Friday, November 14, 2008

Sculpture symposium







In a week our 6th annual sculpture symposium starts. Yesterday I was picking up maratoto stone at the quarry and I broke the deck of my neighbours trailer. Said trailer came off on the way home and smashed the back of our car and I stood on an exposed nail to boot. Not an auspicious start!
We have 12 sculptors from around NZ coming this year to work for a week in the garden with live music and an auction of the pieces on the last day (Sun 30th). The local andersite is very hard and the sculptors use diamond grinders so for most of the week there is clouds of talc like dust seeping in everywhere. Would you like rock dust with your scallops?
It's a great week learning how other sculptors approach their work and the tools they use. We will set up a camp for them and there is usually a party every night with guitar strummings and uncertain warblings.

6 comments:

switch said...

oh...if only.
it sounds wonderful...rock dust and all.

Sree said...

The serene surrounding of nature and art.I wish i wish...

Echo said...

Sounds fabulous. Beautiful setting, good company and work work work.

chook said...

Fern - I don't know what it is but artists are so good to be around

Sree - with 12 nine inch grinders working away, serene nature has to take a break.

Echo - to live and work with a bunch of artists is a real privilege

human being said...

oh... how i love that stoney hug... it feels so soft and gentle... real art...

and it also resembles an ear... hmmm... when we listen to each other... we can love more... perhaps this is the real hug...

who's the artist? you? this work is amazing...

chook said...

HB - the artist is an itinerant Maori guy called Rika Turoa. He wanders the country making art and he has been to all of our symposia and always sells his art. He seems to have the ability to tune into peoples' feelings.
I hadn't seen the ear before.