Marie Jonsson Harrison » public sculpture

215 ART and VIRGIN DREAMS

mariejon — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 03:01:38 +0000

ART AND TELEVISION

So those of you who read my art blogs regularly know that I met Richard Branson last year when he was in Adelaide, South Australia for a couple of days. It was all organized by a reporter Paul Makin from Chanel 7 for their Today Tonight program and if you wish to recap on the crazy and very convoluted story of how we finally pulled that off here is a link 189 ART and Kissing RICHARD BRANSON

It is no secret that I have long admired Richard both for his entrepreneurships and also for the man that he is. Meeting him was great and the fact that he genuinely seemed to like my art made it all the better. However there is still a bit of unfinished business – I still want to paint one of Richard’s Virgin planes!

VIRGIN DREAMS

Dreams, we all have to have dreams don’t we, goals to work towards and ideas to inspire us? Dreaming, well daydreaming is an essential quality for an artist and one of my dreams is to one day paint a plane. Above you can see one of the ideas I have for a Virgin plane and I do have quite a few other ideas too of course. It would be something to see my artwork in mega size and flying in the sky that’s for sure, I just love to see art on airplanes.

PROJECT MAPPING

I guess the closest I have been to having my work in a large scale was late last year when my paintings were used for project mapping in Warsaw, Poland. Projection mapping or Video mapping also known as spatial augmented reality is when an image is enlarged to cover an entire building and then superimposed in a light show. In my case in Poland my artwork was also animated so it was a moving image. If you want to find out more about that and a bit of the history of Project mapping here is the artblog 205 Projection Mapping & Art in Animation

PUBLIC SCULPTURES

Well I guess also into the category of large scale would be the public sculptures that I have done over the years. The largest public sculpture of mine spans 44 meters across and is 3 meters high sitting as you enter the town of Balaklava in South Australia’s mid north. It was commissioned by the Wakefield Regional Council and took some 18 months to complete. Dale Gathercole and my husband were an integral part as were many many volunteers from the local community who all helped to make it happen.

THE CENTENARY OF FEDERATION GATEWAY

The idea is that the whole sculpture looks like a Federation house, complete with roof and a veranda. In the center are two six meter by three and a half meter walls, located at 22.2 degree angle to each other which are rendered to look like sandstone with red brick quoins on the corners and around the doors.

One wall represents 1901 and the other 2001. In the 1901 doorway we see the back of a life-size woman, made from hand-made ceramic tiles and mosaic, strutting through the door in all her finery, long dress, hat and umbrella in hand. Through the 2001 doorway, she emerges as the modern woman, complete with short skirt, sunglasses and a mobile phone. This reflects the changes that our society has undergone during the last 100 years.

If you would like to find out a little more about that here is the link 109 Stories behind the Wall – Public Sculpture

RICHARD BRANSON’S PHONE CALL

So why not dream big I say you never know what awaits around the corner, maybe one day I will get a call from Richard Branson saying “Hey Marie, I’m sending my private plane over to pick you up – we really have to discuss your idea of painting a plane for me!”

Here is a quote I think fits well here by H.F. Hedge;

“Dreaming is an act of pure imagination, attesting in all men a creative power, which if it were available in waking, would make every man a Dante or Shakespeare.”

Till next time happy painting or sculpting or daydreaming.

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES. Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

132 Age is just a state of mind in Art

mariejon — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 07:15:20 +0000

PUBLIC SCULPTURE

This artwork “Our Richest Treasures” made from handmade ceramic and mosaic is part of a public sculpture called the Federation Gateway Sculpture at the entrance to Balaklava a town in the Mid North, South Australia and celebrates the senior citizens which are among our richest treasures. Here is some links to more about this Public Sculpture; 109 Stories behind the Wall and 121 Volunteers our Backbone

CERAMIC AND MOSAIC

The 1901 wall depict 9 separate stories and the 2001 wall tells another 8 stories of both ordinary and famous people who have connections with our district. Their tales are told in pictures and words with my hand-made ceramic tiles surrounded by mosaic and the words which has been etched on aluminium plaque.

THE ART OF A SENIOR CITIZEN

As the Australian Government announced recently that they are going to pay employers a bonus for hiring and retaining older workers I thought this artwork of Mrs. Clare Bowers was topical for my blog this week. (More on Clare later).

The plan is to pay a $1000 bonus to employers that recruit workers aged 50 years or over for more than three months and the government are also extending programs that provide support to employers who promote older workers and will put more funds toward career advice services and also education for mature workers.

I am one of these people that think that age is just a state of mind and the thought that there is that age discrimination in the workplace is just ridiculous. A good mix of young and old and people from all different cultures and ways of life is the key. You need young people who can look at a task or problem with fresh eyes and ideas and also the older person with life experience and some mileage under their belt to provide a balance in most work areas.

That said my first occupation as a Fashion Model was a very youth oriented profession, although I have looked on with amusement as there has been quite a movement there too into the older woman who still looks great. To me it does make a lot of sense to have the clothes that are aimed at the more mature bracket modelled by the women that are actually going to wear them.

THE ART OF STAYING YOUNG

From my observation it all started by Lauren Hutton being retained by Revlon during the 80’s and 90’s and then followed by the likes of Elle MacPherson, Christie Brinkley and Jerry Hall. In the last couple of years the Couger trend has really caught on and the oldest model rumoured to be hitting the catwalk is Carmen Dell’Orefice who at 79 still looks fantastic (with a little help I presume).

Mia Freedman from Mama Mia said recently “ As far as I can tell, there are only two ages for female celebrities: Dame Judi Dench and 30. At Dame Judi’s end, it’s pretty lonely. Just her and Betty White. At the other end, it’s gridlock with everyone from Courtney Cox, 47, to Lindsay Lohan, 26, visually colliding at the age of 30.

This is weird. Especially when – like me – you fall into the twilight zone between 30 and Betty White.”

Mia does have a point and she is not suggesting that we stop dying our hair, fight wrinkles and go without makeup but she does go on to say that there is a time when you go from looking amazing for your age to looking a little weird and then seriously weird, lol.

These days the designers in New York and Paris are getting on the band wagon and hiring the older birds, much to the audiences delight who laughed, clapped and chatted throughout the shows which is not always the norm at these events.

THE ART OF AGING GRACEFULLY OR NOT

What has made me cross in the last couple of months though is the flack that both Demi Moore and Madonna have been getting from some reporters. In this day and age when so many of us are careful about what we eat and stay fit and healthy. Why shouldn’t Madonna be up there on stage for the release of her new album, dancing as if her pants were on fire! She is probably fitter now than ever, looks great and sounds great. Maybe there is something in the saying; “ that you are only as old as the man you feel.”

Madonna had the last laugh though as her album has shot up the hits list and went straight to number one. MDNA is Madonnas 12^th album to top the chart, beating Elvis Presley’s record which stands at 11. So obviously she still resonates with both the young and the older demographic. Demi Moores story on the other hand has been a little sad as we have watched her desperate attempt to keep up with her daughter and her young friends through a haze of alcohol and drugs after her very public breakup from her much younger man.

I would be the last person to cast a stone her way as I still love to party – if there is music playing I will still dance till the sun comes up and partake in a drink or two.

THE ART OF GROWING UP

Chili Davis quote “Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional”, which brings me back to this Centenary of Federation Sculpture and Clare Bowers.

When Clare was eighty years old she was most interested to see the silos being built in her home town of Balaklava. So on one of her shopping trips she asked one of the builders if it was possible to go to the top of the silo. The arrangements were made and at 5pm on the allotted day the residents to the local old folks home where Clare lived, were ushered outside to a prime viewing spot on the footpath. They were all very surprised to see Clare hoisted to the top of the silo in a safety cage.

Clare certainly had a zest for life and at the age of eighty-seven she again soared to great heights, this time as the eldest passenger of the Balaklava Gliding Club.

I think these quote fits well here the first one by Judith Regan;

“The key to successful aging is to pay as little attention to it as possible”

And the second from Henry David Thoreau who said;

“None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm”.

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and staying alive to you all,

Love Marie xxxx (c)

128 Sculpture and Women

mariejon — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 02:07:01 +0000

PUBLIC SCULPTURE

These 2 images are from the” Centenary of Federation Gateway” sculpture which I was commissioned to design and make by the Wakefield Regional Council and took some 18 months to complete. The whole town came on board and helped and we had art workshops both in schools and other locations. These panels stand in the middle of the door way on each side of the “house” and I was assisted in making them by Emily Brown and Jessica Wood, two high school students and Janette Hancock. Here is a little more about this amazing project- 109 Stories behind the Wall and 121 Volunteers our Backbone

The sculpture was officially opened on the 23^rd November 2001 by Neil Andrew MP, Member for Wakefield following a community celebration in Balaklava, South Australia. The Centenary of Federation Gateway stands proudly as you enter into the township and is believed to be the largest Naive Sculpture in the Southern Hemisphere spanning 44 meters across. The idea is that the whole sculpture looks like a Federation house, complete with roof and a veranda. So in the center are two six meter by three and a half meter walls, located at 22.2 degree angle to each other which are rendered to look like sandstone with red brick quoins on the corners and around the doors.

One wall represents 1901 and the other 2001. In the 1901 doorway we see the back of a life-size woman, made from hand-made ceramic tiles and mosaic, strutting through the door in all her finery, long dress, hat and umbrella in hand. Through the 2001 doorway, she emerges as the modern woman, complete with short skirt, sunglasses and a mobile phone.

ART AND WOMEN

My idea was of course to reflect the changes that our society has undergone in the last 100 years, but more particularly how much life has changed for women.

Women’s Suffrage is the right for women to both vote and run for office and the movement originated in France in the late 1700s’ and just think how brave and strong they had to be in those days to stand up for their rights in such a man’s world. They actually used pretty strong tactics too with throwing small bombs, setting fire to letterboxes, chaining themselves to fences and smashing windows. What they wanted was just a “say” about how the country was run without any restrictions, not to depend on whether the woman was married or worked and paid tax or owned property or land, as that was sometimes the case.

Shortly after Federation the government in Australia passed the act which allowed women to both vote and stand for federal election which then happened in 1903. This was the case only for white women unfortunately, as the aboriginal women had to wait nearly another 60 years for that right, until 1962. Australia was the first country to allow women to run for parliament, and now we finally have our first woman Prime minister, oh well Rome wasn’t built in a day!

ART AND THE WAR

Things changed again during the First World War when all the blokes went off to fight and the jobs they left behind still had to be done, so women rolled up their sleeves and went to work in a paid capacity and found out that in most cases they actually liked it! So much so that when the blokes returned from war there were quite a few unhappy households I’d imagine.

Little by little the women chipped away at their cause and when World War 2 broke out and such a lot of men went to war the Australian women had to take over their jobs to keep the society going. They also founded an Australian Women’s Land Army to work on farms where there were no men left. By this stage thousands of women nurses also served overseas, some were taken as prisoners and 71 were killed while on duty.

By now the women could prove that they were able to do the same jobs as the men and some were very reluctant to be pushed out of the workforce when the men returned. Many did stay on and work although the pay for women was still a long way of equal.

Both making this sculpture and then writing about it has been a fantastic journey for an artist, with many more artworks and paintings and art-blogs to come.

It wasn’t until the 1960’s that equality came to the bedroom with the availability of the PILL. Now suddenly women could have the same sexual freedom as the men without fearing an unwanted pregnancy, which meant women could choose whether to have a relationship or a career.

Of course they had to fight to get the pill in some cases where the Doctors refused to prescribe them on grounds of it leading to promiscuity!

So it was fine for men to be promiscuous but not women –69. Whats good for the goose is good for the gander I say! (use that link to have a look at a painting and blog on the same subject).

What followed was the Sex, Drugs and Rockn’Roll era so maybe they had a point, the free love and peace of the Flower Power Children. The miniskirts and Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton , Brigitte Bardot and Jane Fonda were the women in the news. However here in Australia women could still not go and have a drink in a bar without a man! It took 2 strong willed women who chained themselves to a bar in Brisbane to change that law.

Then of course came the outspoken Germaine Greer and her book The Female Eunuch in the 70’s and the burning of the bras in the street. In 1976 was the first Reclaim the Night protests held in Europe against violence and sexual assault. This movement spread across the world.

In 1979 the first leader of a western country was elected – the Iron Lady; Margaret Thatcher as the British Prime Minister and later Benazir Bhutto became the first woman to be elected as the Prime Minister in Pakistan, the first woman to be elected to lead a Muslim country.

In anycase we have come a long way and us women living now have a lot to be thankful for and owe a great debt to the women who paved the way for us.

I have to say in all this that all the men that I have known without exception have been lovely and I have been lucky to grow up in an era where I have been able to follow my dreams without restrictions. Here is a blog about the other side of the coin – 31. Men I Salute you (continuing Melbourne tales).

I think this quote fits well here by Dwight D. Eisenhower;

“Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him”.

Till next time, happy painting and sculpting everyone!

Love Marie xxx (c)

124 The Pedal Wireless & Public Sculpture

mariejon — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 01:03:28 +0000

PUBLIC SCULPTURE

Alf Traeger, “Wiring the shed to the farm house seemed a natural step to take for an inventive ten year old boy living on a farm opposite the Dalkey cemetery. He never dreamed that these early tinkering would be so vital to a nation. By 1927 Alf Traegar had invented the pedal wireless, enabling isolated outback Australians to communicate; making the flying Doctor a reality and educating thousands of youngsters through the School of the Air.”

The above paragraph is what is written on a plaque next to this ceramic and mosaic panel which is part of the Centenary of Federation Gateway Sculpture situated in Balaklava, South Australia. If you would like to recap and see & read more about this sculpture use these links for the art blogs; “Stories behind the Wall”. & “Volunteers our backbone “

ARTISTIC VISION

According to Alf Traeger’s stepdaughter Glenda Shepherd who still lives in Balaklava where Alf grew up, after moving there from Victoria. He was very interested from an early age in anything mechanical and surprised the whole family by building a telephone line from his house to a shed on the property some fifty meters away, at that time 1907 he was only twelve. He had used a pitchfork as a magnet for the telephone, the diaphragms were the tops of tobacco tins and to make the microphone carbon granules he used pieces of charcoal from the stove. Alf went on to do a mechanical & electrical engineering course and set up a small electrical business making generators and radio transmitters. In 1925 Alf met Padre John Flynn who traveled extensively in the outback of Australia and his dream was to be able to bring medical help where ever it was needed. His vision was a communication system that would be able to bring “Flying Doctors” to the outback. So Alf started working on this idea and after thee years of experimenting Alf was able to produce the “Pedal Wireless”.

PEDDLING ARTIST

I was actually very fortunate to have tried out this contraption myself many years ago. You see very close friends of ours Bill & Lorna Wilson who at one stage were the largest landowners in the Southern Hemisphere had the “Pedal Wireless” both at Frome Downs Station and Werocata in Balaklava. The original one was battery driven but that proved costly and unreliable so therefore the pedals from a bicycle was added. So you could sit on this contraption and peddle with the legs and the hands could tap out the message by Morse code. Alf set up a “mother station” in Cloncurry and then installed 6 smaller “baby sets” in cattle stations and at Birdsville Hospital. The first message was from Augustus Downs station some 300 km away but the “pedal wireless” could send and receive messages at least 800 km away.

As the Morse code was a bit tedious Alf designed a keyboard in 1931 and later it was replaced by voice. Now the isolated people of the outback were able to reach out for help and receive a diagnosis to their ailments and immediate instruction in first aid if that was needed.

THE ART OF THE FLYING DOCTOR

From this initiative Alf was able to help John Flynn with the first Flying Doctor service called Aerial Medical Service which started in 1928 came into its own with the “pedal wireless” in 1929 and slowly found its feet. Qantas supplied them with their first aircraft and in 1942 the service changed its name to the Flying Doctors Service, later on in 1955 added the Royal to the name; Royal Flying Doctors Service.

The “Pedal Wireless” also was instrumental in facilitating the long distance learning the kids of the outback enjoyed with School of the Air which started in 1951. This meant that the school age children did not have to go away to boarding school but could be taught by teachers from far away.

So thank you very much Alfred Traeger, you did good!

So here is a quote I think fits well here by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg;

“Everyone is a genius at least once a year. The real geniuses simply have their bright Ideas closer together”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxx (c)

109 Stories behind the Wall – Public Sculpture

mariejon — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 06:19:56 +0000

PUBLIC SCULPTURE

These images are from “The Centenary of Federation Gateway” sculpture which was commissioned by the Wakefield Regional Council and took some 18 months to complete. It started as a seed planted by Dale Gathercole and grew into an amazing community project.

Prior to this I had been awarded a mentor-ship grant jointly by the Australia Council, Arts S.A. and the South Australian Arts Trust (Country Arts SA) in 1999 to pursue the idea of turning my colorful naive paintings into public sculptures. My mentor was artist Andrew Stock and the idea was to explore the ideas surrounding the use of colorful mosaics and combining that with clay (ceramic) figures.

As the Centenary of Federation celebrations date was looming Dale, the Headmaster at Balaklava Primary School, thought it would be a great idea to mark that in some way in our community with a permanent landmark. As a friend and a fan of my work, she had watched me transform my art from canvas to sculpture and approached me with the idea of doing a public sculpture.

PLANNING A PUBLIC SCULPTURE

This then led to letting my imagination soar and conceptualizing, developing and planning ideas whereby my husband Bryan’s knowledge as a former builder and draughtsman was invaluable. Robert Veitch from the Wakefield Council was then approached and after presenting drafts, models and detailed budget requirements he whole heartily endorsed the idea and got the council behind it. The project was also helped along the way by Dale’s tenacity of chasing grants, and as a result we received several grants by the Centenary of Federation Committee & Country Arts SA & Veterans Affairs as well as many hundreds of “in kind hours” generously donated by the whole town.

THE CENTENARY OF FEDERATION GATEWAY PUBLIC SCULPTURE

The sculpture was officially opened on the 23^rd November 2001 by Neil Andrew MP, Member for Wakefield following a community celebration in Balaklava, South Australia. The Centenary of Federation Gateway stands proudly as you enter into the township and is believed to be the largest Naive Sculpture in the Southern Hemisphere spanning 44 meters across. The idea is that the whole sculpture looks like a Federation house, complete with roof and a veranda. So in the center are two six meter by three and a half meter walls, located at 22.2 degree angle to each other which are rendered to look like sandstone with red brick quoins on the corners and around the doors.

CERAMIC AND MOSAIC

The 1901 wall depict 9 separate stories and the 2001 wall tells another 8 stories of both ordinary and famous people who have connections with our district. Their tales are told in pictures and words with my hand-made ceramic tiles surrounded by mosaic and the words by Dale which has been etched on aluminium plaques. These are rendered into the wall to allow the sandstone to surround each story. Dale who was the Project co-ordinator also compiled the book “Stories behind the wall” which was also launched on the same day by John Meier MP, Member for Goyder. (Which I have used to jog my memory on the events too!)

There are of course many stories to tell you about the making of this project and I will do that as time goes on I promise! Use this link if you want to see some of my other Public Sculptures.

Here is a quote I like that fits well here by Daniella Kessler,

“You can do anything if you put your mind to it… and you will succeed when you put your heart into it.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxx (c)

77 Book stack water feature Sculpture

mariejon — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 01:22:46 +0000

PUBLIC SCULPTURE

This water feature sculpture is one I was commissioned to do for the Balaklava Library (mid-north in South Australia), a few years ago. I had of course lots of fun designing this sculpture and as I love both the water and books, so it was no stretch. It is made from hebel and handmade ceramic and mosaic and took hours and hours to complete.

SCULPTURE GARDEN

The mural, water feature sculpture and garden were created in memory of Des Ross in recognition of his service to the local area as well as Australia. Des was both the President of the Local Government Association as well as the Australian Local Government Assoc., and a board room in Canberra is named “The Des Ross Room” in his honor. I will tell you more about him another time when I talk about the mural which accompanied this sculpture.

ART AND LOVE OF WATER

My love for the water started early in Sweden when I as a little girl where I used attend “learn to swim” during the summer months and would spend all my available time in the water at Lake Malaren which is the third largest lake in Sweden. When I think about it I was also rather fond of the yummy freshly baked bun all the children were supplied with (less so of the lukewarm milk that went with it, yuck!)

SWIMMING & PAINTING

When my own children here in Australia went to primary school and I occasionally helped out with the schools swim lessons it was suggested that I may want to get paid as well. So I went and did the AustSwim course and got my accreditation. It was a fantastic way of spending some extra time with my kids and also getting out of the art studio, mixing with people and getting paid at the same time. The swim teachings grew into 12 weeks of the year and as the hours were 9-3pm I could still get quite a few hours done in the art studio when I got home. Leading up to exhibitions etc I would even take the paintings to the pool and paint during my lunch time to keep up.

I really enjoyed the company of the other instructors and also found it very satisfying to see the children gain confidence in the water and eventually learn to swim. My only beef was sometimes when the weather was freezing and we had to spend every lesson in the water, thank god for wet suits I say. I think that perhaps that is why quite a lot of swimming instructors have a bit of shall we say- extra padding on their bones. I would look at them with envy as they frolicked in the water whilst my lips were turning blue, lol.

So it was a combination of the cold and the following tale that made me apply for the Instructor in Charge job, where I would be spending more time doing the admin work than in the water.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

We had a lot of special needs children at the school with various problems and one of them I will call ‘Neville’ who was 16 years old and a big guy with Down’s Syndrome whose party trick was to run out of the changing rooms starkers to the delight and amusement of the other kids who thought it was so funny to see us instructors trying to get him to go back and put his pants on.

Then it was the time when I was in the water and trying to teach him how to swim. We were playing a shark game – I was chasing him and being the shark, we had lots of fun and were both squealing in delight. However the tables turned when it was his turn to play shark and he took it absolutely seriously and I nearly drowned in the process. Lucky for me another instructor noticed the “shark attack” and stopped him. Lesson learned, Neville just did not realize his own strength, lol.

So here is a thought for all of us from Ramakrishna (mystic) which I like,

“Live like a mud-fish: its skin is bright and shiny even though it lives in the mud.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting,

Love Marie xxx (c)

If you would like to see some art blogs about other Public Sculptures here are some links;109 Stories behind the Wall and121 Volunteers our Backbone and 128 Sculpture and Women

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES. Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

67. One Amazing Woman & Art

mariejon — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 03:28:40 +0000

PUBLIC SCULPTURE

This artwork “Community Spirit” made from handmade ceramic and mosaic is part of a public sculpture called the Federation Gateway Sculpture at the entrance to Balaklava a town in the Mid North, South Australia, here is a link if you want to take a look 109 Stories behind the Wall. However this story is about the running lady in white on the left hand side holding the torch. As an artist you never know where the next idea for an artwork comes from and that makes my profession especially fun.

OVERCOMING DISABILITY & ART

Christina Angus is her name and she never ceases to amaze me because there is nothing that she cannot do, Christina is one of these “can do” people, whatever you ask her to do, she will fix it, do it and sort it. There is no mountain too high and no river too deep for her, no siree! Well that’s not that unusual you may say; there are lots of amazing women out there doing lots of stuff. Yes and I agree so there is; however this amazing woman is legally blind and has only got 6% sight in one eye and nothing, zilch, nada in the other. If you think that’s going to stop her from getting on with it, you have another thing coming.

THE ART OF THE TORCH

So let me tell you about her list of achievements which just continue to grow as we speak and a list too long to describe here. Let’s start with the Olympic Torch Relay depicted in my artwork, here she was chosen as an outstanding Community member for the Sydney 2000 Olympic summer games, to run part of the leg when the torch made its way through the Clare region in SA, cheered on by hundreds of local supporters.

THE ART OF KOKODA

Then it was time to do the Kokoda track as part of a fundraiser for her employer the Guide Dogs SA&NT. She was joined by Cosi from Triple M and 14 other Australians and the whole thing was made into a documentary for Chanel 9 by Troy Gray. The Kokoda track is one of the most challenging treks in the world and spans 96km between the northern and southern coast of Papua New Guinea. Many soldiers lost their lives there during the war fighting the Japanese and the unforgiving Kokoda trail has also claimed 8 Australian lives trekking in peace time.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

In 2010 Christina set off for Italy and trekking through the Dolomites followed by Cinque Terre where she and her husband took the walking trail between the 5 villages on the on the rugged coast of the Italian Riviera called Sentiero Azzurro. Not to mention she has also climbed both Uluru on 4 separate occasions as well as the Kings Canyon.

At Christmas time this year Christina could be found 75 meters up a Karri tree in Pemberton in Western Australia, climbing up on metal spikes fastened into the tree trunk with no safety net. I have to point out she has to feel her way as she cannot even see her feet.

THE ART OF THE BIKE

If that wasn’t enough, Christina as the “stoker” and Andy Griffiths as the “pilot” just finished the Tour Down Under section called The Mutual Community Challenge and rode the 135km from Norwood – Strathalbyn on a tandem bike reaching speeds of 60km an hour. Move on over Lance Armstrong she is catching up!

THE ART OF HAVING A GOOD TIME

So I shouldn’t have been surprised when she jumped up on the one meter high and 50cm wide marble bar at her 50th birthday party held at The Banque and did a crazy go- go girl routine should I? The only problem being she threw the gauntlet and I, her best friend had to follow, right? Much to the horror of the bar staff who saw an accident waiting to happen (well we are talking past midnight and let’s just say I at least, was a little bit happy) but all is well that ends well and you only live once!

I think the following quote fits rather nicely here said by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all.

ps. Here is another art blog about Christina s resent adventures in Italy if you fancy a look 155 The Art of Packing Light

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES. Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

48. Art in a Surprise Package

mariejon — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 03:34:49 +0000

THE ART OF FRIENDSHIP

You know sometimes you meet people and you just love them right away and wonder why you just haven’t been friends forever such inspirational people both for paintings and art blogs and life in general.

That has just happened to me-I have just met a couple of new friends, I guess the only unusual thing is that these two new friends are quite a bit older than me- so if you ever think age is a barrier to friendship you may have to think again. In the future this painting or any others I do of the older generation will have to depict them doing much more interesting things than knitting!

I will tell you about Helen first, she was introduced as the mad cousin of a photographer friend of mine. Helen told me she likes a chardonnay or two and that she doesn’t do mornings and then proceeded to have me in stitches telling me not to be surprised if she dances on the bonnet (hood) of the car by the end of the night, as that has been known to happen!

THE ART OF AGING

Not unusual you say- well maybe just a touch if you are 81 years old! My husband Bryan was sitting next to Helen and opposite me for dinner, and the whole time he was crying with laughter and had tears rolling down his face as this gorgeous and vivacious woman told her tales and entertained us all night long.

Making us laugh about birth, death and everything in between. One such story was this one:

Helen had promised to take her rather new 95 year old friend out for her birthday. The lady in question was in a nursing home and did not get out much. Helen had been very busy with this and that and had not got around to cleaning out her car, however just before she was due to pick her friend up she had the guilts about that and got the vacuum cleaner and car polish out and made the car shine.

THE ART OF DOING THE RIGHT THING

She had set the table like a 95 year old would appreciate with nice crockery and doilies and flowers and the like, and then set off to the nursing home to pick her up.

When she got there her friend was sitting in her room in the wheelchair all dressed in her fineries with a hat on her head looking like she was asleep, and the nurse told Helen to just wake her up and get going. However that was easier said than done as the lady in question was really quite dead, stiff in fact. However that did not seem to register with the nurse who started to call in her walkey talkey and asking for the oxygen to be brought in, as Helen tells it- that might have helped an hour ago but it wasn’t going to make any difference now. LOL

Helen stayed around and called the next of kin (although she did not know them or the lady that had died terribly well) However she did the right thing and helped with what she could. Anyway a few days later this woman’s two daughters appeared on the doorstep of Helen’s house and Thanked her ever so much for everything and said that they had some things of her mother’s that they would like Helen to keep as a thank you.

MORE ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

Helen told them there was really no need as she did not want for anything and she thought the girls should keep all the possessions for themselves. But they insisted and said they could not think of anyone else who were more deserving of this small inheritance. Helen did not know how she could contain her laughter when they finally revealed their gifts to her; they were a Mega pack of Steradent ( a type of false teeth cleaning tablet) and a MEGA pack of incontinence pads!

Helen graciously thanked them very much before they left, never revealing her true feelings, lol, she may be 81, she knows that, but for goodness sake she needed neither. She said she uses the Steradent to clean out her red wine decanters and they do a very good job of that, and she thinks she may have to use the incontinence pads to take of her makeup with.

Another art blog featuring a Public Sculpture that I made on the topic of living life to the fullest no matter what your age is this one;132 Age is just a state of mind

I so wish I had met her earlier and also met her late husband Stan, apparently he was a character too. He loved his garden and would go out and water his flowers and plants every morning-in the nude-mind you, well maybe not completely as he always wore a hat and tie, but nothing else. What a sight for sore eyes.

So I keep telling myself do not judge a book by its cover, you never know what treasures you may find inside.

I feel sure this quote is one that Helen does not live by, lol as said in jest (I’m sure) by Janeane Garofalo.

“The glass is always half empty. And cracked. And I just cut my lip on it. And chipped a tooth”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all!

Love Marie xx