I have been a Toastmaster member at Townsville Toastmasters Club for the past 2 years. Toastmasters is about improving your public speaking.
On Monday 12th October, I completed one of my speeches from my manual. This speech was titled "White Ribbon". I had been wanting to present a speech about domestic violence for some time and because domestic violence has been in the media and in social circles I decided the time for me to do a talk on this subject was no better time than the present. I was very nervous, but I took the plunge and completed my speech. On each night of the Toastmasters meeting a award is given out to the overall winner voted by the members and presented with the Most Enthusiastic Toastmaster Award. I not only accomplished to complete a speech with a theme of importance but I also accomplished in receiving the award of the night. Thank you to those who voted for me, I really appreciate the kind gesture. :)
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A annual Art Awards is held in the Hinchinbrook area. This year I was fortunate to make sure I had a entry in the Photography section. The awards are exhibited at TYTO Regional Art Gallery located in Ingham, North Queensland.
My artwork titled "Vanitas Past and Future" was awarded Highly Commended in section 4, Photography. This artwork was created in 2014 as a conceptual piece of work on the Vanitas theme. Vanitas is in Latin language for vanity. Vanitas is an art style which is generated in the 17th century and originated in the Netherlands as a still life genre painting. This is traditionally made from objects with symbolic meaning. Examples of this is the skull which represents death and a hour glass and a candle that has been blown out representing time being brevity (shortness) of life. The vanitas is also religious and was trying to convey a message of importance as quoted by Shelly Esaak, "Trivial pleasures of life are abruptly and permanently wiped out by death so don't get too carried away during your earthly time." Vanitas past and future is focused around a crystal ball. The fortune teller uses the crystal ball to look into the future and the past. With my image I have made the main focus on the skull and hour glass within the crystal ball. This shows and represents the end of time and beginning of time as the skull and hour glass is represented. The art work as displayed in the images above was sold on the opening night of the exhibition. Thank you goes out to the judge and the buyer of my work as this is a great accomplishment for me in my artist journey. |