For this post I must beg the indulgence of readers other than Sophie's grandparents and her friend H who requested not too long ago a "Sophie-themed blog." Sophie and I were discussing H on our trip home from school on this Monday afternoon, and hoping that she wakes up to a relatively pain-free and happy day after her emergency room experience on the weekend. H, we love you, we admire your strength and courage, and we pray for you often throughout our day.
After talking about H, the conversation turned to a very exciting letter Sophie received at school today. It informed us that her recent artwork has been chosen to be part of a display in a local art gallery in an exhibition opening on September 22nd. As neither Ross nor I has yet discovered an artistic bone in either of our bodies, we were very pleasantly surprised at this turn of events. Sophie, of course, is pleased as well, and consented to have her picture taken out in the front garden this afternoon with her piece of art.
Under the guidance of her talented art teachers, and along with the rest of her classmates in Year 2, Sophie created a fairy tree, inspired by the tree carved by artist and author Ola Cohn from 1931 to 1934. I happened to visit "The Fairies Tree," located in Fitzroy Gardens in downtown Melbourne, last fall, and took the following photos.
Ola Cohn carved a variety of Australian animals onto the trunk of a deceased 300 year-old Redgum tree, with the intention of creating a sanctuary for fairies that would be especially appreciated by children. In 1977 the tree was taken out of the ground and mounted on a concrete base for preservation purposes.
As you might recall, Sophie went on an excursion into the city last Friday and as part of her tour, her class visited The Fairies Tree. They also were taken up to the top of the Eureka Tower, where they walked out onto the Skydeck, the highest public viewing point in the Southern Hemisphere. Sophie tells us that it is the tallest tower with people living in it in the whole world. The whole day was a thorough success for our third-born. She was thrilled to have one of her two art teachers as bus driver, as he apparently provided a most interesting commentary during their drive to and from the city. We were glad to see that she still has some enthusiasm for sight-seeing after so many new experiences during the past twelve months.
Hannahs says:
I like your work artwork very much Sophie! It was very interesting to hear about the fairies tree. Right now, I am making fairies from a fairy craft kit so your story inspired me.
Posted by: Amy Smith | 08/23/2011 at 02:09 AM
Sophie- you are quite the little artist! What an honor to have your work chosen to be on display! You go girl!
Posted by: janetjames | 08/23/2011 at 09:07 AM