Works of Art

Last weekend was another one full of local flavor. On Friday Chris and I headed to the Mt. Gambier Gold Cup horse races and met up with Cath. I was a bit worried about the weather, as the forecast called for rain. However, it turned out to be a lovely, sunny day. Perfect for a day out. I was excited to watch the Fashions on the Field competition as a spectator instead of a participant. No pressure this time! There were definitely some amazing outfits among the women, as well as some “interesting” outfits on the guys...I bet on a horse in one of the races, which ended up coming second-to-last. Ah well, I only lost $4. 

Chris and me at the Mt. Gambier Gold Cup.

 Cath and me dressed for the races.

 

The most “interestingly-dressed” entrants in the Fashions on the Field competition. Wow, paisley silk suits. Impressive. 

 

And leopard print hair.

 

So exciting!

The next day Chris and I participated in a “barrelhead to art” painting workshop that was part of the Penola Coonawarra Arts Festival. We drove to a local winery, the Bowen Estate, and joined about 15 others in the wine storage area to create our own masterpieces with wine barrelheads as our canvases. A local artist served as our instructor, and she came around to help us get started and to give pointers. We began with a glass of wine (at 10:00am) and an empty canvas and were encouraged to be creative in our paintings. It was clear to me (and I’m sure to everyone else) that I was the least experienced painter in the room. I began with one idea in mind and quickly changed it when I realized I had no idea how to go about accomplishing my first vision. So I ended up painting one of my typical “Mickey Mouse” bats, as Chris calls them, (surprise surprise) and decorating the background with splashes of paint. Chris had brought in some photos of Ghost Bats, his favorite species of bat, to work from, and he ended up with an amazing painting. One of the winery staff came around and commented that it was clear it wasn’t Chris’ first time working with a paint brush. (It wasn’t: Chris is quite a good painter.)  My painting elicited no such comment. I guess I’ll have to leave the creative stuff to Chris. Below are some photos of our work, as well as the finished pieces of some of the other participants, so you can compare and see why I felt a little out of my league: 

 With our almost-finished barrelhead paintings.

...portrait...

 ...cute dog under the moon...

 ...storm clouds over the ocean...

...my favorite of the other participants' paintings: a Willy Wagtail and its reflection...

...Chris' Ghost Bat...

...and finally mine.

Despite my lack of painting skills, I had a great time creating my masterpiece. All the pieces are now on display at the winery until the end of this week as part of the art festival. When it’s over we’ll pick them up and they’ll be ours to keep. Now we just have to figure out what to do with them...

After our workshop, we headed to the Blok, another local winery, to have some of their delicious fresh scones with handmade jam. Throughout the building there are beautiful paintings of the Australian landscape painted by the owner’s brother, Wayne Trotter. When Wayne was 21 he lost his leg in a car accident and he has since used art to express himself. He sells his artwork in the winery and is about to put some pieces on display in galleries in Geelong and Melbourne. Chris and I spoke with the owner, Gary, about Wayne’s work. He told us that Wayne chooses different materials to paint on, like wood, foam board, and canvas, and that he chooses the frames for all his framed pieces. I had been eyeing a piece since Cath first took me to the winery when I got here back in September, but was hesitant to purchase it. Chris offered to go halvsies with me, so we bought it together. It now hangs in our kitchen, oddly out of place in our bunkhouse room. I can’t help but to keep looking at it and to imagine it hanging in Chris’ and my first place together. 

  The painting Chris and I bought from a local winery, titled "Drought".

Our last stop of the day was the Brand’s Laira Coonawarra winery to see an exhibit featuring artistic corsets. Some of them were quite interesting, including one that reminded me of a peacock with its blue and green colors. 

At the corset exhibit. Pretty colors!

Then we headed home along the highway lined with trees in their fall colors. For a moment I could imagine I was back home in Ohio during the fall. Oh home sweet home...

 "Security guard" outside a cafe.