Macca Art Comp

I know I've been updating this thing more than usual, but there was a long story to tell. This is the last post for a week or so while we finish off packing the cargo.

Over the past month and a bit, expeditioners have been slaving away making secret little projects. These projects were made for the Macquarie Island Art Competition where all pieces were anonymous so that voting couldn't be rigged.

The rules were simple: carve, draw, paint, photograph, perform, knit, record music or do something else and have the piece ready for the exhibition on March 31st. The only thing that we couldn't do was use materials that must remain on Macca such as stones, grasses, historical artefacts and other such things.

In the exhibition, each piece was simply given a number and we were asked to vote for our top three. 1st prize was a giant bottle opener made by the diesel mechanic (a coveted object), 2nd prize was a choice between a massage or a champagne breakfast and 3rd prize was having your room cleaned by a couple of the characters that have appeared over the year.

I'd like to say I won something, but really, I simply enjoyed making what I made. Unlike most other galleries, we were able to touch all of the works. Now tell me, can you guess which piece (or pieces) are mine?

Pretty photos of Macca

Look at all them people

Not sure that'd make such a good ice-axe ;)

Some pretty jewellery.

Multiple works here: A wooden vase, a frame in the shape of an albatross and wooden swirly sculptures

Wooden axe anyone? Another sculpture and more jewellery on the table to the left and right of the woman

A posy of cosies

Sketches galore!

A very pretty photo of seaweed

More drawings

There's those bracelets that were next to the carved woman in the photo above

Fly sooties, fly!

Watercolours galore

See the photo projected on the wall? That's a series of bums from all the animals of Macca

Nancye made herself into an exhibit with all this rope, brilliant!

The only clock we need

In case you're confused, the frame was in the competition

Same goes for this frame and there's more jewellery over on the right *ahem* left

There were two lamps made from washed up buoys, great idea.

Very pretty metalwork.

A few different pieces here: 1. Tassie Devil photos; 2. a doctored photo of Wally; 3. Someone's first ever painting (which was a favourite for all); 4. Four photos of the station looking down from North Head; and 5. a series of watercolours.

Das Boot! Yes, there's a surfboard on station. Sadly the tip has been broken off.

A closer look at more wooden jewellery and some one handed bottle openers above.

Hopefully something similar can be continued next year, perhaps simply an art show instead of a competition?