Silver Fern Ball

The PSNZ Convention 2013 closed today. It has been a very hectic five days, filled with inspiring presenters, workshops and field trips. A very exciting time for photographers from all over New Zealand and other countries.
Next year the Convention will be hosted by our Marlborough Camera Club in Blenheim. We have a very active committee well into planning for this event.
I took a break at morning tea to venture outdoors into the Civic Square. It was a brilliantly mild, sunny day and Wellington was at its best. The weather is predicted to turn very nasty this evening so folk were out making the most of the day.
Suspended high in the air over the Civic Square is an enormous silver filigree ball. It has been an integral part of the heart of the city since 1998. Designed by Neil Dawson, it depicts five different species of New Zealand ferns in a delicate filigree-like pattern. The inner sides of this eight foot plus diameter aluminium ball are painted gold and the outside is silver.
"The gold and silver together together follow the feng shui concept that gold and silver in spherical form can concentrate and radiate energy. It brings a beautiful aesthetic quality, particularly against a blue sky, of a golden heart shining out of New Zealand's silver fern." Quote by Fiona McNamara.
The sculpture was commissioned by the Wellington Sculpture Trust, the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts and the City Gallery in 1998.
I love this beautiful example of New Zealand art. It is an icon in the heart of our capital city.