SCAP winner Miles Hall with Caloundra Regional Gallery Director, John Waldron following the announcement of the $15,000 prize for Pine Lime (Splice).

BRISBANE-BASED artist, Miles Hall is the winner of the fifth annual Sunshine Coast Art Prize. Miles is the son of Maleny residents Les and Rae Hall. Miles has won a $15,000 cash prize and four weeks workshop residency at Arley Farm in Maleny. The winning painting is an abstract called Splice (Pine Lime).

This year’s judge, well-known art critic and weekly columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald, John McDonald commented on the distinguished contribution SCAP was making to the national art calendar.

Highly Commended was Catherine O’Donnell’s Civic Centre. Catherine is from Sydney.

“Australia has a fatal attraction to art prizes, from the Archibald to the local fete”, said John at the Caloundra Regional Gallery. “By avoiding an obvious theme such as portraiture or still life, the prize leaves the door open to many different styles and genres in a range of media.”

While announcing the winner at the Caloundra Regional Gallery on August 26, John said, “Splice (Pine Lime), is essentially an abstract picture that generates a range of pictorial tensions. We see the work at first as a kind of landscape, depicting tangled undergrowth or a reflection in water. The severe green line across the bottom of the work creates a jarring contrast, bringing us back to the formal issues of line versus plane, depth as opposed to flatness. It’s an edgy, speculative affair that never aspires to perfection, but that’s part of the appeal.”

Commended was Vicki Hersi’s abstract painting, Still Life Objects.

Catherine O’Donnell’s Civic Centre was given the highly commended award.

John McDonald commented that, “Few will fail to be impressed by the artist’s painstaking mastery of charcoal, and her careful delineation of a piece of urban geometry that would make even Jeffrey Smart think twice,” said Mr McDonald.

The 2010 SCAP exhibition at the Caloundra Regional Gallery showcases the work of all 40 finalists. It is open until 3 October.

All works are for sale and entry to the gallery is free. If you would like to place your vote for the People’s Choice award you can do so either online at www.scap.org.au or at the gallery.

Cheryle Penrose demonstrating polymer clay & bead making techniques at her jewellery store at Artists on the Green, Montville.

MONTVILLE-BASED creative group, Arts Connect Inc. have received Council approval to stage monthly art events on the Montville Village Green. Having been trialled over the last year Artists on the Green will now be held on the second Saturday of each month from 8.30 am to 3pm. A diverse range of local artists will demonstrate and sell their work under colourful canopies in the heart of Montville.

Visitors will find potters, painters, jewellers, sculptors happy to demonstrate and talk about their work. Joined by doll makers, textile artists, illustrators, leather workers and even a scrimshaw worker, an interesting variety of genuine local art can be found at Artists on the Green.

The Village Green is part of the Montville Heritage Precinct found at the top of town alongside St Mary’s Church and the Village Hall.

The same Saturday each month a local produce market is run in the Village Hall where visitors can purchase farm fresh food, locally made breads and cheeses, condiments, plants and lots more. As a fundraiser to support the Montville Hall and Sports Ground residents serve yummy pancakes and Montville coffee from 7.30am and organic BBQ sausages for lunch.

The Montville Chamber of Commerce has co-ordinated a program of buskers each Saturday bringing together a wonderful show of cooperation within the Village.
All enquiries to president@artsconnectinc.com.au

Local boys create butterflies to complement the Mary Cairncross Birdwing Butterfly Walk

Art4place is an exciting new community-based arts enterprise that wants to see more art in public places on the Hinterland. The concept not only brightens our built environment but helps give people a sense of belonging to the community.

Art4place is working with artists, community groups, businesses and all levels of government to highlight art that is already in public places and to stimulate the creation of more public art on our streets.

The recent Festival of the Walks gave the group the opportunity to showcase their aims when the Hinterland Business Centre and Hinterland Tourism created a walking art trail around Maleny.

A giant Birdwing Butterfly creates a good impression

The group also collaborated with Arts Connect to set up arts activities at Mary Cairncross Park and Kondallilla Falls during the Festival. They also helped organise the street party and launch of the Montville art and heritage trail at Russell Family Park in Montville.
Some of the key public art installations in Maleny include Janna Pameijer’s herd of cows beside the Obi Obi bridge, The Obi Pathway Kirsten Cash’s salute to the Obi Obi creek’s lush, rich habitats and diversity, Craig Medson and Fiona McCarron’s Community Centre Pavement featuring Australian fauna icons of platypus, echidna and giant barred frog, and A Sense of Place – six panels and words outside the Hinterland Business Centre  encapsulating the relationship of the Range community to the land.

If you are interested in helping create new placemaking art contact: www.art4place.blogspot.com or Ph: 5499 9911.

McReady speaks, and the other two jerk like stringed puppets to a semblance of attention. The panel is ready.

‘I’d like to welcome you to the interview, ‘McReady refers to the page in front of him, ‘Miss …er…Maynor.’

I open my mouth to thank him, but he drones on.

‘This interview may be recorded for training purposes. Part of our dedication to improving core competencies, and our expectation of 110 percent loyalty from staff. We like to employ people we feel will be operating from the same page.’

He pauses to glare at Jones, whose attention has been captured by the window again. ‘ We don’t want to foster ‘she’ll be right’ attitudes, we want employees to lead by example, to be ready to face a bit of a challenge.’

He takes a deep breath.

‘I’ve read the duties and requirement, Mr McReady, and I feel I do have the competencies to handle the work, and my background is in a similar field. I would only have to learn your company’s special requirements to do a really good job.’ I feel a bit hesitant, but important to show I’m entering into the interview.

‘Ah yes, Miss…er…Maynor. We do want employees who can talk the talk, and have the skills to put us in a win win situation. Put their shoulders to the wheel, so to speak, and not produce no-brainers. And having said that, even though the work is not rocket science, our prime aim is to go on moving forward,’

I smile and nod enthusiastically.

Mrs Blair focuses her attention on me.

‘We provide a service to the public, Miss Maynor, which we hope will soon be available 24/7. We are moving towards that, albeit slowly. There have been some flies in the ointment, of course, but we believe at the end of the day we will all be singing from the same song sheet.’ She glares at Jones. ‘ However, we realise the value of keeping open minds, and not ruling anything in or anything out at this point in time. Our staff will be faced with a steep learning curve as we introduce them to the new ball game. Having said that, you see, we plan to remain cutting edge in the industry.’

‘Er, yes. And you have a strategic plan?’ I am feeling a little confused.

McReady smiles at me indulgently.

‘That is our best-kept secret! We are still in the development stage, and cannot reveal our plans at this point in time. But, be assured, we are entering virgin territory, and betraying too much would be equivalent to putting a hole in our collective heads, literally. Having said that, at the end of the day, when our plans are available for public scrutiny, there will be many positive inputs for working families. Meanwhile, we are the unsung heroes, beavering away with the expectation we will swim rather than sink.’

Jones is scratching his leg under the table. He is absorbed in the task, small waves of delighted pain flit across his face as he goes scratch, scratch, scratch. I can’t take my eyes off him.

McReady regards him silently, and then continues.

‘If you get this job, Miss…er…Maynor, we expect that you will push the envelope and labour through hell and high water to get the work done. That you will take whatever action is necessary to move forward. Remembering, of course, that we are not interested in people who will upset the apple cart.’

‘Bullshit! Bullshit! Bullshit!’ Jones erupts from his torpor. ‘ Can’t anyone speak it like it is? I’ve been financing this unproductive company for the last three years, listening to this non-speak, never seeing any results. “Best kept secret!” Too right! There is no plan, there is no policy, there is no product. Just words. Well I have a new one for you. We are ‘downsizing’. There’s a word to strike fear into your useless hearts! D-O-W-N-S-I-Z-I-N-G!’

The room hangs. Like the sea drawing back before the tsunami rushes in.

I look at the three. I am irrelevant. There is no job here and there is going to be an almighty fight.

I stand up. I smile sweetly at them.

‘Enjoy the rest of your day.’ I say softly.

I walk to the door and close it gently behind me as I leave.

Angry voices follow me down the corridor and into the sunlight.

FOOD INC – (US) PG – Documentary – 94 mins

Must-see documentary for anyone who eats … The current method of raw food production is largely a response to the growth of the fast food industry since the 1950s. The production of food overall has more drastically changed since that time than the several thousand years prior. Controlled primarily by a handful of multinational corporations, the global food production business has production of large quantities of food at low direct inputs (most often subsidised) resulting in enormous profits, which in turn results in greater control of the global supply of food sources within these few companies. Health & safety are often overlooked by the companies, & are often overlooked by government in an effort to provide cheap food regardless of these negative consequences. Many changes are based on advancements in science &
technology, but often have negative side effects. The answer the companies have come up with is to throw more science at the problems to bandage issues but not the causes. The global food supply may be in crisis with lack of biodiversity, but can be changed on the demand side of the equation.

Q&A session with a panel chaired by Julie Shelton from SlowFood Sunshine Coast will follow the movie.

Saturday September 25

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO – (Sweden) MA15+ Crime/Thriller– 152 mins

After a provincial fair in Sweden, 16-year old Harriet Vanger (Ewa Froling) disappears without a trace on September 29 1966. Nearly forty years later, investigative journalist Mikael Blomqvist (Michael Nyqvist), is contacted by her uncle, Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube), who wants him to try & find out what happened to Harriet. But even as Blomqvist searches for clues into the mystery, a young hacker, Lisbeth (Noomi Rapace) is secretly searching through his own life – even hacking into his laptop & following his search. The wealthy Vanger family becomes the subject of Blomqvist’s probing & extraordinary secrets lead him & Lisbeth on a dangerous & surprising journey.

Maleny Community Centre
Maple Street, Maleny
6.00pm Dinner by Pomodoras
7.15pm Film commences
Enquiries: 5494 2882
www.malenyfilmsociety.info

This innovative picture book is comprised of two stories designed to be read  simultaneously – one from the left & one from the right.

Page by page, we experience a day in the lives of two boys – one from inner city Sydney and the other from a small village in Morocco. These worlds couldn’t be further apart, yet we see a simple truth. We see that even with very different backgrounds & experiences, all families are essentially the same. We are the mirror of each other. Jeannie Baker’s distinctive use of mixed media to create detailed & elaborate collages is stunning & unique. A selection of artwork from the book is touring around Australia & is currently on display at the Museum of Sydney.

CRUISER – MIKE CARLTON

The Vichy French and finally the Imperial Japanese Navy.

353 men lost their lives fighting the Japanese advance towards Australia after the HMAS Perth sunk. Another 328 men were taken into Japanese captivity, most to become slave labourers on the Burma-Thai railwayon which many died a horrible death. Sadly less than a third of her crew survived to return home at war’s end.

Cruiser is their story and the story of those who waited behind at home for them.

INHERITANCE – NICHOLAS SHAKESPEARE

The ultimate in ‘what if’ stories- what would you do if you inherited 17 million pounds?

The main character Andy, unwittingly walks into the wrong funeral, and walks out 17 million pounds richer, just for showing up. This is the premise for what soon changes
Andy’s world. At first it hard to  develop any empathy for the main character, but eventually Andy redeems himself by trying to find out why such a bizarre result from attending a funeral occured in the first place. Andy spans the British and Australian
continents in his search, and in the process, the character develops moral integrity that may have been lacking earlier. When it comes to dealing with the dark conflicts of the heart, Shakespeare does a great job at captivating the reader. This is a fantastic read.

Following the success of the children’s picture book From Little Things Big Things Grow the publishers, One Day Hill are launching three more books that use the strong lyrics of iconic Australian songs.

ALL THREE books have illustrations by local Hinterland artist Peter Hudson (above), whose enthusiasm and commitment to the Paul Kelly, Kev Carmody book, helped give birth to the three new titles.

The three new books are My Island Home with Neil Murray’s lyrics, Took the Children Away with words from Archie Roach and Shane Howard’s Solid Rock.

Neil Murray’s book is illustrated by the paintings of school children of the Kintore and Galiwinku communities. This is the area that inspired Neil’s song which was sung at the
closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Author Martin Flanagan who has endorsed all three books, says “White people, aboriginal people and people from  overseas sing My Island Home like it’s theirs.”

Took the Children Away is a moving indictment of the treatment of indigenous children from the Stolen Generation. Archie Roach’s song not only strikes a chord with the wider aboriginal community but it won an international Human Rights Achievement award, the first time a songwriter has received such an award.

Apart from the song lyrics, the book features the classic artwork of Archie’s late wife and soul-mate Ruby Hunter. Peter Hudson has also embellished the book with stunning landscapes of south-west Victoria, Archie’s traditional lands.

Shane Howard’s massive anthem, Solid Rock was one of the first popular songs to tackle aboriginal rights in Australia, back in 1982. Its impact across the world still inspires other songwriters. Shane’s book is illustrated by the school children from Mutujulu, near Uluru. It was here that Shane returned with Peter Hudson to gather stunning paintings from the local school children to illustrate the book. Peter’s brilliant images of Uluru and surrounding landscape place the story in the land itself.

In commenting on the impact of the three children’s books, author Martin Flanagan said, “The publisher has matched lyrics with paintings of places and experiences that the songs relate to. It’s a wonderful way of taking these songs to another generation so that they can have an understanding, both from where those songs come, and why they are so significant in our national culture.”

Peter Hudson’s powerfully raw and emotive paintings reflect his increasing connection with aboriginal lands. “It’s not just the landscape”, says Peter. “You’re not just painting a
piece of land, you’re painting the spirit of the land and the spirit of the people, and it really does come out. It’s simply our history too, and it needs to be retold.”

From Little Things Big Things Grow started out as a picture book for children but it has now been embraced by all ages. The same is likely with these three new books, combining as they do the passionate feelings of their mature authors with the naive innocence of the children’s illustrations.

All three books are being launched this month at the Brisbane Writers Festival and can be purchased at Rosetta Books in Maleny, or contact the publishers at website: www.onedayhill.com.au

Bus Stop 21 Oil

ONE OF THE advantages of growth is being able to appreciate different aspects of a subject and for an artist, life experience is invaluable. This is apparent in the works
of Kevin Oxley who has the enviable combination of honed artistic abilities, plenty to express and a genuinely different way of looking at the world. A recent move to a larger studio, heightened his awareness of his own technical and creative progression, as various artworks resurfaced. This has led to a delightful collection of works to be featured at ‘Art on Cairncross’, which Oxley has aptly titled “Ways of Seeing”.

“I hope that those who have enjoyed my highly successful exhibitions along various themes over the past few years, will enjoy seeing where a lot of those ideas and methods

Flower Study - Oil on Terylene

came from”, says Oxley.

The works encompass glorious oils and cross-hatched pencil drawings alongside fine watercolours and etchings. The subjects range from traditional landscapes expertly capturing the light to some still available works from the Quixote series, all of which
command respect and consideration. Oxley has seen many sides of life from a working class childhood on the Hay Plains through to his twenties, when having earned his living with many different jobs, he was painting and drawing as much as possible and knew he wanted to be an artist.

He applied for a visual arts course at the East Sydney Technical College, presented a

Hill Form, Blackall Range - coloured pencil

portfolio and was amazed when the interviewer essentially told him that he had already
accomplished all that the course could teach him. His ‘selfdirected’ learning continues to this day and in this collection the marvellous results will speak for themselves.

“Ways of Seeing” will be on display at ‘Art on Cairncross’, Cairncross Corner, Maleny from September 11th – 26th. The gallery is open 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Sunday and more information can be found at www.artoncairncross.com.au

KEN WENZEL was born in Brisbane in September 1930. He has called Maleny home for well over thirty years and has been a major exhibitor at the Montville Art Gallery for nearly as long.

“They’ll have to carry me away in a box,” Ken told us. “I find constant inspiration from the magnificent scenery surrounding my home and studio on the crest of the Conondale Range, but I also enjoy visiting the many magnificent beaches here on the Sunshine Coast. It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to transfer onto canvas a scene I have experienced and enjoyed.”

“No other artists capture Jacaranda and Poinciana trees quite like Ken,” said Lisa Powell, long time manager of the Montville Art Gallery.

“His realist paintings of the Glasshouse Mountains are exceptional and extremely popular with interstate and overseas visitors,” Lisa added.

Ken has had numerous battles with illness but always manages to bounce back. He is not permitted to fly so he travels extensively by car in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

“I relish the challenge of capturing the colours after a long hot summer, or the magic hues of spring, as ‘Salvation Jane’ covers the hillsides.”

In the year 2000, Ken self published a beautiful coffee table book, “The Many Facets of artist – Kenneth Wenzel”

“I felt I wanted to share my life,” Ken told us. “I did most of the writing on the beach and gradually built up the story in much the same way as I develop a painting.”

“Ken’s book has 44 colour plates of his favourite paintings showing him not only as a multi-talented artist but as an extremely competent photographer as well,” said gallery owner, Tony Page. “We are thrilled that he has agreed to be our feature artist in September to coincide with his eightieth birthday. Ken will be at the gallery on Sunday, September 12 to sign copies of his book and to chat to customers about his paintings.”

Open daily from 10am to 5pm, the Montville Art Gallery is located at 138 Main Street, Montville, opposite the Village Green.

Ken’s paintings will also be featured under “Exhibitions” on the gallery’s website: www.montvilleartgallery.com.au from September 1.

On Saturday, September 4, Canberra based DJ Gosper (left) and the Hot Flush Blues band hit the Palmwoods stage for the first time. DJ - the award winning singer and harp player – released her debut album “Hot Flush Blues” in 2009 and is set to establish a new fan base in SE Qld.

Palmwooods Got The Blues is back on Saturday September 18 with another lineup of the most popular and successful acts to ever play the pub.

Kicking the evening off at 5.30pm, Mark Easton is a fearsome exponent of the most primal of foot stomping blues. Playing 150-200 gigs a year, Mark’s certainly not the type to rest on his laurels and this Palmwoods show is set to showcase the best of Marks new material ahead of a new album release later this year.

Sydney’s Swamphouse feature Gary Lothian, Nick Churkin and special guest Jimmy B. Swamphouse play lowdown gutbucket blues and boogie. A perfect appetizer for what will follow.

When Mason Rack plays Palmwoods, excitement levels are always peeking. Mason and his crack band deliver high energy rock blues with echoes of Tom Waits, Ben Harper and the boy from Sandgate Tex Perkins. Featuring a cranked to the max Weissonborn style guitar and Mason’s paint peeling, chainsaw vocals, you’d better get in early because the only room in the house is likely to be on the stage.