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Ayob bin Ismail in front of the National Gallery of VictoriaA quick reminder...
Ayob bin Ismail has travelled from Singapore to Ballan, a regional town in Moorabool Shire in Victoria Australia, for a four-week residency and internship. His visit is being generously supported by Nanyang Polytechnic (School of Design), Wombat Regional Arts Network and by Velislav Georgiev and Tor Roxburgh's public art business Zabelski Han and their gallery studio complex Omnibus Art Gallery.
Tuesday 23rd June...
Today was a Melbourne day and we all headed in different directions. Velislav had an appointment in Springvale. Ayob visited RMIT and spent some time with his former lecturers and teachers and then went to see the Dali exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria. I took the pottery wheel back to Northcote Pottery and then bought some more halal meat. I think they are getting used to seeing me at Istanbul Halal in Brunswick!
Velislav and I got back to Ballan before Ayob and we picked up a copy of the Moorabool News. Guess who was on the front page? Ayob!!
Ayob bin Ismail on the front page of the Moorabool News
Wednesday 24th June...
Velislav and Ayob installed the hardware on one of the storage seats. I got to be the quality controller... In other words I came along at the last minute and tried everything out: lifting the lid, closing the lid using the safety stays, locking the seat. It all worked beautifully.
One more hardware installation to go and the job will be finished.
Thursday 25th June...
This morning Velislav had the opportunity to discuss the schedule for the installation of The Red Dot at the Moorabool Shire Municipal office. The Shire is ready to install the work, but Ayob is going to fly off to Singapore before the contractors can be called in to do the job. I feel a bit sad that Ayob won't be here to see his work go into the landscape.
In the afternoon, Velislav and Ayob installed the hardware on the second storage seat.
Friday 26th June...
Seat installation day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's always exciting installing finished work. Ayob and Velislav took the storage seats on site and drilled holes into the pavement for the bolts. There was a lot of interest from community members. A group of senior residents from the Ballan aged care facility told Ayob they were looking forward to being able to sit on the seats. Another passer-by told Ayob he had played street chess in Melbourne and overseas and was looking forward to playing in Ballan. Leigh McCallum who is the Shire officer in charge of the streetscape project arrived with the official plaque. Velislav installed the plaque on the end of one of the seats.
Velislav Georgiev closing the lid on the chess pieces while Ayob bin Ismail looks on.
It was great having Ayob's help during installation. It wasn't just that he helped with the physical work; he also answered people's questions about the project. Whenever Velislav installs public furniture or public art there are plenty of community members who come up for a chat. Having someone on site who has time to talk helps the community accept the new element in their local landscape. In Ayob's case there were extra questions about where he was from and what had brought him to Ballan.
Saturday 27th June...
Ayob had the day off and got to catch up with some dear friends who live in Melbourne. It was the first real day of rest he's had since he arrived.
Sunday 28th June...
Another day off. It began with a wonderful goodbye breakfast at Anne Hardwick's house. Anne has owned a number of galleries during her working life and has an interesting art collection. She showed us some works in her collection and some lovely ceramic pieces. Some more friends arrived. Ayob had a chance to say goodbye to Mark Fagan who introduced him to Fagan Fastcam software early on in the residency. Jan Fagan was also present as was Zandie Acton, Hayden Savage and Wendy Grayland.
L-R: Tor Roxburgh, Ayob bin Ismail, Anne Hardwick
In the afternoon, Velislav drove Ayob down to the St Kilda Market for some last minute shopping.
We spent the evening with Anu Patel who is an artist and designer living in Bacchus Marsh, but originally from England. Along with Peter Blizzard and Velislav, Anu is a public artist. We're lucky having three significant public artists living in Moorabool. Anu showed Ayob some of her models and together they looked through images of her work.
Saying goodbye...
It's now two days until Ayob leaves Melbourne. We'll miss him. He's been a wonderful intern and has made significant contributions during his residency to our studio and home. Ayob has a radiant presence and his love of art and design is evident in everything he does. We wish him great success in his career back in Singapore.
Ayob bin Ismail in front of Water Kite Tirhatuan Park, Dandenong, Australia. Water Kite copyright 2003 Velislav Georgiev
A quick reminder...
Ayob bin Ismail has travelled from Singapore to Ballan, a regional town in Moorabool Shire in Victoria Australia, for a four-week residency and internship. His visit is being generously supported by Nanyang Polytechnic (School of Design), Wombat Regional Arts Network and by Velislav Georgiev and Tor Roxburgh's public art business Zabelski Han and their gallery studio complex Omnibus Art Gallery.
Sunday 7th June...
Today was huge. We left Velislav in the studio and took off to visit some public art and design commissions undertaken by our public art business Zabelski Han and to see the new Australian Garden at the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne.
Our first stop was at Tirhatuan Park in Dandenong. The City of Greater Dandenong commissioned us to make two works in the Park. One is a playground design item called Frog and the other is a two-element sculpture in the lake entitled Water Kite.
Frog Tirhatuan Park, Dandenong, Australia. Copyright Velislav Georgiev 2004
Frog was constructed from a base formed from carved Hebel aerated concrete blocks. Reinforcement was laid over the base and then concreted. Finally the coloured rubberized surface was applied. The project involved working collaboratively with the landscape architects who were responsible for the overall design of the playground and with planning officers from the City of Greater Dandenong.
Water Kite was constructed from powder coated perforated stainless steel. The figures have a central stainless steel pole that sits on a pile, which was driven into the lake bed.
Water Kite, Tirhatuan Park, Dandenong, Australia. Water Kite copyright Velislav Georgiev
Next we visited the Brady Road shopping strip in Dandenong. This commission involved working closely with other design professionals. We not only designed and fabricated two separate pieces of public art, we also designed and fabricated seating and worked collaboratively with Council's urban planner to design a pavement treatment related to the overall theme of the artwork: suburban life.
Brady Road seat and pavement design, Dandenong, Australia. The suburban rooftop motif on the limestone bench seat is mirrored in the pavement design. Copyright Velislav Georgiev 2002
Ayob bin Ismail in front of Sculptural Tree, Brady Road, Dandenong, Australia. Sculptural Tree Copyright Velislav Georgiev 2002
After leaving Brady Road we drove to the new Australian Garden at the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne. Ayob and I wanted to visit the Garden to see the renowned red centre and to examine the way sculpture and other commissioned design elements contributed to the landscape.
The Australian Garden's red centre viewed from the Garden's entrance.
These colourful watering cans on posts caught our attention. They feature in The Water Saving Garden by MDG Landscape Architects. Australian Garden, Cranbourne, Australia.
A fantastic Escarpment Wall sculpture by Greg Clark. Australian Garden, Cranbourne, Australia
Ayob particularly liked the design detail that extended to the signs identifying various plants. Diversity Garden by Site Office. Australian Garden Cranbourne
From the Australian Garden we travelled to Frankston where we have two pieces that were commissioned by the Frankston City Council. One, Sandcastle and Kelp Seat, is a functional sculpture. The other, Roadside Marker, is a significant artwork marking the entrance to that city.
Roadside Marker Nepean Hwy Frankston Australia. Copyright Velislav Georgiev 2006
Ayob bin Ismail on Sandcastle and Kelp Seat Frankston Australia. Sandcastle and Kelp Seat copyright Velislav Georgiev 2006
Monday 8th June...
Ayob and Velislav were in the studio all day. Ayob concentrated on the model for the piece of windart he is donating to the Shire. I met with Patrick Bonello to begin discussions about the website that Moorabool Shire is funding him to build for the 1000 Weathervanes in Ballan project.
Tuesday 9th June...
Another big day. We were heading over to meet with officers at the Shire when we bumped into Peter Blizzard. Ayob was pleased to meet the man behind the new sculpture in Inglis street Ballan.
At the Shire's municipal office we met with Shire officers Sue Jones and Keith Linard to discuss the possible locations for Ayob's windart gift: The Red Dot. Ayob showed us his model and discussed the significance of the shapes and colours he has selected. The Red Dot uses geometric forms to convey the power of the arts and design landscape in Moorabool. The focus of the concept is the 1000 Weathervanes in Ballan initiative. There are 7 red plates with differing diameters. Each plate represents an element contributing to the arts and design landscape synergy in Ballan. The elements represented include the town's:
- community
- landscape
- historic values
- cultural values
- arts practices
- vibrancy and energy
- tourism.
Ayob hopes that The Red Dot symbolises the prosperity, longevity and harmony that the community of Moorabool has forged and is continuing to forge in all its endeavours.
We all felt that the new piece of windart would look good against the background of the municipal office. Keith was interested in how we could make a connection between the rural nature of the function of traditional weathervanes and Ayob's design, which is quite abstract and modern. Ayob suggested we place the work near the existing historic plough: the two items share bright yellow elements. We then decided to try and install the work on a rusted pole to strengthen the reference to the Shire's rural heart.
One of three proposed locations for Ayob bin Ismail's windart gift. Copyright Ayob bin Ismail 2009.
We then headed down to Melbourne to visit Northcote Pottery. During this visit Ayob toured the facilities and we hired a wheel. Next Ayob and Velislav met with David Wills from Design Project Group. The Group does all of our engineering computations. Velislav, Ayob and David discussed the engineering for three new projects. That meeting was followed by a visit to Smithweld, the business that rolls all our plates.
I stayed on at the office in Melbourne.
Wednesday 10th June...
Ayob and Velislav spent the day in the studio. Ayob worked on the storage seats and then began using the new pottery wheel to create some ceramics.
I was busy working on the timelines for our next job: an events and tourism poster column.
Thursday 11 June...
Ayob and Velislav continued their work in the studio.
Friday 12th June...
Today Ayob and Velislav installed the timber into the tops and sides of the storage seating. This work necessitated some detailed discussions about Australian safety standards in relation to entrapment. Later in the day Ayob worked in Photoshop to create some windart location images for the Shire.
I stayed in Melbourne and worked on an interview for my forthcoming publication Exhibiting Your Art.
L-R: Ayob bin Ismail and Tor Roxburgh at the Australian Garden Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne
Ayob bin Ismail gets to know one of the locals
A quick reminder...
Ayob bin Ismail has travelled from Singapore to Ballan, a regional town in Moorabool Shire in Victoria, Australia, for a four-week residency and internship. The visit is being generously supported by Nanyang Polytechnic (School of Design), Wombat Regional Arts Network and by Velislav Georgiev and Tor Roxburgh's public art business Zabelski Han and their gallery studio complex Omnibus Art Gallery.
Tuesday 2nd June...
Velislav and Ayob worked on the storage seats in the studio. The seats have been commissioned by Moorabool Shire to house the new street chess pieces in Inglis Street, Ballan. Ayob and Velislav have selected Merbau for the top and the two short sides of these rectangular seats. The frames will be fabricated from stainless steel and the long sides will feature perforated stainless steel panels.
The design intention is elegance, simplicity and the ability to cope with windy, rainy winters and dry summers. Aesthetically, the priority is to avoid detracting from the adjacent sculpture by Peter Blizzard. Today the timber was cut to size and the seats were rough assembled to ensure the chess pieces fitted inside.
Rough assembly of the storage seat frame to check capacity.During the working day Ayob took time to tour Ballan's existing windart to help him refine his thinking about the piece of windart he will make and donate to Moorabool Shire.
The Juggler by Velislav Georgiev. Copyright 2009
The Connoisseur by Velislav Georgiev. Copyright 2009.
The Mayor of Moorabool has already accepted Ayob's gift to the people of Moorabool and discussions about installation have begun. But before the work can be installed it has to be made and before it can be made Ayob must be completely satisfied with his design. And before the design is finalised he wants to look at the potential sites and the region's landscape. So Ayob and Velislav walked around town in the afternoon and then went for a quick tour of the region. ...And they spotted a very tame kookaburra during their travels.
The tame kookaburra
Wednesday 3rd June...
Last night Ayob sketched out his thoughts for his windart project. Today he worked on creating a model in the studio. Velislav continued work on the storage seats. And me? I was in the office in Melbourne catching up on the status of some forthcoming projects to create sculptural signage for three rural towns in Northern Victoria.
Thursday 4th June...
Velislav and Ayob joined me in Melbourne today. Velislav needed to pick up some cypress for another commission for Moorabool Shire Council: three picnic table and seat sets. Ayob wanted to re-visit his old school: RMIT. He told us that a great deal had changed in the years since he graduated. Most notable was the absence of the generous print shop that used to give away drawing paper to the art students and the changing nature of student accommodation.
Ayob travelled back to Ballan by train while Velislav and I finished up some work in the city.
Oh... and the rattan arrived from Queensland. Now that the wire frames are finished and the rattan has arrived Meow... Purr can move to the next stage.
Friday 5th June...
We arrived back in Ballan with the trailer full of cypress. Ayob had made great progress with his windart model and with Meow... Purr.
In the afternoon, Councillor Phil Flack visited the studio and invited Ayob to be his guest at the opening of the Bacchus Marsh Rotary Art Show (Bacchus Marsh is about 23km east of Ballan and is the largest town in the Shire). The Rotary Art Show is an annual charity event that is very popular in the Shire. The artworks tend to be fairly traditional and representational, but the show is an inclusive event open to both professional and amateur artists. The Rotary Club of Bacchus Marsh is part of a worldwide organisation that provides "humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world." (RCBM, Annual report).
Saturday 6th June...
Today was a big day. Wombat held a welcoming party for Ayob at Omnibus Art Gallery. In the afternoon, before the party commenced, Moorabool Culture and Arts Officer Sue Jones dropped into the studio with Adam Harding, the Director of the Horsham Regional Art Gallery to say hello to Ayob as they were unable to come to the party.
A surprise studio visit. L-R Sue Jones (Moorabool Shire Culture and Arts Officer), Ayob bin Ismail, and Adam Harding (Director Horsham Regional Art Gallery)
At 4pm the guests began to arrive. It was a wonderful event. Ayob was formally welcomed by the Deb Oliver the president of Wombat Regional Arts Network. She presented Ayob with a gift for Nanyang Polytechnic (School of Design).
L-R Deb Oliver (President Wombat Regional Arts Network) and Ayob bin Ismail.
L-R Velislav Georgiev and Ayob bin Ismail
L-R Ayob bin Ismail, Finley Walsh (in Ayob's arms), Emily Walsh (painter), Jesse Walsh (sculptor)
L-R Ayob bin Ismail discusses photography with Rod Grant
After the party Velislav and I were glad to take a break.
L-R Tor Roxburgh and Velislav Georgiev
