on the pond  in Montville. Kim interacted with at least 100 people and had hundreds of leaves arranged within 10 floating rings which looked very much like hot pink, black rimmed lily pads.

The installation created a sense of serenity and meditation as it drifted across the lagoon, creating differing designs and patterns as the wind took it in different directions.




Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Creatures of the Obi Obi

Local ceramic artist Cathy Lawley had the first of her Creative Spaces 2012 Creatures of the Obi Obi activity workshops with children at the local Maleny Library yesterday (24 September).

She had two groups of about 17 children for two two-hour workshops. So many children wanted to be in the workshops - Cathy and the Maleny Library staff had a waiting list  but in the end just could not accommodate everyone.

Cathy and the children at work
Creative Spaces 2012 has been strongly supported by the Sunshine Coast Council and the Maleny Library
These first workshops were to create clay water dragons or platypus. And you can see from the photos some amazing forms the children have created.








Cathy will fire these forms and the two groups will glaze them on Wednesday 26 September. Cathy will then raku fire them; and the children will photograph the finished products and install them in the display cabinets in the Library on Saturday 29 September.  What an extraordinary placemaking art achievement this is.

I will try to do updates after each stage. Photos of the children  used in this post were taken with parental consent.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

'Sailing Inland' - Noela Mills

Yesterday was a beautiful day for my installation of 9 sails at Gerrard's Lookout on the Maleny-Montville Rd.

'This installation tells stories of the past and of the present, connecting the coast to the hinterland.
The white sails echo the arrival of many of our forebears by sailing ship, along the coast that stretches out below the escarpment.

The colourful sails reflect the hang gliders that regularly float and thread themselves across the skies above, taking off from the escarpment and drifting down below, bringing the mountains to the sea'.

Quite a few artist friends and family arrived throughout the day to keep me company and ply me with coffees and snacks
About 110 cars stopped at the lookout, about 350 people. Not all took notice of the art installation, maybe one third read the information at the base of the steps - maybe a subliminal message for the others.
I thoroughly enjoyed the day, watching the way the wind billowed the sails around, and the play of light and shade as the sun moved across the sky.
I enjoy the way people who interact with me and the installation have brought their own thoughts and feelings to the display -
eg. imagining the Gubbi Gubbi people staring from the escarpment, wondering [in fear] at the strange huge ships with their huge white sails.
I will repeat the installation next Sunday, 30th September. All welcome to join me on the picnic rug [especially if you arrive with a coffee - half strength, no sugar] !!!

The next Creative Spaces event is Kim's 'Love and Unity' workshop and Installation at Russell Family Park, Montville, from 11am until 2pm on Wednesday, 26th Sept.






Saturday, September 15, 2012

'Creative Sparks'

Kirsten Cash held a 'drop in' workshop today at the Witta Grower's market as part of our 'Creative Spaces' Project. Participants made a satay stick former [with battery operated lights installed], then covered the lantern shape with tissue paper soaked in PVA. Most had added embellichments in colored tissue or organic grasses and leaves. Great results from kids and adults alike.




... many happy market goers went home with their own personal lantern.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Signs of Creative Spaces

The first of the six Creative Spaces 2012 placemaking activities is to take place in less than a week on the morning of Saturday 15 September in the grounds of the Old Witta School.

Kirsten Cash invites children and other community members to join her in a temporary placemaking activity called Creative Sparks - creating paper lanterns that will reflect and celebrate 'community and cooperation' that are at the heart of the community's use of the Old Witta School.

It is time to roll out the Creative Spaces 2012  signs to let visitors and the local community know what and where the activities are taking place.

Over the weekend the finishing touches were put to the Creative Spaces signs and story boards for each of the six activities.

©2012 Barry Smith - Six unique placemaking activities - six unique signs
©2012 Barry Smith - Every placemaking activity has a story
©2012 Barry Smith - Every placemaking activity has a story
Creative Spaces 2012 is an artist driven and executed event - so each of the six artists will be putting their unique signs and story boards out to showcase their activity. art4place has been fortunate to attract sponsorship from the Hinterland Business Centre and N-Carta Group for promotional material such as the the signs and story boards.

An international development company, Coffey International, has provided 4 metre high art4place flags to attract the public's attention to Creative Spaces activities.

©2012 Barry Smith - Flags - symbols of placemaking in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland
The flags are the symbol of the location of the six Creative Spaces activities across the Hinterland.