A’net is made from discarded fisherman’s twine collected from Devon’s beaches
A’net by Brenda Jet was one of the installations we were able to get up close and personal with during our stay at Broomhill Art Hotel and Sculpture Garden in Muddiford, North Devon. The garden is a naturalistic one that runs alongside a stream, through a meadow and in the woodland of a steep-sided valley.
Brenda Jet collects plastic waste, such as tangled fisherman’s twine which she patiently cleans, unravels, then winds into neat balls of raw material. The finished sculpture is felt-like, colourful and textural. Continue reading “A’net by Brenda Jet at Broomhill Sculpture Garden”
Kraken are giant, predatory sea creatures from the North, something like an octopus or squid. This one has, not unusually for its sort, seized hold of a passing sail boat and now has the terrified mariners at its mercy (unless, as we cannot see any onboard, they were all partying onshore when the kraken sneaked into the harbour). It’s a detail from a painting on a hotel car park wall we stopped to admire.
Strictly speaking, the second is fence art. It’s a detail too, of a large design featuring birds, animals and vegetation that runs around the back patio of a restaurant in Key West. It’s worth reading this one upwards, so you get used to each level of the story before taking the next leap.
Pink flamingos painted on a fence
First, leafy foliage with two pink flamingos. So far so good. They wear a decorative form of eye makeup. One is wearing a coronation crown that Queen Elizabeth II would not be ashamed of (it looks lighter than her own). The artist has added a scroll and swirl design to add movement and break up the background. A space craft is leaving the scene to fly off into a universe of stars. Continue reading “Street Art, Key West, Florida Keys”
When my sweetheart saw this, he tried to explain how I could remove the power lines with an app. Remove the lines? I like the lines. I like the way the vegetation moves with so much verve around them.
Indulge me. Anthropomorphise the seed heads for a moment and see how they seem to be lifting thin arms in mockery or emulation. Watch the boundaries between natural and man-made fade.
I didn’t get any pleasure from the power lines for a long time. We don’t dangle our lines in the sky for all to see where I’m from, we secretively stash them away. I’d venture to think we don’t need as many lines where I’m from, but then what do I know? Continue reading “Sometimes I Like Things I’m Not Supposed To Like”
When Suzie Cranston’s world was rocked by the death of her son, Peck, a sign saying ‘Peace begins in the garden’ inspired her to create a garden that would celebrate his life.
Beautiful at any time of the year, my sweetheart and I often pause to admire it on walks through our quirky little neighbourhood, Fondren, in Jackson, Mississippi. More than twenty years after starting the garden, Suzie is eager for others to enjoy it as much as she does. She welcomes visitors with a broad smile, pointing out things they may have missed: flowers, garden art, a new birdhouse and, in particular, things that Peck would have loved, such as the tortoises which appear everywhere. Continue reading “Suzie Cranston’s Birdhouse Garden”
I’ve long been treasuring a snap of a box of sugar with the handwritten message ‘Be careful, spills easily’ on it, which somehow piques my sense of humour, but sadly, it isn’t on this computer.
So how about this picture of an impractical deckchair? It does have several different warnings: the colour scheme for one. Then there’s the liberal application of the do-not-cross tape, the red cushion emblazoned with ‘Danger Do Not Sit’, and the graphic that seems to be warning of a lightening bolt.
This characterful door hasn’t experienced much traffic lately, as the untrampled wildflowers bear witness. It is part of the South Austin Museum of Popular Culture (Southpop) complex on South Lamar Boulevard, Austin, Texas – or just around the corner from it.
Some years ago, I was waiting outside a historical building for my sweetheart to finish a landscaping consultation when a gentleman approached. He urged us to take a look at his woodland garden, just a few streets away, even if we only had a few minutes. Continue reading “The House Of Their Dreams, Newton, Mississippi”
