1st December 2008 - Romania National Day

George with The Charge d'Affaires a.i. of Romania Mrs Florina Sava and Honory Consul Mr Nicolaie Cojocaru. Photo taken at the Romanian Embassy at the National Day Celebrations.

Several Artworks were on display and viewed by Embassy Representatives from around the globe. We met many interesting people from diverse nations. One in particular was a local Tasmanian politician, Dick Adams MP, who was very engaging and very tuned-in with current issues. He was intelligent and entertaining and very interested in George's art and story.

"The Canberra Times" article published on 1st December to celebrate Romania's National Day.

Paradise

Custom designed,"Paradise", is the result of a special request from a client. It is a fusion of two pieces in one to be the focal point of a garden display combined with two "Agatha" pieces.

Destined for a lavish South Coast location, its fortunate that stainless steel will withstand the coastal conditions.

"Paradise" proved popular with the Canberra locals as well, and one piece also went on display at the Romanian Embassy here in Canberra for a special reception celebrating Romania's National Day.

Marketing On A Budget ie. none

We had a wonderful week of publicity.
Above is a photo of the advertising we had in "The Canberra Times" (which was free of charge) and a pleasant surprise upon opening the local paper. Published were all the photo's we sent and the "Old Bus Depot Markets" also personally congratulated us on the addition to its pages.
This topped off the week which started with a radio interview with George on National Broadcaster SBS-Radio. A Pod-cast of this segment will be linked at right but it is in Romanian language being part of their Romanian Program.
Another exciting addition was the ABC TV website "Artpost", which is a vibrant site allowing artists to expose their work to the world. Again, will post the link to the right as it has shown enormous interest and popularity with people surfing the web for new art and artists. The number of views is amazing, thankyou.

"Hello Friends" - Bryan & Laura Davies, UK

It was with great pleasure to make contact with two artist's in Leeds UK, who also share a great passion for Constantin Brancusi.

Bryan & Laura Davies have a wonderful public art-work in Bridgewater Place Leeds.

"Hello Friends" is a bright and modern piece with Brancusi being a vital reference for the commissioned work. We will place a link to their blogspot on our page as it is indeed exciting work that these people are doing. Please explore their blogs and pages, their vision is exceptional in the world of arts and architecture in general.

Must also thank Bryan for all his travel tips and information regarding Brancusi's Studio in France and other art-loving recommendations....thanks Bryan, will send you a postcard!

First Market

"Old Bus Depot Markets" was an ideal location to show our wares and other artists were extremely supportive and welcoming. Within the first ten minutes a fellow stall-holder told us we were a welcome addition in that we had something different to offer. Another stall-holder purchased one of George's vase's. It was all very positive. Surprisingly, it was the larger items of sculpture that a number of people were very interested in. Were they "one off's?", Can you make infinity with a square base? Can this be converted into a water-feature for the garden?
Interested people who recognised that we had something that wasnt available anywhere else and that they would have something unique.

A successful day!! everything looked beautiful and the response was amazing, thankyou Canberra!

Gehry

"The Gehry", a surprising shape that bends in an unexpected way. Changes shape when you rotate the vase and the sunlight is stunning on its polishing. With the finished product completed , we thought it curved like a Gehry facade.

Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Music Hall in Los Angeles. With the Stainless Steel addiction comes other dangerous habits. The need to see this metal in unconventional forms and pushed to the boundaries of the imagination. Franks process of sketching, folding and cutting paper to experiment with shapes is something that George also does before creating his work. I get to use the sticky tape.

Infinity, Jackie and Buzz

"Infinity" outside the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University. This building is amazing to look at and "Infinity" takes on another representation at this location. We thought that the geometric shape of the column resembled abstract DNA, somewhat appropriate - considering the location.

Incidently, Jackie Chan (one of our favourites), has been a very generous supporter of the ANU. Jackie has donated large amounts to be used in the area of medical research in memory of his much-loved mother who, with his father, was a long term resident here in Canberra. Go Jackie! and thankyou !!!

To quote Buzz Lightyear..."To Infinity and Beyond!"

"Majestic Bird" and the Birds

Like an Alfred Hitchcock movie, whenever "Majestic Bird" is taken outdoors for an outdoor shoot, Birds (of the feathered variety) seem to be attracted to its presence. These pictures show how we were quickly joined by some very curious (and noisy) magpie's at the Australian National University grounds.

Agatha

Stainless Steel is a durable material designed for indoor or outdoor environments. It will not rust or corrode and Stainless Steel will always keep its shimmering and brilliant finish.

When creating any of his projects, George cuts the shapes and then joins them by welding. This ensures a strong and durable connection.

Grinding is then performed for smooth clean edges. The Stainless Steel is then finished with polishing or a grinding-tool to give it dramatic effect.

Above is "Agatha", a Stainless Steel resembling the Agapantha plant. Loved it on land, next to the water. Loved it even more in the water!

Brancusi Vase

Love this vase, and we have turned it upside down too as a plynth which is highly effective. Again, a Brancusi inspired shape for a base with gentle widening to the top of the vase. We have it filled with Magnolia flowers in the window - beautiful.

Mars

"Mars", or, ok it looks like a soccer ball. Wouldnt like to hit this one with our head though and I think a goalie would be diving out of it's way if it was propelled through the air.
Made out of stainless steel its an item you just want to pickup straight away and bounce it up and down in your hands. Its one of the items we will have at Old Bus Depot Markets next month, and just to let you all know (in response to a question), we are still working on the prices of the items in the lead up to opening the stall. We promise to let you know and to publish more pictures.....

Another bird...

And this one was too lovely to leave out. A wonderful image of another Brancusi bird.
Must get back to the subject of stainless steel......

Birds in Space - ANG

These two "birds" are located in the Australian National Gallery Canberra. Beautifully presented within a reflection pool. Will put the ANG link on our page to give much more information about this work and Brancusi. Thankyou ANG for giving us the opportunity to see these two continually (and for free of charge)

Partnership

and here is some of George's works (oh and us). Shall give some more close-ups (of the works...not us) and of course keep you posted on our endeavours in the market place....remember, we are at Old Bus Depot Markets all November and the first weekend in December. Hope to see you there :-)

Constantin Brancusi

Constantin Brancusi studio in Paris (above) is a living display of Brancusi's works. So many beautiful objects and a glimpse of the man that was the artist.

"Endless Column" (below) by Constantin Brancusi is located in Tg Jiu, Romania. We shall post more images of Brancusi art, and we hope you find it inspiring. We are lucky that here in Canberra at our own Australian National Gallery, there are two Birds In Space on display.

Shall post Bird photo's soon...too many beautiful images to choose from.

Elegance

George is welding away, we have been accepted into The Old Bus Depot Markets in Kingston, Canberra, for the month of November and early December. A wonderful destination for locals and tourists, the xmas markets are particularly exciting and we feel honoured to be allowed to be part of them. This is "elegance", one of Georges vases that we hope to sell. As you can see from the photo, its a lovely classic shape, but its personality is in its finish. The polishing can be varied between each vase and gives each one a differant life.

Stainless Steel

In the daytime hours in the real world, George works at an Engineering firm as a welder. Luckily it is a profession he enjoys and he can work with his favourite metal - Stainless Steel. In any spare time he may have, George is still working with metal, but creating and bringing to life the steel in forms of vases, candleholders, even what appears to be a soccerball! The above is a photo of "Jupiter", a candle-holder that lights up a room beautifully at night

and more Stainless Steel

Our own Bird inspired by Brancusi and of course the Endless Column "Infinity". No brass plaques required pointing out the obvious roots to Brancusi. George hand made both of these and the plynth that the "Majestic Bird" is sitting on.