Terri Dunbar-Curran
THERE’S something particularly agreeable about a rich burgundy swirl of shiraz in a wine glass, the characteristic aroma and pleasing taste, but the appreciation need not end there.
Once again, the students of the Marié Stander School of Art in Stellenbosch have uncorked their talents to produce a series of works worth raising a glass to for this year’s Tokara Wine Made Art competition.
More than 40 students were challenged to create works exploring this year’s theme, “2014 World Design Capital – Cape Town”, using Tokara’s 2011 Shiraz.
Not an easy task.
“Wine has one tone, there’s no other colour, and no texture. It’s actually quite difficult,” says artist and teacher Stander, explaining that if you try to paint with the wine as it is, you end up with a very light lilac, grey colour. This is the school’s fourth time participating in the competition, and over the years they have experiment with a variety of techniques for making wine easier to work with.
Their main concerns have been making sure the wine didn’t become too thick to work with satisfactorily, and that it did not lose colour over time once applied to the paper.
“Getting the colour is tricky, because it’s so pale, but you can’t reduce it too much because it becomes too syrupy, so we used the old Voortrekker recipe to get ink: a wine reduction boiled with a rusty nail and a white protea leaf,” says Stander.
Her students are used to working in a variety of mediums, from oil and ink to charcoal and pencil, so they took painting with wine in their stride.
“I try and introduce them to a lot of different mediums. We’re very open for experimentation usually.”
As a practising artist herself, Stander is only too happy to be on hand to guide her students.
“I’m very involved with the creation process. Whenever we start a new brief I show them different examples and ideas – to get the inspirational juices flowing.”
Not only did Wine Made Art stretch the skills of the artists, but it also broadened their horizons, as Stander doesn’t allow her students to use found objects or photographs taken by other people when creating their works.
“They have to go out and get their own images. It keeps it very fresh and original,” she says. As a result, her Stellenbosch-based students ventured out to “be inspired by probably one of the most culturally rich cities in the world – Cape Town”.
Stander is very pleased with the final collection that has been chosen to be exhibited at Tokara’s on-site gallery until the end of January next year.
Among the works featured is Francia Morris’s striking portrait of a young child, Beacon of Hope. The painting was inspired by Nelson Mandela and his fellow inmates on Robben Island looking out towards the silhouette of Table Mountain. It stood as a beacon of hope for the prisoners that one day they would return to the mainland.
Morris has incorporated the iconic line into the girl’s pinafore. Echoing the “beacon” concept, she holds in her hands the Robben Island lighthouse. Morris sees the city’s World Design Capital status as Cape Town becoming a beacon of hope once again, as artists attempt to solve the challenges the country faces by using design.
Jeanne-Marie Morris’s Cape Town’s Flair in turn centres on a model enveloped by symbols connected to Design Capital 2014. Focussing on the city’s fashion, flair and attitude, she has also included the uniqueness of the Cape floral kingdom in the woman’s clothing.
The opening of the Wine Made Art exhibition coincides with the winery’s release of its new vintages, among them the Tokara Director’s Reserve, Reserve Collection and Limited Release wines.
l Tokara is open from 9am to 5pm on weekdays and from 10am to 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
See www.tokara.com for more information.