IN A small country town filled with creativity, artists were given the opportunity to enter their pieces in a small sculpture exhibition to celebrate the sesquicentennial of Beaudesert.
Beaudesert and District Community Art Project (BADCAP) organised the launch of the exhibition on August 23 with it remaining open until September 1.
The theme of Past, Present and Future allowed artists to be in the running for three prizes – a Judge’s prize, a BADCAP Committee prize and a People’s Choice Award.
Judge Sam Creyton was honoured to present the Judge’s prize to sculptor Antone Bruinsma for his black granite and Italian marble sculpture.
“It was a lovely surprise – everyone has done some wonderful work here,” Atone said.
“Competition, it’s all subjective, so it’s something that you can’t take for granted and think ‘ah, yes, you’re going to win,’ so it was wonderful.”
Antone’s sculpting career started when he was 10 years old after winning a wood carving set from a school holiday children’s competition in his hometown.
“The Gods said, ‘you shall be a carver,’ and that’s where it all started – I’ve been doing it ever since,” he said.
BADCAP President Erica Bates was happy to present the BADCAP Committee prize to sculptor Colleen Lavender.
Colleen has been sculpting for ten years in Beaudesert and her steel sculpture was inspired by an experience from a local she met at an arts event in Mount Tamborine after he fixed telegraph wiring with a ladder on top of a horse.
“The minute he told me about it, just the idea of the ladder on the horse’s back just completely captured my imagination,” Colleen said.
“I just thought how cool to have a horse, but then having a ladder going into nowhere and people asking the question, ‘why is the ladder there?’”
“It was crazy, but it’s what you had to do when you had to make do,” she added.
The public was encouraged to vote for the People’s Choice Award while visiting the exhibition.
The winner, Rohan Crossingham’s wood and steel sculpture, was announced on the final day of the exhibition.
Rohan took up sculpture after attending a BADCAP blacksmithing workshop.
