5 in 5 - May 2018 - Melanie

Melanie is my friend who lives in Australia and she loves photography.  Every month since the start of this challenge Melanie has taken part in this monthly meme and as she doesn't have her own blog I post here. I love that we have found a way for her to take part, so over to you Melanie:

"Here is my effort for an April 5 in 5.  The photos got taken on April 5^th but only now am I sitting down to look at them and pick out my five for my 5 in 5 submission.  On April 5th I had a visit to the McLaren Vale wine area which is just half an hour down the road from us.  The McLaren Vale area has over 70 cellar doors and over 160 vineyards. Just before Christmas a new icon for the region opened its doors.  It is known as ‘The D’Arenberg Cube’ and can be seen for miles around. It is more than just a cellar door even before entering the cube the outdoor speakers present one with sounds produced by a weather station and maybe the sounds represent the emotions of the vines.  There are five floors to the Cube  Inside there are museum artefacts, a sensory room with 44 different smells to inhale, a video to watch, an art collection to look at, an interesting mirrored stairwell and of course a tasting of the wines.  The glass  tasting room on the top floor has outside balconies with amazing panoramic views.  One can see the sea in the distance and get an idea of the extent of the vines. The toilets with their fake foliage are also worth a visit especially the men’s where the  urinals cause you to smile.  You can read more about how the cube came about at the following link: https://www.darenberg.com.au/the-experience/darenberg-cube-experience  The photos I took on the outside before entering.  There are two photos of outside sculptures.  The one on the left hand side is known as ‘Floating Figure’, made from 5mm Corten steel.   The photo next to Floating Figure is the Cube as viewed form the car park area then the second sculpture included is known as ‘Banksia’ it is  also made from Corten Steel.  It did indeed look like a banksia.  There are actually 30 outdoor sculptures around the grounds.  My top photo on the right is of vines near the Cube and the bottom right photos is a section of the entrance.

This visit to the cube was not my first.  I first visited shortly after it opened then in January we have friends from the UK visiting so we took them and this month I went with our daughter who was on a flying visit form England.  She arrived on Easter Monday and left on the Friday so visiting the Cube was squeezed in on the Thursday.  Certainly an experience worth doing and since opening its doors it has become one of the most popular with an estimated 1,00 people a day visiting over the summer months.    Thought I’d include a photo I took while checking out the men’s toilet on an earlier visit :-

Well I will say bye for now and hope you enjoy the outside views of D’Arenberg cellar door".

Thank you Melanie for sending this post!  It looks an amazing place to visit and I can see why this new venture is so popular. The men's toilets are certainly novel and if these are an example of what else you might see, a fun day is in store!

There is still time to add your own 5in5 photos this month so if you would like to find out how to join in, please go to this months post for details.  

And more about this monthly photo challenge started can be found   here.  Thank you for visiting and to everyone who contributes, it wouldn't be the same without you! 

5 in 5 - April 2018 - The Sketchbook Project

Welcome to '5 in 5' where on the 5th of

each month I post 5 photos that I have 
taken in 5 minutes.

The Sketchbook Project is an annual event and this year I decided to participate. Artists are sent a book which you complete in any way of your choosing using a few basic guidelines. The book is then returned to Brooklyn, US and becomes part of a travelling exhibition and permanent library. I was excited when my book arrived and was pleased by the small size, as I had made up my mind that in order to meet the deadline I would need to work within constraints. I set myself a goal which I explained on the back page of the book:

"I can be a perfectionist and chose this opportunity to participate without pressure or expectation.  There are things in the sketchbook that I would do differently another time, but I have given myself permission to let it go. This was a good experience and learning for me, because sometimes high expectation can stop me starting or mean that I did not enjoy the process so much because I undo or redo in search of getting it right. This time I achieved this by letting go, and I enjoyed making this sketchbook and accepted that good is enough!

I chose a quote as my theme as I wanted a connection to flow through the pages, and these words were meaningful to what I wanted to achieve and where I am in life".  

So let's take a look:

I have a few more details to add and then it will be posted back to Brooklyn. I'm glad I took part, it has been an opportunity to be playful and I used a range of mixed media techniques including stamping, paint, pens and ink, collage, grunge paste, stencils and texture. Thank you for looking, and maybe this will inspire you to take part next year.