View a selection of the videos that showcase the Scenic Rim Region.
Artist Collective Kennedy and Kuratli
David Kennedy and Daniela Kuratli – jewellery, photography and mixed media
19-20 May, 2012
David Kennedy and Daniela Kuratli
Studio:
132 Main Western Road, North Tamborine.
Ph: 0412 839 587
What you’ll see:
Exhibiting from their boutique accommodation business, Witches Falls Cottages, this couple create beautiful jewellery and photography. David is a former company boss who sold the company to pursue new interests. Now, as well as running the accommodation business, he makes silver and gold jewellery and high-end coaster sets which draw on rich Australian resources for their composition. His Swiss-born partner Daniela is a photographer who focuses her lens on the naturally-occurring beauty of the Mountain.
We all know someone who’s taken a ‘tree-change’ in search of a simpler life, but David Kennedy takes the concept to a whole new level.
His work designing oil platforms took him around the world. He met Daniela in Switzerland and both realised they were looking to ‘get back to nature’. Daniela had grown up in a country region of Switzerland and David wanted to return to his home in Australia.
They searched for a business they could run together and a place where Daniela could keep chooks. They found it at Witches Falls Cottages at Tamborine Mountain three years ago.
At the time of the move David searched for something typically Australian to give as a gift to a client. As he trawled through tacky Aussie gifts, didgeridoos and stuffed koalas David realised there was a market for high-end quality Australian souvenirs.
“The didgeridoos were probably made in Indonesia, the koalas were from China, there was nothing that really gave me an impression of what Australia is and what it means to be Australian, so not being able to find something I decided to make something that embodied the key elements of Australia.”
ESSENTIALLY AUSTRALIAN
David designed a coaster which featured core Australian elements – granite, gold, silver and Mother of Pearl. He designed a hand-made case featuring Australia’s native timbers – the delicate blonde Queensland Maple, the rosy-toned Myrtle and the honey-hued Silky Oak – and he called the product Au ‘Element’.
But before David could manufacture his product he needed to learn how to work with silver and gold, so he enrolled in a jewellery making course. Once equipped with this knowledge he decided it seemed silly not to use it, so as well as creating his coasters, David also makes jewellery.
Silver and gold necklaces, rings and cuffs – edgy, beautiful, very natural and earthy.
“It’s very rewarding,” says David.
“It’s nice to do something with your hands, it’s rewarding to physically have a product at the end.”
DISCOVERY
While David was learning how to create jewellery, Daniela set out across the Mountain to discover her new home. She took her camera and over the months produced fluid images of what she saw. Daniela specialises in time-lapse photography which has enabled her to capture the subtle changes in nature which happen on the Mountain.
“I enjoy taking pictures, mainly of landscapes,” she says.
‘I started going to courses to make nicer holiday pictures and it’s grown from there.
“I do a lot of night photography and time-lapse photography where a picture is taken over 45 minutes to one hour. I use ambient light and have captured beautiful colours – greens, others are darker.
“Sometimes it’s just nice to get out, take a few pictures and get some fresh air.”