Another road trip, this time taking Mum and Karen to the Kaipara Sculpture Gardens, which I had never been to before. Karen had a few times but wanted to look at the new sculptures. It's about an hours drive from Henderson on Highway 16 and takes about an hour to walk around. We had a nice sunny day and it wasn't too crowded. It also has plants for sale and a small cafe.
I have to say the garden was looking lovely and well tended, it is basically a big loop but with enough twists and turns to look at the sculptures along the way. The sculptures, which constantly change, are not something I would really have in my garden (and too pricy for me anyway) though there were a few favourites - Karen liked the dog cut outs, and the metal giant dandelions, while I liked the sculpture of the plants that weren't for sale - the curving hedges, the whirling junipers, the kauri sapling that was right in the middle of a path that everyone had to swing by...and the little poor knight lilies in hanging baskets balls on top of manuka sticks. They looked like those truffalo plants out of Dr Seuss's The Lorax.
There was a cool boardwalk through a shady fruit tree grove that made sounds as you walked through it. There was also a little clearing with three seats arranged and windchimes hanging from the trees that I thought made a lovely resting space. And there were little arbours with seats that could be decorated however you wanted.
It made me think of what sculpture I would have in my garden (and ones that wouldn't rust or rot or fall to bits after a while). I don't think I have much of anywhere for any focal points since it's only a rectangular, flat suburban section. The main feature being the clothesline. Which I suppose is a sculpture in itself, if you look at it that way. When I arrange my colourful laundry on the line, it makes a terrific kinetic sculpture, and yes you are allowed to touch it.
At Kaipara, some artists made 'sculpture' that you wouldn't think qualified as sculpture, such as one being a roll of felt hung off a tree. We were very puzzled about this, as the roll of felt was just a greyish blue colour and didn't have any design, pattern, or pictures on it.
But then there were others like this pile of wooden logs arranged like a beehive. It could have been just a stack of logs but no they were all cut to fit like a beehive. I thought it looked quite clever. It could have gone with the other sculpture that was wooden bees hanging from a tree with wooden hexagons and spirals (like the kind I made in woodwork in school). I do have three french hens hanging from my olive tree that were old Christmas decorations.
Many sculptors are now making things out of the popular material of the moment - corten steel. Its very rustic looking, but it's meant to be rusty. Also it's very very expensive. If you can't have the real thing - fantails, tui, ladybugs, geckos, kiwis, pukeko, ferns, or kotuku, you can just have one made out of corten steel cut out and stick it in your garden. I think it's like those pink plastic flamingos or garden gnomes. Everyone has to have one because you can't have the real thing. Well I've never seen a real flamingo in a garden or an actual live garden gnome - have you?
Karen took a picture of me and Mum beside the giant red pom pom ball. Now that's something to have in your garden, along with big hedge clipped like a cat.
I am going to
