Sculptures in the Garden

We had a lovely day out on the Saturday before the Bathurst car races - about two weeks ago.

We had heard on the radio about Sculptures in the Garden at Mudgee.  Apparently when the owner of Rosby Wines attended art classes in Sydney some years ago her class mates lamented the lack of opportunity to exhibit their works, and she suggested they could use her garden.  The rest, as they say, is history.

We started our day by visiting the local markets in Mudgee and having a coffee in the local brewery.  All very civilised.

We weren't sure what to expect at the sculptures, and were pleasantly surprised to see the car park absolutely packed.

Mick was intrigued by this sheep constructed from chairs used in concrete slabs.

The vege garden contained several smaller works.

This little bunny was one of my favourites.  See the red dot.  Well, we arrived at about 11 o'clock and a heck of a lot of the works were already sold, which is wonderful for the artists.

This echidna would be welcome addition to any garden.

The guinea fowl would be very low maintenance.  The chicken wire used to create them is perfect, giving a very good representation of their speckled feathers.

There were quite a few of these aggies dotted around the garden, also made from concrete slab chairs.  They would be a lovely addition to a garden, extending the flowering season all through the year.  The water feature in the background was rather tasty too.

I loved this little flock of chooks.  Very low maintenance.  I must say that the way the sculptures were positioned throughout the garden was very well thought out.

The historic homestead was a lovely backdrop.

The verandah was another display area.

Isn't this so effective.

Back out in the garden there were sculptures of all types.  Some were very impressive and on a large scale.

While others were simpler.  These rowers were one of Mick's favourites.  We were talking to the artist and this was the first time he had attended.  When we left he had sold four of the six sculptures he had exhibited.  A very happy man.

This was another of his works.

There was so much work and skill in this work.

There was entertainment and if you wished, you could do some wine tasting.

I love the way this little fellow was chatting to the pigs.

What a lovely setting.  In the radio interview the owner of the garden said the outlook was just paddocks of dead grass rather than the ocean or anything more dramatic and that she had emptied their dam trying to keep the garden green.  She did a lovely job and the dry paddocks were somewhat dramatic.  It really was a delightful backdrop.

As we kept on our wander we saw these clever wooden horses, which looked great in front of the fence and paddock.  It turns out they were made by year 5 and 6 children.

We entered the next small paddock past the red door to find a whole different section.

There was a whole section of works created by the local school and preschool kids.  It was so bright and colourful, with lots of kids enjoying them.

All funds raised on the day go to the Guide Dogs, who brought along some pups for the kids to meet.  By the way, it only cost $5 to go along to the exhibition, which we thought was very reasonable.

Back to the grown up sculptures.

He tried, but he didn't manage to push it over.

Mick is always intrigued by gadgets, so this sculpture with moving parts caught his attention.

By now it was time for lunch, so we found the stall selling lovely fresh Thai salads, once again all funds going to the guide dogs.  The pelicans were our companions sitting under a shady tree.  They were very well behaved.

Behind them, in the pond was the only sort of shark I want to be this close to.

There were quite a few heritage buildings, creating a delightful background.

Birds should be very happy to find this in a garden.

So stylish.

There are some very creative people, using such a variety of materials in their art.

On our way out we came across the most expensive sculpture.

You could add the horse to your space for $46,000.00

The least expensive works were these little birds at $35.00 each.

No, we didn't purchase any sculptures for our garden, but many people did, including many items that were rather pricey.  However, one spectacular, original sculpture in a garden would really make a statement.

I hope I haven't overloaded you with photos, but we had such a lovely day and there were so much to see.  We will definitely mark the date in our calendar for next year.