Amy Hume
SUSAN Frisch is well on her way to achieving life goals.
The Kilmore jewellery artist is one of eight finalists in the 2010 Toyota Community Spirit Artist Travel Award.
If successful, Ms Frisch will travel to the United States of America, Sydney and Tasmania to enhance her skills, draw inspiration from nature and undertake research for her first solo exhibition, In the absence of… for 2012-13.
Working mostly with metal and red glass, Ms Frisch was selected as a finalist for her unique approach and practice.
She is constantly inspired by the natural bushland and nature in the reserve that surrounds her Kilmore home, which appears as a major theme throughout much of her work.
Her signature flowering gum pieces were among those selected for judging.
“My practice is concerned with the preservation of rugged, yet fragile environments that are under the every increasing threat of destruction,” Ms Frisch said.
“My current work experiments with the combination of metal and glass.
“I believe both properties echo elements of the environment – glass for its fragility and vulnerability, and metal for its strength and resilience.”
Ms Frisch said she is grateful to be selected as a finalist from a vast number of entries.
“This project has the potential to significantly enhance the development of my practice and I’m excited to be a part of it,” she said.
“It will give me the skills I need to achieve my goal of further exploring the use of glass in my jewellery, while at the same time allowing me to build the platform to launch my first solo exhibition.”
Toyota Community Spirit Gallery curator Ken Wong said the Toyota Community Spirit Travel Award was designed to encourage artists to think about their career path.
“The Toyota Community Spirit Travel Award stimulates artists to think about how they can develop their career,” Mr Wong said.
“It plans a travel experience that will connect them to new networks and give them an opportunity to explore their art practice in the coming year.”
The winner will receive $10,000 from Toyota to travel to a destination of their choice with the aim of enhancing their art and furthering their career.
The Toyota Community Spirit Artist Travel Award winner will be announced at the sixth Toyota Community Spirit Indoor-Outdoor Sculpture Show Of Snowflakes and Spacetime.
The annual sculpture exhibition provides a platform for emerging artists to showcase their exploration of sculpture practice.
Of Snowflakes and Spacetime runs from October 27 until March 2011 at the Toyota Community Spirit Gallery, 155 Bertie Street Port Melbourne.
The exhibition is open Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm, or by appointment.
