The Ramblin Rose Report: Spirit of the Hills 3rd Annual Photography Show

3 by 3 -- 3rd showing and 3 local winners reprise a winning event
Taking in the 3rd annual Photography Show at the Spirit of the Hills event timed to coincide with the Warkworth Long Lunch was a cool way to spend a sweltering Sunday in August.
The Warkworth streetscape gleamed with white canvas shade cover and long checkered tables as the lunch was served up yet again under a sun-drenched sky.
Some of the really interesting action took place in the 31 Main Street Offices of J. Bruce Taylor Accounting, however -- not a venue that would appear at first glance to lend itself lightly to fine art visuals. But J. Bruce Taylor is a smart cookie, so right along with the rest of Warkworth's main street, his storefront was open for viewing staffed by Spirit of the Hills regulars.
The 3rd place finalist, Bob Leahy, has long been a vibrant part of the local arts scene, producing and showing some stunning photos of the surrounding area: his offering for 2009 was sold before the show was over and off the wall like it had legs of its own. The Ten Horses depicted in his entry faced in every direction in a snowy landscape, somewhat symbolically for these times -- change comes to us from unexpected quarters, frequently in a flurry and at speed.
Jennifer Gibson took home the 2nd place honours for depicting "Essence" - a floral closeup writ large on a pristine background. It was a summery note in a panorama of chills: the humid scented air flowing through the display space could have been a surrounding greenhouse for her dewy, cool-toned work.
Winter scenes swept us away to a brisk, chilly February day once again with the winning entry, by Gerald (Jerry) Taylor. The ambient temperature dropped by ten degrees while we viewed this piece -- the biting, snow-laden wind seemed to drift right out of the image into the display area. Looking at this, one forgot entirely the damp and warm August day and came back to the present with a start, shivering a little in the sudden heat. The evocation of an often cold and lonely day on the farmstead, entitled "Bad Day for Chores" surely earned its ranking in this excellent show.
Warkworth and Spirit of the Hills have long been kind to the photographers among them. Such kindness is clearly reciprocated by the talent emerging locally. The town boasts a strong arts presence with many established, long time artists and artisans operating there, encouraging newcomers and wooing the summer crowds back to visit in the shoulder seasons, perchance to dream a seasonal cycle round.

The Ramblin Rose Report: Rhythm and Form, work by Claus Heinecke and gallery artists.

Rhythm: in Art, Literature. a patterned repetition of a motif, formal element, etc., at regular or irregular intervals in the same or a modified form.

Form: Fine Arts.
a. the organization, placement, or relationship of basic elements, as lines and colors in a painting or volumes and voids in a sculpture, so as to produce a coherent image; the formal structure of a work of art. b. three-dimensional quality or volume, as of a represented object or anatomical part. c. an object, person, or part of the human body or the appearance of any of these, esp. as seen in nature: His work is characterized by the radical distortion of the human form.

Claus Heinecke's current exhibit at the Colborne Art Gallery features long, languid rhythms, coupled with sinuous forms like a single plant from a kelp forest still swaying in the aquamarine currents of its native home; short, graceful strokes curving compact and tidy like a songbird, enlarged to readily viewable size; rounded fullness of a gravid female torso carefully coaxed out of the wood in such a way as to allow the strong grain to delineate those parts of
the whole which most need to be emphasized.

The sculptures are delightful - warmly coloured, inviting touch, suggesting a silkiness that belies the splintery and knobbly native woods they are made from.

Paintings accompany them: uses of the same forms and rhythms, developing from a quickly sketched and deft study into a fleshed out and carefully executed portrait, and then into a rough 3D form, finally emerging completely into its finished three-dimensional presence

This exhibit depicts not just the final products of a creative force dedicated to the sensuous look and feel of well-executed art, but the process by which these reach that state of grace. An eminently satisfying show on many levels and well worth a second visit.