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Callemondah Sculptors Exhibition

May Barrie and friends, David Parker, Robyn Rumf, Jules van de Sande, Jan Shaw and June Bennett and May's daughter Tori de Mestre.

May's place is like visiting an Italian atelier in Tuscany. Situated on a hillside at the end of a country road, at the foot of the Illawarra range, I was transported back in time to a truly inspiring place with a decidedly Continental atmosphere. 5 Sandstone buildings and outhouses, including the main beautifully decorated and furnished homestead are flanked by a magnificent garden setting into which are strategically placed marble and stone sculptures.

May Barrie at 93

May with Robyn

feature garden sculpture

             Some of outbuilding studios and gallery. The roundhouse at the centre housed June Bennett's sculptures and feltmaking

Plenty of seating for reflection and rest

Colour and form change in the garden

June's Fire sculpture

David is washing up in the main kitchen

features of the drawing room

Treasures of the dungeon

May's vegetable garden

 The use of marble is prevalent in these sculptures. Many curves with recesses, both aesthetic and functional as water catchers in a variety of colours.

more of June's mastery

June's feltmaking

The roundhouse

Inside Tori's studio

The tiles of the homestead are beautiful

 A total immersion of environment and purpose was presented at this venue. Guests were encouraged to bring a picnic lunch and sip wine in the gardens where so many intimate and communal spaces could be found for relaxation on a very pleasant Sunday afternoon. The smell of country life (cow manure)  and sounds of cows from a nearby dairy farm mooing accented the experience.
I recommend a visit to this exotic and thoroughly enjoyable exhibition which offers both sculpture lovers and artists as well as the inquisitive Sunday driver a rewarding and refreshing experience.

naked ambition

I feel this hollowness in the pit of my stomach, I can't speak, I can't see, I am alone. Is this grief or just self pity?
I haven't seen you for so long yet these feelings are so intense, more intense than ever. I remember every detail of our relationship and this is causing me an ache which has no relief.......until the grieving passes....I forget why I left and only the joy of existing with you is remembered. Perhaps you have been by my side, with our children,
always. My strength, my conviction in our lifestyle and beliefs, the way we raised our offspring, the way we loved, and cried......Our family welcomed us with so much warmth. I am so overwhelmed.
I want to write everything I feel, I want to build on this moment and create something beautiful. The music is way too strong and the emotion evoked is definitely leading me in a direction I cannot forsee. Take me, Damian, Naima and Jiles on a journey with your spirit by our sides, watching, overseeing, correcting if required.

Music is my mistress

Our fate is in your hands as we are only human, but you are now eternal, ephemeral and free from earthly concerns. You are flying high, like a bird, playing a tune listened to by the universe.

Just thought readers would like to know about This event at Callemondah Sculptors

Saturday 24/3/2012 to 1/4/2012  10am-4pm
Callemondah is situated at Albion Park at the end of Caulderwood Road, turn off on highway to Moss Vale before Macquarie Pass.
May Barrie started this Gallery in 1950 and shares with friends
Contact information Tori de Mestre 0458566118

Dobell 2011

Wow what a feast for pencil pushers. The finalists certainly seved up an excellent array and variety of large scale drawings using pastel(featured medium this year) charcoal and graphite. I absolutely loved the offering from winner Anne Judell "Breath". As a follower of her beautifully delicate style, I was thrilled she finally made it to the winner's circle. Her deft and subtle use of pastel and grahite was second to no other and the subject matter was so creative and topical she deserved the meritorious accolades. I was totally inspired and believe the standard achieved this year was absolutely outstanding and definitely moving forward in concept and technique.
http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/dobell-prize-drawing-2011/

Yiwarra Kuju The Canning Stock Route

Colourful, cultural and contemporary, yet the artists involved could not be further from this description. Plucked  from isolation and virtual non recognition, their artwork is so innovative and thought provoking. The historical account of torture and capture by white cattlemen of the stock route punctuated by harsh barren landscape and waterholes. This story is only captured by those who have direct experience with these conditions and their resulting artworks are so imaginative and symbolic, vibrant and alive. The pain and hardship, the myths, such as the story of the cannibal spirit that dwells in the river, reminiscent of when the earliest and most remote nomads were cannibals makes for a fascinating exhibition unlike any Indigenous exhibition preceding it. See it until 29/4/2012 at the Australian museum.
www.australianmuseum.net.au