Two local artists have won the People’s Choice Award at this year’s Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, for their sculpture “Evergreen”, which combines the mediums of metal and glass.
The sculpture consists of 92 handmade glass flowers as well as 100 metres of steel, and took over 200 hours to create. The sculpture was among 164 other works that were entered into the award.
Catherine McClintock is based in Warrandyte and is a blacksmith and metal sculptor and Tracy Andrews is a glass artist from Kangaroo Ground.
The artists met through a mutual artist friend and developed an instant rapport which later led to them to decide to collaborate to create an artwork which combined their respective mediums, and which was inspired by the natural world.
The artists undertook an extensive application process to get the sculpture accepted as an entry into the People’s Choice Award.
The sculpture was entered into the Garden Section category and won the award which was voted on by the public, consisting of thousands of votes.
Both artists were excited to win the award.
Catherine said: “For me when we were creating it, we kept having these “this is so cool” moments, and to have us feel like that and to see that from people who didn’t know the process, really had me on an adrenaline high for the whole show.”
Tracy said: “The thing I found most rewarding as an artist we are very much filled with self doubt and find it difficult to put ourselves out there, and to see it (the sculpture) on the first day and to see people walking and then stopping and looking at it, and taking photos/selfies with it was incredible.”
The artists faced numerous challenges in the creation of the work, including early starts, long hours and often working in extreme heat. To overcome these challenges, they both drew upon the personal bond they had formed during the creation of the work to support each other.
The work has attracted interest from buyers in the USA and Singapore.
More information about Catherine and Tracy can be found at their websites and socials:
cathmcclintock.com.au Instagram: cath_mcclintock_art
