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.

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.



Cairns of Hope and Inspiration

I thought we might share some photos of the the art4place work that went on in Pecan Park as part of the Festival of Walks Maleny party on 20 August 2011. art4place artists Noela, Tracey, Edith-Ann and I worked with Tracey's partner and Fiona M and other visitors to Pecan Park to create Cairns of Hope and Inspiration. 


The aim was to create cairns with park visitors, party-goers and walkers out of timber and twigs collected from the edges of the park; and to get people to place messages of hope and inspiration into the cairns. The art was ephemeral in that it would either rot away, be burnt or be redistributed into the edges of the park. Whilst the photos below shows that one of the four cairns was burnt over night the others were still in place.

Barry Smith © Cairn after the fire

I really felt a sense of strength that community artists had given their time to create the installation of cairns.

Barry Smith © Cairn- beginnings

Barry Smith © A vista with cairn

Barry Smith © Tracey's cairn

Barry Smith © Scale of one cairn and majestic trees

And some people did contribute their messages of hope and inspiration - and sent those vibes out - even as they burnt.

Barry Smith © Messages of hope and inspiration

Barry Smith © Global messages

Barry Smith © Cairn with messages of hope and inspiration

Big thanks to Noela, Tracey, Edith-Ann and Fiona M - stars.

Art4place artists join in the Festival of the Walks

Art4place and Arts Connect have made a commitment to be artistically involved in this year's Festival of the Walks (FoW). Arts Connect will coordinate activities in Montville and Kondalilla Falls Park; and art4place will be involved in a number of activities in Maleny and Mary Cairncross Park.

art4place's activities include:
* Saturday 21 August art4place’s Maleny Placemaking Art Map will be launched and distributed as part of the FoW Maleny Street Party starting around 11.30am.
* Sunday 22 August (10am-3pm) ephemeral artworks themed on the Birdwing Butterfly will be created by art4place artists in the picnic area of Mary Cairncross Park and throughout the Birdwing Butterfly Walk adjoining the picnic area.
* Sunday 29 August there will be a 'Show & Tell' at the Mapleton Markets from 7.30am -12.30pm where art4place artists will join Arts Connect artists display the construction of and finished products of Kondalilla and MCP ephemeral artworks with photographic and possibly public participation presentations. The art4place Maleny Placemaking Art Map and Arts Connect Montville Art Trail will also be available.

Ephemeral placemaking art:

On Sunday 22 August art4place artists will be involved in the creation of the following pieces of ephemeral placemaking art:
**** Butterflies from leaves – located near the timber platform and associated screens on Butterfly walk – made from Norfolk Pine and Bleeding Heart fronds and leaves
**** Stenciling Butterflies and Butterfly names (Variety of sizes) - along the path and edge of path and on grass on edge of picnic area – stenciling will be done with fine sand and Talc
**** Butterfly sail – in the trees before the timber platform on the Butterfly walk it will be made from stretch fabric, string and paint
**** The big butterfly – created from glued on coloured paper swatches - adjacent to path between platform and end of the Butterfly walk – it will have a light frame for butterfly and the public will be invited to glue paper squares onto the butterfly to create texture and colour
**** Sea of butterflies – an installation of coloured in butterfly images at the beginning and end of the Butterfly walk

Join in

If you want to be part of creating the ephemeral placemaking art why not come to Mary Cairncross Park between 10am and 3pm on Sunday 22 August - make it a picnic, bring the children - good family and creative fun.

Sculpture on the Edge - sculptures reflecting place

In one sense the Sculpture on the Edge Exhibition advertised in the flyer below is not really placemaking art in the purest sense but in a broader sense it is.

A bunch of Arts Connect and ArtSite artists (about 15 artists in all) are creating sculptural art for places. In the exhibition these art pieces will be in the Lucas Parklands garden and associated rain forest walk; but the art could also be just as well suited to public and community places.

The artists have accepted the challenge to create new works and installations (some ephemeral and some that can be moved to other locations) that reflect the forest and the special features of the forest walk. Many of the works will be comments on aspects of the place and aim to communicate that to visitors.

...seen on the beach on Bruny Island

How is this for a lovely piece of ephemeral public art?

My Bruny Island [Tasmania] friends, Sandra and Richard, came across these two on their morning walk. The shadows add a wonderful third element to the composition.