Molly, Hanging Rock Winery Sculpture Exhibition 2024 April 29, 2024

Molly has a set of teeth that my Chilli would be proud of.

The blue glass eye was a captivating feature sparkling in the sunlight.

Here is Chilli, my canine companion, waiting patiently as I mess about taking photos of the sculptures.

jack, Hanging Rock Winery Sculpture Exhibition 2024 April 28, 2024

Here is another exhibit from the sculpture exhibition I visited earlier this year at Hanging Rock Winery.

Matt Hill has captured Jack relaxing in the sun – a very typical kangaroo pose.

I delight in seeing kangaroos quite close to where I live.

I am saddened that the Victorian Government has now designated the Shire of Mount Alexander as a kill zone where kangaroos can be culled to supply the pet food industry.

This decision was made despite the protests of the local council, local residents and wildlife advocates.

Sculpture Exhibition, Hanging Rock Winery 2024 March 2, 2024

I was very happy to travel to Hanging Rock Winery in the Macedon Ranges on a cooler day before the annual sculpture exhibition closes at the end of April.

Birds are often represented in the exhibition.

Two sculptors had chosen cockatoos as their subject.

Stephen Glassborow’s rendition is impressive showing the cockatoo’s head in all its feathery magnificence.

Salvitori Lolicato’s work is more impressionistic. He seems to be fascinated by the yellow crests of the two Sulphur Crested cockatoos.

I don’t know what the artist was thinking when he created a straight beak for the cockatoos which is totally impractical given the content of their vegetarian diet of berries, nuts, seeds and roots.

Sculpture in the Vines 2023 April 27, 2023

There were more opportunities to soak up the autumn sun yesterday as Chilli and I wandered among the sculptures in the final days of Sculpture in the Vines 2022/23 at Hanging Rock Winery.

At first I thought Darren McGinn’s ‘Taliksman’ is a sculpted rock on top of a pile of rocks but it turns out the components of the work are all ceramic so each piece has been individually crafted.

Having been outdoors since late October, nature has been adding to the work.

Nature has also been making its mark on Darren Gilbert’s ‘Heart’.

I am attracted by sculptures which have parts which move and sparkle in the breeze.

I was amused by this piece depicting astronaut explorers clambering about Mars. I was especially tickled by the step ladder. Apparently step ladders will exist into the future and be useful for exploring.

Who will take home this hapless Boxer?

Ooops! I forgot to photograph the plaque for Lucy McEarcherm’s ‘Lotus Bird’

There are a couple of works which have no explanatory plaque at all.

Here a big cat lounges in the branches of a tree above the water.

I am wondering if the piece is a fountain.

This giant Hooded Plover is impossible to ignore. This endangered bird which lives along the shores of beaches lays its eggs on the sand out of reach of the incoming tide.

Sculpture and Wine April 1, 2022

Today could best be described as a brisk, autumn day – so much so, I abandoned my lighter clothing for warmer layers which were needed for my visit to the Macedon Ranges.

I was keen to catch this season’s sculpture exhibition at the Hanging Rock Winery in Newham before it closed later in April.

Here are some of the sculptures I admired.

I just love this sculpture of the bather. It is beautifully executed.

I enjoyed the story which was the inspiration for this sculpture of a small flock of sheep.

I spent time enjoying the movement of this kinetic work.

The owl seems to be grasping its prey firmly in its claws as it warns off a competitor.

This leaf is part of a set of three which can be seen in the background of one of the photographs above.

Finally, a sturdy, little pig.

I concluded my annual visit to the winery by purchasing a bottle of wine to gift to a member of my family.

Art In The Vines Sculpture Exhibition, 2021 March 18, 2021

For a third year, Hanging Rock Winery has mounted a sculpture exhibition. This one is running from November 2020 and finishing 21 March 2021.

I viewed the exhibition on a brisk autumn day last Sunday, a week before it is due to close.

The sculptures are varied based on both natural themes and abstract shapes.

This sculpture, Swallow in Flight, is aptly named.

The magnificent old gum is used to display artistic work.

These knitted wire shapes swing gently in the breeze.

Tracing was inspired by the nests of Weaver birds.

St. George and the Dragon 2 battle it out among the trees.

Matt Hill, the sculptor of Roofus, certainly knows his kangaroos.

Nature has been making itself at home in the months the sculptures have been on show. Cobwebs adorned the ears of the kangaroo and the prey of a spider hung between its ears.

Trees provided inspiration for three of the works.

Zoe Amor’s The Trees is a modest work.

But if you want to stand out from the crowd, be big and bright blue. It was impossible to ignore the Blasted Blue Tree.

The Articulations is described by the artist as a skeletal tree. I think it creeped out some of the viewers. I loved it.

 

Future Seed is arresting with its simple curved shape and intricate surface treatment.

 

Jock Clutterbuck’s Landscape with Passing Cloud nicely frames another sculpture.

I wondered how Leichhardt’s Map of Tower Hill would weather in the open air given it is oil paint on copper.

 

Ahoy ticked a few boxes for me. It has curved shapes attractively arranged and shiny, reflective surfaces. The shiny orb is a little artwork in itself.

 

The bright red of M-twentythree added a burst of colour to the exhibition.

 

Here I am looking into the interior of Cube.

 

I couldn’t resist this beautiful kinetic wind sculpture, Angel.

I am so happy low COVID cases in Victoria mean exhibitions such as this can be staged again and I have the privilege of visiting them.

The Castlemaine State Festival and The Fringe Festival commence tomorrow (Friday) night – Two weeks of COVID safe music, performance, dialogue, art and general frivolity – What a Treat!

Sculpture in Motion 2020 February 1, 2020

The Hanging Rock Winery is currently hosting its second sculpture exhibition.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day – low 20s, clear blue sky and a yellow sun – when a friend and I journeyed to Newham in the Macedon Ranges on Friday, 24 January.

The sculptures all incorporate movement in their design. Many are tall or perched on poles.

For some artists creating a kinetic sculpture is a new venture. There are sculptures which are masterful in their execution swinging and swaying in the breeze whilst others could do with some tweeking.

In this post, I have intermingled images of sculptures with views around the winery to give readers’ necks a rest from craning to admire the work of these sculptors.

Bobbing Boat by Jimmy Rix

The boat is attached to the waves by a spring. The boat bobs when viewers gently touch it. My friend and I happily made it bob.

Wing-it by Anthony Vanderzweep

BJF 23 by Ben Fasham

This is Ben’s first attempt at making a kinetic sculpture and he nailed it.

Circles by Rudi Jass is masterful in its execution.

The Lie of the North by Geoffrey Ricardo has shades of Pinocchio.

M-fortythree by James Parrett

Future Seed by Adrian Spurr is one of the few sculptures at ground level.

Threefold by Nicole Allen reflects the passing clouds.

Flirt by Charlie Aquilina is one of my favourites. This work reminds me of a deep sea fish which uses a lure to attract its prey into its cavernous mouth.

Egg and Spoon by Michael Sibel

Bipolar Eccentric by Ralf Driessen is very impressive.

The blue chimes belong to Resounding Blue by Tania George.

The exhibition ends on 23 February 2020.

More Sculptures at Hanging Rock Winery February 24, 2019

I spent additional time with a couple of the exhibits at Art in the Vines, Hanging Rock Winery.

From the distance, Onyx 1 & 2 looked nondescript but closer up, the more I looked the more I saw as the subtleties of the works and the beauty of the stone revealed themselves.

In places, the onyx had been polished…………

 

………….and incised.

 

 

There were these gorgeous ripples of colour.

 

If you like rocks, there was plenty to like. The exterior surface of the rocks was full of character with different textures.

 

 

This metal sculpture resembled an elegantly folded piece of origami.

I had fun moving around the sculpture to admire different folds and vistas.

Art in the Vines, Hanging Rock Winery February 14, 2019

Yesterday, Katie and I traveled to Newham to Hanging Rock Winery which overlooks Hanging Rock, in the middle distance and Mount Macedon, in the far distance.

Whilst Katie surveyed the cattle on the property from the comfort of the car, I had the pleasure of viewing and photographing the sculpture exhibition which ends on the 31st of March. There are 25 works by local, national and international sculptors. The works are diverse in their themes, styles and materials.

There are works of stone………..

……….metal and ………

 

………..and timber.

 

Nature has influenced some artists to produce this dragonfly with the scary eyes………..

………..Jewel de la Mer, a pearl encased by waves……….

………….this gorgeous head of a hare and……..

…………these spinning and floating seed cases which are absolutely bewitching.

 

Sculptors used their art to express their concern for the planet and the survival of the natural world.

Here a gannet is protecting its egg. With its head draped over its back, it has a shield like appearance.

Red Running Tiger depicting the Tasmanian Tiger, (Thylacine) reminds Australians how easily extinctions can happen.

 

Political satire is alive and well. Above, the madness of getting housing and below, the madness of Australian politics.

The Australian Coat of Arms continues to inspire satirists – I’ve got this chicken legs!

 

There are sculptures which are interesting shapes.

 

Threads hanging from the branch of an old eucalypt is still a work in progress as leaves become enmeshed in the fine wire.

 

Then there is the quirky – The Yummy – ‘For good luck rub his tummy.’