Noosa Botanic Sculpture Gardens

A GENEROUS $200,000 gift from an anonymous donor resulted in the establishment of the biennial Noosa Stone Sculpture Bequest and the creation of a stone sculpture walk within Noosa Botanic Gardens this week.

The first installation to be unveiled in the Cooroy gardens was a piece by well-known American sculptor M.J. Anderson. It was selected by the private donor.

Ms Anderson's work will eventually be joined by winning sculptors of the Noosa Stone Sculpture Bequest, for which applications are open until the end of the month.

The winning sculptor will travel and work for two months in Carrara, Italy, with access to master tuition at the renowned Studio Corsanini.

Following the Carrara residency, the artist will receive assistance to complete a stone piece to be added to the sculpture walk.

Community policy and programs portfolio councillor Jenny McKay said the bequest program would ultimately provide a venue of excellence for Australian artists working in stone and an enhanced visitor experience at the gardens.

"The beautiful Noosa Botanic Gardens stand to benefit from the generosity of this private donor with a love of the arts and gardens, and a desire to see one of Noosa's hidden treasures more widely known and enjoyed," Cr McKay said.

"In time, the bequest will create a stone sculpture walk through the gardens, establishing it as a national destination for the Sunshine Coast, demonstrating excellence for artists working in stone."

The judging panel will include the donor, a person with recognised stone sculpture expertise, and a representative of creative communities from the Sunshine Coast council.

The stone sculpture walk will present artworks that express the theme Emotions of a Lifetime.

The Noosa Botanic Gardens are on the shores of Lake Macdonald at Cooroy.

Applications to enter the generous bequest close on March 31.

A $25 entry fee applies.

To apply or for more details about the bequest, visit the special website on www.noosastonebequest.org.au.

M.J. ANDERSON

AMERICAN sculptor M.J. Anderson was directly chosen by the anonymous philanthropist as the first artist to benefit from the Noosa Stone Sculpture Bequest.

The artist has a long affiliation with Italy's place of marble, Carrara.

"In 1984 I began working with the marble from the mountains which rise up from the sea," she said.

"I have migrated from my studio on the Oregon Coast to Carrara on an annual basis.

The excitement of this long association has not dulled; indeed her creativity is renewed on each visit.

Ms Anderson said that each return heralded an artistic rejuvenation.

"I feel liberated artistically and carve with more abandon in Italy than in my home studio.

"Marble is metamorphic calcium carbonate, meaning that it was made over billions of years from the original ocean sediments of life forms such as coral reefs and sea life.

"When I carve I can smell the molecules of life that existed in a time before time. To me that is simply a miracle."