Justin (middle) and Phillip (right)

Whilst it was a relatively quiet launch, it is a madly busy time of year and an awkward time for a launch.  The exhibition continues through December and January, though, so everyone has a chance to get to it over the summer holiday season.  The works are chalk & cheese, no doubt about it.  Justin’s works are large, bold, angular, colourful and striking. Phillip’s works are small, subtle, sketchy and his colour palate is soft, muted – but this by no means reduces their impact.  Both parts of the exhibition have a lot going on, and you need to take your time exploring the themes and references that Justin and Phil work towards.

Ah, now, these are beautiful.  Vaughan Brown, the man behind Driftwood Designs, is a skilled furniture maker, and an artist, and he combines these talents to make spectacular pieces of furniture!  The designs are made from materials collected from the local coastal beaches of Portland, Victoria (just down the beach a bit from Port Fairy).  Materials include driftwood, shells, different coloured sands, ropes and any other found beached treasures.  Each artwork is absolutely unique in its design and appearance, using strictly salvaged materials, where no two pieces are the same shape, colour and design, and therefore each has its own personality and character.  Pieces available at Blarney Books & Art include coffee tables, a side table and a lantern.

Detail from a Driftwood Design

Coffee Table by Driftwood Designs

Reasons why I love my job (No.857) …

Shadow

Being able to meet artists who are capable of producing such stunning works.  Check out these pieces!  Graeme McDonald is a local artist.  He is a direct stone sculptor, and in his words this means that the sculpting method is a negotiation between artist and stone, not an imposition!  (Excuse me, I don’t mean to impose…) Most of his sculptures use the natural stone of the local coastline, the limestone and sandstones that were left from an ancient ocean, and the basalt from the volcanic chain that stretches through this region.

This piece and several others are now on display at Blarney Books & Art.  Graeme is also selling these for ridiculously reasonable prices… be quick.  (47 sleeps until Christmas…)

Still Life

It was a good crowd who gathered to launch our new exhibition by Patrick Tonks, and it was a pleasure to listen to a glowing introduction by Andrea Radley.  Patrick read out a couple of his poems for the audience, and I’ll reproduce one here for those of you who can’t get in to read them (they are scattered around the walls alongside his artworks).  As a commentator on the human condition Patrick excels, and with that comes a feeling of discomfort.  Do we recognise ourselves, or others?  Patrick’s artworks are largely black and white, and this sparseness forces the viewer to focus and reflect.  This exhibition is on until the first week of December.

The Butt Pickers by Patrick Tonks

Shadow of Myself

The butt pickers, gleaners of addiction.
Not enough money to live a full life on its own to exist with
time to graze like a hilltop primitive, over watchful, not to be caught
out by people who may yell out -
“That’s disgusting, you shouldn’t do that you’ll catch something!”
Too late; they have it already.
Poverty.
The disability of a society to care to be human to its humanity.
So what if they are recycling to feed their hunger and stop the
insatiable cravings?
So what if they catch a disease in doing so!
Who will care? Their carers? Their families, mothers, fathers?
Society? Maybe! The cost to the tax payer.  To care is a burden,
cost financial not of the heart, cost to society’s health – maybe they
will catch something and pass it on to others in our midst?
Too late.
They have it already.