ASV News & Forthcoming Exhibitions

Welcome to Our New Member:
Kathryn Portelli

Castlemaine Exhibition

Barry Weymyss, ‘Yama-ni’ (Red gum, brass and mild steel)
work seen in the foreground
Neil Tait, ‘Incline’ 2009 (mild steel)
work seen in the background.

Diane Thompson, ‘What’s in a name’,
winner of the Castlemaine exhibition. (Steel,
stainless steel vegetable steamers, wood)

Paul Smits, ‘Stagnation’ (polyester)
Photograph: courtesy of Mark Cowie

ASV members, Catherine and Neil Tait generously opened their property and garden alongside their business at their rural bush setting in Muckelford, approximately ten minutes from the centre of Castlemaine for the ASV sculpture exhibition. The exhibition was held during the highly-successful and well-attended Castlemaine State Festival in early April 2011. Over 50,000 people attended this year’s State Festival, and many hundreds attended and viewed the sculpture exhibition during the ten days.
Twelve sculptors exhibited 25 works, in a variety of media, including: bronze, mild steel, limestone, wood, and corten steel. All works showed a high-level of conceptual development, coupled with technical expertise in composing works utilising a range of materials.
The Taits very kindly donated $500 toward the prizemoney. Danielle Johnson from Training for Work and the Victorian Training Group generously sponsored the remaining $1000 prize-money. ASV is very appreciative of the support of these sponsors for this inaugural exhibition and competition.
In judging the exhibition, Anthony Conway Acting Head of Visual Arts and Design at La Trobe University (Bendigo), was very complimentary of the range and style of work on display. He awarded Diane Thompson fi rst prize of $1500 for her work, ‘What is in a name’, stating, “The lovely re-cycling of steamer baskets interplays with the utilitarian use of objects and their subsequent repositioning, which, in turn, creates a work of intrigue and beauty. The work also has good height and is uplifting.”
Michael Meszaros also kindly donated his time and gave an informative presentation about the Association to the audience at the opening.The exhibition, curated by Mark Cowie, sold three works.

 

ASV Executive Committee Meeting
6 April 2011.
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT MATTERS

Janice McCarthy has resigned from the position of trainer for the new web site, due to family reasons. The Committee expressed their appreciation and sympathy for the illness in her family.
John Ride is away from the end of July to mid-October, and an assistant is sought for the Treasury role during this period.
The Committee accepted the Treasurer’s Report, including Accounts for Payment and Profit Statement Year to Date.
The Light Gallery, Eltham, was secured as a venue for the ASV Annual Exhibition.
The Committee received Mark Cowie’s report on the MIFGS Exhibition, and noted that it included 71 exhibits, and sales were $20,000 (8 pieces). Action concerning ASV members who did not turn up to sit their turn at the Exhibition was discussed, and it was agreed that sitters are important to sales.
Progress on the Website was discussed. A shortage of member expertise in the area was noted. The Committee agreed to delegate management of changes to Geoff, Jenny and Marija. Alberto would be asked to quote for changes which are not included in the original brief, and the Committee would then consider them.
A proposal to merge activities of ASV with Contemporary Sculptors Association (CSA) was considered and it was agreed that the President write to the CSA inviting a meeting to discuss the possibility of a merger.
Geoff reported an approach from the Victorian Artists Society to explore the benefits of sharing exhibition opportunities, and it was agreed that he follow up.
The ASV AGM was discussed and 13 July was agreed, due to the absence of the Treasurer from late July to October. Committee members indicated agreement to stand again next year. The Committee agreed that in future Exhibition Co-ordinators should pay no entry fees and no commission on sales of their own works, in recognition of the considerable amount of time and effort involved in running exhibitions. It was also agreed that a coordinators can be shown as curators on the ASV website.

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Do not miss out on our great Society Activities...
Hi all members, I have not had time to organise activities of interest for our monthly meetings due to a busy schedule and am not going to continue that role this year, but somehow I’m still here.... Any volunteers? In the meantime the following things have been organised:
10th AUGUST - we are going to visit the Bayside Sculpture Studios. This should prove to be a very informative and interesting evening. Many of our members belong to this group.
9th SEPTEMBER - we will meet at our rooms where Geoffrey Ricardo will come and tell us about his work. I will tell you more a little closer to the date.
In the meantime if anyone has any ideas about activities or has a studio that would be interesting to visit please let me know.
Also let me know if anyone is interested in taking on this Job .....

Gillian Govan

 

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MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR NEEDED

Are you interested in becoming more involved in the Association? There is a great opportunity to work with the Membership Secretary for a couple of months to learn about how the Membership data is kept up to date, how to use Excel to output records, and produce Membership Renewal forms. You will also become more aware of the workings of the ASV website. Please contact Kay Salehi on 9808 4056 or send her an email on kays27@tpg.com if you are interested. Hope to hear from an interested member soon.