My Nillumbik Art Adventure

This week I got back into taking myself out on a Tuesday Adventure Day. This time I thought I would seek out some of the outdoor art the in shire I live in. I have lived in the Nillumbik Shire for quite a long time and have seen some of the art on numerous occasions, but I have never made a conscious effort to find out the artists or the meaning behind the piece. Nillumbik Shire covers quite a large area soI started in Eltham and ventured out.

"Wall of the Moon"
(Homage to Miro)
Tom Sanders
Eltham Town Square

Wall of the Moon is  a ceramic mural made of earthenware tiles.It consists of a playful organic abstract design similar in style to the Spanish artist Joan Miro. Shades of yellow and black glazes are layered onto matte black and shiny bronze tiles.

Eltham Town Square resident Platypus

"Classical Landscape"
Cliff Burtt
Alistair Knox Park
Eltham

Surveyor of Suburban Environs
Ernst Fries
Alistair Knox Park
Eltham

The Eye 

 Surveyor of Suburban Environs is a polished stainless steel sculpture comprising an eye reminiscent of ancient egyptian hieroglyphics, which is held up with a tappered and jaggered tail like pedestal.

Eltham's Timber rail Bridge

 Is this art? I think it is. Eltham's Timber rail bridge was built in 1902 and is the only railway bridge of predominantly timber construction that is still in regular use as an integral part of Melbourne's metropolitan electric railway network and one of extremely few timber railway bridges in the state that still carries trains.

"Alan Marshall"
Marcus Skipper
Eltham Library

 A realistic depiction (almost lifesize) of the author of almost fifteen books, Alan Marshall cast in bronze with green patination. Dressed in a jumper and slacks, Marshall is shown perched on a crutch, holding a book to his heart, gesturing to his audience to come and listen to his words. Alan Marshall lived in Eltham most of his life and was a central figure in the area's community of writers, artists, sculptors, film makers,actors and musicians.

Close up of Alan Marshall beckoning us to listen to his words

"Wayfarer"
Deborah Halpern
Nillumbik Shire Offices

Wayfarer is an excellent example of Deborah Halpern's tile construction technique and playful style that she is renowned for. I have always loved Deborah Halpern's work and am delighted when I come across yet another piece either in  the city or in other Melbourne locations.

"Transaction"
Robert Baines
Civic Centre
Greensborough

This piece Transaction by artist Robert Baines is a large cascading form in stainless steel. Multiple rows of concave dishes set on long steel stems which progressively increase in size as they rise in height.

"Benchmark"
Susie and Naomi Kumar
Coventry Oval
Diamond Creek

The Kumar sister designed this sixty metre gently curving bench, Benchmark, in response to the topography of the site, Coventry Oval. The sculpture is designed to describe the boundary between the formal oval and the natural creek bank.

"The Breeze"
Edward Ginger
Opposite Eltham Little Theatre

 The Breeze is an abstract work made out of welded steel and painted in enamel in bush fire red. It comprises of flat, cut out shapes, interlocking at different angles, giving the impression of being hinged together rather than fixed. The circular cut-out in the eye mimics the sun, symbolising the intense heat in the Australian climate,while the colour red alludes to the history of bushfire within the urban and rural fringe.

Kangaroo Ground War Memorial and Tower of Remembrance

 The Kangaroo Ground War Memorial Tower is built on the highest hill in the district. It was unveiled on November 11, 1926 and is used as a fire spotter in the summer. It offers 360 degree views which take in Melbourne, the north-east suburbs and the Dandenong and Kinglake Ranges.

One of the Windmill Palms

 Surrounding the tower there are seven windmill palms which represent the seven States and one Territory of Australia. The oldest of these palms are over 60 years old.

Looking south towards Melbourne, unfortunately it was a bit hazy 

While sitting enjoying the amazing vies the silence was only broken by the beautiful catter from the magpies.

"Man and Fire"
Shane McGrath and the
St Andrews Men's Shed
2013 - 2015

"Lasting Memories Mosaic Seat"
Lasting Memories Mosaic Group
St. Andrews Hall

 Lasting Memories Mosaic Seat is a large concrete seat in the style of an organic chaise lounge. The Lasting Memories Mosaic Group began this piece just after the Black Saturday bushfires on February 7, 2009. After the horrific fires ravaged through St Andrews and the surrounding areas, a group of bushfire affected ladies bravely came back to St Andrews to begin their healing in an artistic way.

Plague beside the Lasting Memories Mosaic Seat

A closeup view of some of the various pieces used in the seat. 

Each woman created something beautiful and meaningful, using remnants of crockery, glass, tiles and bricks salvaged from their own properties. This artwork identifies who they are and tells their personal "life journey"and family heritage and memories of what they had experienced before, during and beyond Black Saturday.

This closeup shot really gives the feeling of how hot the flames were
and how the sun glowed red

Montsalvat

This weeks exploration was to Montsalvat, Australia's oldest artists'community. Located only three minutes from my home it was a great location to head to for an afternoon. Originally established in 1934 by Justus Jorgenson, Montsalvat, classified by the National Trust is home to many beautiful buildings, houses and halls set amongst over 12 acres. Montsalvat's history, as is today a place that nurtures art in all it's forms - painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, musical performance and instrument making and many more. Currently Montsalvat beautiful grounds are used for performances, weddings, exhibitions and many artists continue to reside in Montsalvat.

Made from Pinterest - Crayon Art

Think I have mentioned this before, but I'm saying it again - I really love Pinterest. It gives me a place to store all those wonderful ideas I would like to do some day. Trouble is most things do just that, 

sit there and never get done. So I have set myself a challenge (yet another one) to try and do one pinterest pin each week. 

I saw pins about melting crayons when I first got onto Pinterest, thinking it would be something nice and bright to bring into my all white bathroom. I already had a canvas that would be the perfect size so off I went to buy lots of crayons and the cheapest price I could get. 

Luckily I have grand children that can have fun with the colours I didn't use. 

Crayons at the ready!

 First up I took all the papers off the crayons. 

Then I glued them along the top of the canvas with the design going from dark to light. 

I wanted a rainbow affect - Clare says I got it 

Then it was outdoors with floor coverings down and some old clothes on. I had read where as the wax melts it can splatter a bit, as it did. Then with my hairdryer in hand I started heating the crayons. It took a while to get them running, but once they did we were off and running. I do like artwork with a bit of a meaning, so seeing this was going to be positioned on the wall at the end of the bath, I thought the word RELAX would be nice to look at while lying in a bubble bath. 

Now to RELAX in a bubble bath

I wasn't sure how the crayons (still not really) would react in the steaminess of a bathroom so I sprayed a few coats of clear varnish on it just to be on the safe side. I'm pretty happy with how it has turned out and Clare (3) told me it looks like a rainbow. So that makes me happy. If you are into Pinterest, give something a go. Don't just let all those pins sit there gathering dust and cobwebs!!

Kingston SE

We arrived in the pretty little village of Robe late yesterday, but more about Robe tomorrow. Today we went for a drive to Kingston SE which is about 44kms from where we are staying. Kingston SE has a population of around 1500. The extension of SE on it's name is to distinguish Kingston in the South East (of South Australia) from another Kingston in the state which has also changed it's name to Kingston on Murray.
Kingston SE is another location in Australia that has one of our iconic "Big Things". The "Big Lobster" was originally conceived in the mid 1970's by a local lobster fisherman. It is said that the final size of the structure was the result of an accident. The plans for the Big Lobster were provided to the builder in feet, but he misread the measurements and used metres instead, resulting in a three-fold increase in size. The Big Lobster is 17 metres high, 15.2 metres long and 13.7 metres wide, with an approximate weight of 4 tonnes.

The Big Lobster

 Then it was across the road to the "Sundial of Human Involvement". The Human Sundial is only one of a few in the world that are truly interactive with people. By reading the directions and standing in the correct place, the time of day can be determined. Each piece of granite represents an hour marker.

The Human Sundial

From time to time Kingston SE has the pleasure of a visit from sea lions. It is believed they come ashore to rest up after being involved in a storm. These amazing granite sculptures were created by the world renowned artist Silvio Apponyi.

Seal Lion and her baby

The Cape Jaffa lighthouse was built in 1868-1872 on Margaret Brock Reef, 8 km from shore and 19 km south from it's current location.  The lighthouse, which has an unusual steel frame, also included an eight bedroom house. One of the magnifying lens weighs 2 tonnes. It was the first lighthouse on the Australian coast to be dismantled and brought to the mainland.

Cape Jaffa Lighthouse

A Day in Adelaide

Adelaide is the capitol of South Australia and the fifth largest city in Australia. With a population of around 1.3 million people it is often referred to as the "City of Churches". I read somewhere that it's not that the city has a lot of churches, but it's the serenity of the city that it gets that name. But from what I saw there are quite a few lovely old churches in the CBD. The beauty of the CBD is also highlighted by being totally encircled by parkland. First off today we caught a bus into the CBD and checked out a few areas, one being the Rundle Mall. There was a few pieces of interesting art in the mall.

Some of Rundle Mall Art

 

Someones hungry!

 

I really like this piece

Then we jumped on a tram out to Adelaide Central Market. I love markets and whenever I go to a new city, town or whatever, if there is a market there I try to visit. I just love the foods, the colour and buzz of them. Central Market has the title of being the largest undercover market in the Southern Hemisphere.

Flowers......

.... Fruit....

..... and great entertainment.

 Then it was back onto the tram and out to Adelaide's main beach suburb Glenelg. It's a great area with lots of really tempting restaurants. Today it was Mama Carmela's that tempted us. It has been so long since I have had a great pizza, I was hoping that this restaurant would amend that issue. And yes it did, the pizza was very nice indeed. I think it might be something small for dinner tonight!

Glenelg Pier

Glenelg Old Town Hall

Ardrossan to Quorn – Southern Flinders Ranges

Leaving Ardrossan we headed north away from the coast. It will be strange being away from the ocean after spending so much time with wet feet. The first town we pulled into was a tiny village with a huge history - Snowtown.

Back in 1999 this unassuming building took Snowtown to the forefront of the Australian news. On May 20 1999, the remains of eight victims were found by the South Australian Police in six plastic barrels in an unused bank vault in Snowtown.

I sort of felt a bit ghoulish taking photos of this building but it is part of our Aussie History now.

Back in 1999  this unassuming building took Snowtown to the forefront of the Australian news. On May 20 1999, the remains of eight victims were found by the South Australian Police in six plastic barrels in an unused bank vault in Snowtown.

"The Snowtown Murders (also known as the bodies-in-barrels murders) was a series of homicides committed by John Bunting, Robert Wagner, and James Vlassakis between August 1992 and May 1999 in South Australia. A fourth person, Mark Haydon, was convicted for helping to dispose of the bodies. Only one of the victims was killed in Snowtown, which is approximately 140 kilometres north of Adelaide, and none of the eleven victims nor the perpetrators were from the town.
Though motivation for for the murders is unclear, the killers were led by Bunting to believe that the victims were paedophiles, homosexuals or "weak". In at least some instances, the murders were preceded by torture, and efforts were made to appropriate victims' social security payments and bank funds.

 

It wasn’t long before we had arrived at our destination for the night. Quorn is another small village with lots of beautiful old buildings. Quorn was surveyed in 1878 and named after Quorndon in Leicestershire, UK, as part of the preparations for building the railway line from Port Augusta. Even today Quorn's main attraction is based on it's railway history with the Pichi Richi Railway.

This old Bar fridge in one of the old pubs was amazing

 

Some Quorn art !

 

Port Augusta - a circle is complete

Today as we left Arno Bay the wind was giving a very strong farewell, but the closer we got inland the less the wind was pushing us along. Our first stop was in Cleve, which had some nice art throughout the town.

One of Cleve's murals

 

Yes, this is sheep country

 

 

These guys looked real until you got up close

 

Heading further north our next stop was in Kimba, which is the halfway across Australia point from Sydney on the Eastern shores to Perth on the Western shores. It is also home to one of Australia's "Big Icons". Kimba's "Big Galah" stands 8 metres tall and was erected in 1993 by the Venning family who still own the "Halfway Across Australia Gem Shop". One year as an April Fools Day joke an egg was placed in the nest, so we an assume with that evidence the Big Galah is female.

Kimba's Big Galah

 We thought we might stay at the free camp in Iron Knob, that was until we drove into town. Oh my I don't think so, we drove in and straight out and onto tonight's destination Port Augusta. If you have been following our "Aussie Adventure" from its beginning you may remember back on May 10th, 2013 we stayed here just prior to heading off on our expedition up the centre of Australia. It's pretty exciting that we have completed a circle. As I look back on what we were like then, I get a smile on my face, we were so new and green when it came to all this "on the road stuff" and we were so excited. 

As the Spencer Gulf winds into Port Augusta is become less imposing, but still beautiful

So as I sit here with the wind once again shaking poor Myrtle from side to side I feel a little sad that the Western Australia part of our adventure has ended. I have so many wonderful memories of the west that will stay with me forever. But we are still on the road for a few more months and tomorrow we head south onto the Yorke Peninsula to have some more adventures. Please continue to join me and I would love to hear your comments. 

 

Our Aussie Adventure reaches another milestone

SPECIAL NOTE

My next post will be my 700th post. Wow when I first started writing my blog back on February 3rd, 2009 I never ever thought I would ever write 700 posts. So to celebrate my big milestone I would love to give away some gifts. As some of you would be aware I design and make jewellery. So over the next week everyone who leaves a comment on my blog or on my facebook post and mentions 700 will go into the draw to win a piece of my jewellery. There are three pieces in total. Please have a go and leave a comment.