c l o u d e h i l l

Graeme Foote

Graeme’s pieces are to be found throughout Cloudehill, several from early days. The fern goddess pieces in the cool borders and the sphinx benches in the quadrangle are but two examples. Of more significance is Graeme Foote’s ‘Influential Women Series’ placed throughout the gardens.

Visit Graeme Foote's Website

The Influential Women Series

I repeatedly heard from my mother that as women get older they become invisible to younger people and I had a strong feeling of injustice that this is not right for older women to be treated that way.

As a sculptor I suddenly became aware that there are not many sculptures and tributes to the senior people in our community, this then inspired me to sculpt an older lady doing a favourite pastime – having a cup of tea.

This sculpture ‘Time for Tea’ then inspired my exhibition ‘6 Influential Australian Women’ which comprised of life size sculptures of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, Janet Holmes à Court, Jeanne Pratt, Lowitja O’Donoghue, Christine Nixon & Stephanie Alexander.

The Artist's Statement. 2009

^ ‘Tea Time’ by Graeme Foote

Graeme Foote

Graeme Foote helped with the landscaping at Cloudehill from first days. He made the Acanthus God and the Fern Goddess set into the niches at the rear of the Warm Borders and Cool Borders in the mid-90s for instance, only a couple of years from when we began work in 1992. Also he supplied the sphinx benches in the quadrangle, and several plaques.

For years Graeme and his wife, Angela, ran Gargoyles and Dragons on the Canterbury Road in Surrey Hills. Graeme’s work can be seen on roof tops right across Melbourne.

In 1998 they established Surrey Sculpture Studio making one off sculptures and commission works for client’s gardens and in 2009 they went on to establish the Hawthorn Studio and Gallery with Angela operating the gallery and Graeme pursuing projects in the studio as the inspiration came to him. Things such as his immense ‘Humanity Series’, for which he set himself the task of creating one figure every day and a project lasting for the best part of a year. Graeme’s first life-size sculpture was of his daughter Kara in 1997/8, made when she was 12. Kara now sits among the flowers at the end of Cloudehill’s Upper Terrace.

His second was Time for Tea in 2008, inspired by Angela’s much-loved Aunty Jean Heath. Graeme was by now becoming confident of his grasp of the technicalities involved in molding and firing life-sized ceramic figures and this shows in the light-hearted mood of this rather wonderful work. Everyone who has visited Seasons Restaurant will have admired Angela’s Aunty Jean beside the entrance path.

The success of Time for Tea triggered discussion on more such projects. And also puzzlement over why Melbourne has such a plethora of males in prominent positions commemorated in bronze and marble while almost no females. Graeme and Angela decided to remedy this ‘oversight’ by drawing up a list of women deserving of notice. Initially they came up with ten names, however, ten life-size sculptures seemed a mite ambitious, so the list was whittled back to six and Angela given the job of contacting these ladies to see what they thought of this plan. The first on their list was the redoubtable Dame Elisabeth Murdoch.

Dame Elisabeth AC DBE

Dame Elisabeth had recently celebrated her 100th birthday the day Angela and Graeme visited, indeed, was still replying to congratulatory cards and letters. Taking photographs and measuring (with sculptor calipers) was an hour or so, which left a goodly time for conversation.

This became the format for all six projects and, as Angela says, led to several memorable conversations.

Lowitja O’Donoghue CBE DSG

The one with the late Lowitja O’Donoghue, especially, when she spoke of her struggles to study nursing in the Adelaide of the early ’50s, only to be told by the hospital matron “no white person will want to be nursed by an Aboriginal!”

This became a battle lasting for months and only broken when a benefactor went to the SA government arguing her case. Nursing of course was just the first rung of what was to prove a stella career. Years later, as one of the leaders in the battle for racial equality in Australia working for ATSIC, she received an invitation to a luncheon for ‘Twenty of the World’s Great Minds’ hosted by Richard Branson. And at this August occasion, Lowitja found herself in lengthy conversation with Nelson Mandela sitting next to her at the table.

Christine Nixon AO APM

When considering these extraordinary ladies, one will notice such moments were not uncommon.

All have left their mark.

Christine Nixon for her work shaping modern policing in New South Wales and Victoria and developing career pathways for women.

Stephanie Alexander OA

Stephanie Alexander for her role in Australian cuisine at ‘Stephanie’s’ in Hawthorn and later with the Kitchen Garden Program establishing gardens of edibles in primary schools to promote healthier eating.

Janet Holmes à Court AC

Janet Holmes à Court for her role in the world of finance, taking over her husband’s business under the most difficult circumstances imaginable and her career since as a benefactor of the arts and other areas of society.

Jeanne Pratt AC

Graeme’s depictions of these ladies are now in prominent positions all around Cloudehill, though one is missing.

To see philanthropist Jeanne Pratt you need an invitation to Rahine.

The Logic of the Influential Women Series at Cloudehill

One of the loveliest of the English Arts & Crafts gardens is Sissinghurst, in Kent, made by Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson, she the plants-person and he the designer. As Nicolson laid out the gardens, he spoke of working ‘expectation and surprise’ into its structure. Thus, approaching Sissinghurst’s tall Tudor tower, through its archway one sees a sculpture of a Roman God in the distance. Strolling towards it, garden ‘rooms’, ‘the rose garden’ , ‘the white garden’ and ‘the purple border’, open up on either side. Several sculptures are used in Sissinghurst in this way to encourage visitors to explore, however, its a shame that the ones Nicolson used are somewhat ordinary.

This is not the case with Graeme’s sculptures in Cloudehill. He and Angela poured effort and resources into these works because they saw them as important. So do not be misled by their geniality and calm. These are works filled with passion and commitment and it is a privilege to have them on display at Cloudehill.

Details

The Influential Women series are stoneware, ceramic fired to 1,280 degrees centigrade in a gas-fired kiln. Firings involved preheating the kiln for 18 hours, then holding the temperature at 1,280 C for another ten.

The kiln was constructed by Graeme especially for the series and the studio substantially enlarged and the floor heavily reinforced to make room. In other words, this was no small undertaking and several domestic projects (Graeme and Angela lived immediately above the studio) went by the board to make the series possible.

The pieces were made in sections to fit the kiln and molding occupied three to four months for each piece. This, for Graeme, was the most enjoyable part of each project. Whenever he was moulding he was utterly in thrall to the creative process, Angela says. The series was more than two years’ work, though, allowing for intervening bread and butter projects, really a good deal longer.