ADFAS Sunshine Coast Inc. Newsletter · PDF fileShwedagon was continually maintained by Myanmar’s ruling kings. In 1453 AD, ... banana bud, lotus petals and an inverted alms bowl

Member of the Association of ADFAS

Volume 9, No 3. June 2017 ADFAS Sunshine Coast Newsletter 1

Chairman’s Address

Dear Members

The last couple of weeks have been very exciting from the point of view of our Youth Arts Project. Most of you will know that for a number of years we have been providing a scholarship for an Arts student at the University. However we have decided to make a change and spread our wings to extend our field of support. In so doing I have met some wonderfully inspiring teachers and discovered some exciting projects to support and help school children in the arts field. At the time of writing we have three schools who we are considering and I am sure you will be delighted when you hear more about them. Unfortunately, as these have not been finalised, I cannot give you details just now but look forward to doing so in the near future.

Our lectures have been as varied and warmly received as ever. Many of us, dare I say, were surprised to discover that Brisbane in the 1860s was a centre of high fashion with the women of the upper social circles wearing superb clothes that could have held their own in the smartest European salons.

Don’t forget our 16th July Special Interest Afternoon in Eumundi when we will learn about the fashions of Downton Abbey along with other fascinating fashion facts of that time. Book soon, as this is promising to be a very popular event.

Finally, but most importantly, don’t forget that you only have until 20th June to let me have a recipe with a photo of it and you and a little write-up about your culinary creation. So far you have been very tardy about participating in this fun ADFAS publication so please let me have a contribution from you very soon. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me – we do want a strong contingent of ADFAS Sunshine Coast cooks!

I look forward to chatting with you over a glass of wine after our forthcoming lectures.

STOP PRESS

As this newsletter was being put to bed, the tragic news came in that our wonderful cellarmaster, Bob Pearce, beloved partner of our treasurer, Jane Boaler, died suddenly Saturday morning (10th June). We are of course devastated, as Bob was a member of our committee and was greatly appreciated for his conscientious attitude to his responsibilities and, as a person, was held in great affection as a warm, kind and helpful member of the team. All our thoughts and sympathy go to Jane and her and Bob’s families. He will be greatly missed.

Audrey Raymond Chairman

ADFAS Sunshine Coast Inc.

Newsletter

Volume 9, Number 3 Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society June 2017



Spot the Difference!!!

The painting that has been reworked for this edition is The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger.

Hans Holbein the Younger (c.1497-1543) was a German artist and printmaker of the Northern Renaissance. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the sixteenth century, but also produced religious art, satirical works and Reformation propaganda, as well as making a significant contribution to the history of book design. Holbein travelled to England in 1526 in search of work, with a recommendation from Erasmus. He was welcomed into the humanist circle of Thomas More, where he quickly built a high reputation. By 1532 he was working under the patronage of Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell, and by 1535, he was appointed Court Painter to King Henry VIII.

Look closely and see how many differences you can find. There are 10 in total. Answers on Page 8

We greatly appreciate the support of members and guests for our regular ADFAS Raffle, which raises money for our annual Young Arts project. But the success of this fund-raiser depends on the dedication, inventiveness and creative flair of our raffle organiser Vicki Houlahan who puts together the raffle prizes each month. The prizes and presentation always encourage people to dig deep, the winners are never disappointed, and this year so far has been no exception.

Thank you Vicki and thank you to those members who help to sell tickets throughout the year, as well as

everyone else for your generosity.



SHWEDAGON PAGODA, YANGON, MYANMAR

Until very recently, Myanmar’s borders were closed to tourists, and the country’s vast architectural wealth was relatively unknown and inaccessible to outsiders. Now, with a more relaxed border policy, tourists can visit hundreds of temples and pagodas whose history long predates that of British Colonial rule. Of these, the largest and most magnificent is the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon (Rangoon), which I was fortunate to visit in February this year.

The gleaming gold Shwedagon Pagoda dominates the skyline of Yangon much as cathedral spires once dominated the skylines of European cities. The central structure dates from about 588 BC, when King Okkalapa and his subjects enshrined hairs and relics of four Buddhas in a stupa 66 feet high, which they consecrated as the Shwedagon. The Shwedagon was continually maintained by Myanmar’s ruling kings. In 1453 AD, it was raised to a height of 302 feet, and in 1774 AD it was rebuilt to its present height of 326 feet.

The stupa and its surrounding structures, which include prayer halls, galleries, three smaller stupas, many Buddha images and relics, and a

museum, are built on a terrace 14 acres in area. Access to the terrace is via lifts or escalators and through security screening. Pilgrims and visitors must dress modestly and remove shoes. On the terrace in the sunshine, the brilliance of the gold stupa is overwhelming - even sunglasses are not enough to soften the glare!

The lower part of the central stupa is covered with gold leaf, but the upper part or 'bell' shape is covered with 13,000 gold plates, each with an estimated value of $1,500 US. At the tip is the diamond orb, containing 4,351 diamonds; below this is the 'vane', holding 2,000 assorted gems, and below this is the 'umbrella', an elaborate filigree structure of gold and gems weighing 5 tons. Descending the bell shape are areas shaped to represent a banana bud, lotus petals and an inverted alms bowl.

Surrounding the base of the stupa is an array of golden niches containing Buddha images, and twelve astrological posts representing the planets and days of the week. Pilgrims propitiate with flowers and water at the post for the day of the week on which they were born.

For a tourist, it takes at least an hour to walk around the terrace,

and one can be entranced by a procession of novitiates, join a crowd of pilgrims in a prayer hall, honour the Buddha at ones’ birth day corner then strike a bell with a wooden hammer, or just marvel at the beauty and intricacy of the architecture. Unlike the quiet reverence found in Christian churches, there is a festive atmosphere, with pilgrims and tourists alike laughing, photographing family groups, and enjoying a day out.

Bernice Anderson



Dates for your diary…. Don’t miss out on any of these upcoming lectures….

Monday 17th July : The Foundations of Fashion : The History of Underwear – Ms Kate Strasdin. Christian Dior said, “Without foundations there can be no fashion.” For centuries, the clothed silhouette was determined not so much by what the outer garments looked like but how they were shaped by the foundation garments. From corsets to farthingales, busks to camisoles, crinolines to bustles, this is a lecture that considers how these foundations shaped our ancestors’ approach to dress. It also debunks some of the long held myths about the dangers of the corset and asks what we really think about comfortable dress.

Monday 28th August : The Inside Stories : Stolen Art – Ms Shauna Isaac. The lecture examines the most famous works of art that were stolen and discusses whether the notoriety of being a stolen work of art increases or decreases the mystery around the work. Some examples included in the discussion are Munch’s The Scream and the Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

Monday 18th September : Murder, Mayhem and Paint – Mr Michael Howard. Michael’s lecture considers the tangle of claim and counter claim behind the possibility that Walter Sickert, a most celebrated and enigmatic English artist of the late nineteenth century could have been Jack the Ripper or his accomplice.

Monday 23rd October : The Lost Language – Mr Brian MacDonald. This lecture explains many of the symbols woven into pre Islamic Persian and Central Asian rugs and weavings from the 19th century and earlier. All rugs had symbolic meaning and purpose. The weavers wove into the rugs, their own beliefs and interpretations of events in their life. Today weavers may have forgotten the meanings but the magical and spiritual symbols remain part of the culture which has linked countless nomads for millennia.

A Welcome to New Members

We had a very happy and successful New Members Party held in the lovely setting of the house of Jane Boaler and Bob Pearce, who kindly lent it for the occasion.

Many people commented on the warmth and camaraderie of the evening as reflected in these photos.

Audrey Raymond Chairman



USC Gallery Exhibitions

From the Mountains to the Sea : Sunshine Coast Stories 8 July to 19 August This exhibition, drawn from heritage and art collections across the region, is presenting in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the naming of the Sunshine Coast. Owl Creek II (1982) : Lawrence Daws : USC Art Collection

Creative Generation 2017 : Regional Exhibition 24 August to 9 September

The annual Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Visual Art recognises and promotes excellence in senior visual arts education throughout Queensland’s state and non-state schools in the North Coast (South) region.

Truth (2013) : Charlotte Hartshorne : Courtesy of the artist and Sunshine Coast Grammar School

ADFAS Congratulates 2017 USC Scholarship Winner

This year’s recipient of the ADFAS scholarship is Daniel Swift, who is from Dalby, a small town near Towoomba, and currently resident here on the Sunshine Coast.

Having graduated from high school in 2015 he came straight to the University of the Sunshine Coast, where he is currently in the second year of a three year Batchelor of Design degree course, majoring in Graphic Design, with a subsidiary in Creative Advertising. Outside of university he continues to pursue his interests in art, with pencil sketches, watercolours and digital painting. He is also a freelance graphic designer creating a multitude of products, such as wedding stationary, business cards, company logos and custom art prints. He is grateful for receiving this scholarship since he says it will give him the opportunity to venture further into various aspects of design and give him the necessary funds to explore wherever it takes him.

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself at the beginning of this new ADFAS year. I am delighted to have been appoinbted the

Chairman of ADFAS Sunshine Coast and am anticipating a a fascinating year of lectures and most importantly, meeting all members and getting to know you in due course. It is a challenge to fill the shoes of Alison Bennett who has been such a dedicated Chairman for the last three years and she will be greatly missed although I am delighted that she is staying on the Committee.



Reviews

April - Romance & Glamour

‘How could a lecture on 150 years of dressing the women of Brisbane possibly fill an hour, let alone tell us anything interesting?’ the southern fashionistas of yesterday had asked somewhat scornfully. ‘And why would it be of any interest to the men?’

Dr Michael Marendy proved the skeptics wrong on both accounts. His fascinating presentation on the clothes of these times, the women who designed and made them and those who wore them had his audience and the dissenters riveted. Curator of the Queensland Textiles Museum and authority on costume design and conservation, Dr Marendy not only described the fashions of the day but also set them into historical and social context.

Gasps of delight could be heard as the audience recognised local fashion icons such as designers Gwen Gillam and Helena Kay and enjoyed seeing photographs of past landmarks of Brisbane, Allan and Stark and McWhirters department stores and others.

With the inclusion of interesting and light hearted anecdotes about the characters involved in the development of the clothing industry in Queensland along with his contagious enthusiasm and in-depth knowledge of the subject, Dr Marendy presented an informative and fun evening enjoyed equally by the men and women in the audience.

May - Spain’s Twentieth Century Artists

Anyone who’s been to Barcelona would have had an inkling of what the May lecture might bring. This remarkable and unique city spawned the four most influential artists of the 20th century, Gaudi, Miro, Dali and Picasso whose works were the subject of Sandra Mowry’s lecture.

Using splendid images Ms Mowry explained the inspiration and motivation of Gaudi’s innovative and unorthodox public and domestic architecture, and the hidden motifs and symbols in Miro’s intriguing surrealist paintings. The meanings behind the familiar yet disturbing dream images in Dali’s paintings were explained and we followed the development of Picasso’s style from his sombre ‘Blue Period’ to examples of his later energetic and vibrant ‘Rose Period’.

Artison

In Memoriam

Once again we are sad to have to report the death of two members who have been very active in our society. Firstly we lost Peter Quick who was our most diligent Treasurer and an active participant in community life. More recently we lost Peter Koster, the beloved husband of our erstwhile Newsletter Editor, Yvonne. Peter will be remembered affectionately by our committee for his constant support and cheerful contribution on endless occasions.

Our thoughts and sympathy go to the families of both Peters.

Dr Michael Marendy with ADFAS member Louise Millar, who came dressed in 1950s fashion for the occasion





Dear ADFAS Members

This is your Newsletter here on the Sunshine Coast and, as such, I would welcome contributions from any members who would like to share information about their talents and interests, provide reviews or recommendations about books or local exhibitions, or tell the rest of us travellers’ tales, like the one featured in this issue on the Shwedagon Pagoda by Bernice Anderson. Get writing !

The Editor

Check your answers! Did you spot them all ?

Head of Jean de Dinteville reversed

Shirt of de Dintville changed colour

Skull added to top shelf

Arm of Georges de Selve changed

Headgear of de Selve changed

De Dintville’s stockings shortened

Globe changed to basketball

Book added to lower shelf

Cat added

Discarded sock added

Australian Decorative & Fine Arts Society Sunshine Coast ABN: 91 792 901 750 Postal address: PO Box 1592, Buderim Qld 4556 Email: [email protected]

Chairman: Audrey Raymond : Ph 5456 2012 Membership Sec: Karin Woollatt : 5479 0550

Disclaimer: The information presented in this newsletter is based on information provided by the members and friends of ADFAS Sunshine Coast, every care has been taken to trace and acknowledge copyright. The publisher tenders its apology for any accidental infringements. The editor and volunteers involved in the production of this newsletter do not accept any liability for any errors or omissions in the content of the newsletter.

Dennis Panchaud - Newsletter Editor 2017

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

ADFAS Sunshine Coast Inc. Newsletter · PDF fileShwedagon was continually maintained by Myanmar’s ruling kings. In 1453 AD, ... banana bud, lotus petals and an inverted alms bowl