ARTISTS – amateur and professional – have spent the day delivering entries to Jimboomba Community Hall ahead of the opening of the Quota International of Jimboomba art show tonight.
There are some knockouts to be found among the 200-plus entries that will be on show all weekend.
One that had all the Quota ladies talking was this horse’s head crafted from steel by Will Phipps of Greenbank.
He calls the piece Steel Steed and we suspect he doesn’t really want to sell. It comes with a $9000 price tag.
“Don’t call me an artist. I have a day job. I’m a forklift driver. It’s shift work so that gives me a bit of time to get things done in my shed,” said Mr Phipps.
The 100-plus kg work is made from flat steel panels welded together and shaped with a grinder. The completed head is mounted on lumber fence post which, in turn, stands upon a base.
Mr Phipps is not really sure what possessed him to attempt the creation, but he knows how long it took to finish it – about 500 hours all up.
“I not a horsey person. I don’t ride horses. I learned a lot about them though after I started this, how many types they are and how different they all look.
Mr Phipps said he’d made ‘stuff for the garden before, but nothing like this’.
“I’ve got friends who try to make a living from their art so I suppose the idea was born over a beer in the shed with mates.
“One bloke makes armour. He wanted to do something for a horse so I said, you do that, I’ll make the horse.
“I’m not sure I’d call this art. I suspect you can do just about anything if you can find the time to spend on it and get it right.
“I started on the nose. I thought that’s the hard bit. That’s the bit people see first so it has to look real.”
That came together quicker than expected.
“The eyes, though, that’s another story,” Mr Phipps said.
“And the ears – well there’s 30 hours of work on those alone.
“You have a go and if it looks stupid you try again – and again – until you get it how you want.”
The annual Quota Jimboomba art show brings artists – professional and amateur and of all ages and abilities – together to exhibit works in categories that include traditional, modern and 3D art, textiles, handicrafts and photography. There are also all-abilities and student art and photography categories. The only condition is that every item entered is for sale with the proceeds ploughed back into the club’s charities.
Past beneficiaries include Hummingbird House, the Leukaemia Foundation, Blue Care, chaplaincy services, local families in need, the Cancer Council of Queensland, the Brain Foundation, Hear and Say Centre for cochlea ear training and Rural Lifestyle Options Association.
First time art show co-ordinator Brenda Fielding was glad to see the show coming together with works hung and installed by her Quota friends.
The official opening will be held tonight at 7pm. Tickets cost $20 for adults and $10 for children. The show will be open to the public on Saturday, June 16 and Sunday, June 17 from 9am. Entry is $3.