Spheres and gears

One's eyes are often drawn to those elements that make up part of our art practice - so it comes as no surprise that my eyes would be drawn to stones and metal spheres such as those below. These were part of a sculpture installation out the front of the Sheraton hotel in Edinburgh - we walked by to our much more modest digs.

The gears and shiny things were seen in the Scottish National Museum in Edinburgh. They are part of a Corliss steam engine. They of course had a link to my Artisan Lamps.

The overseas sojourn has now come to an end so future blog posts will be from our mountain top. Much was seen and enjoyed; and much inspiration and energy will be taken home.

A few images from galleries

Whilst in Cardiff Fiona and I had the chance to visit the Wales National Museum and Gallery where they have one of the biggest collections of impressionist and post-impressionist art outside of France. This had come about through a bequest by two sisters. As usual while I was taken by the beauty of many pieces I was even more taken by details or fragments of the pieces which follow.

We also visited the Scottish National Modern Art Gallery - again some images.

I find some modern art does not appeal but works such as the fur coats that had been shaved to reveal the stitching and joins grabbed me - I think it was all the detail and the way the artist had deliberately worked with the garments to reveal underlying beauty given the controversy around fur coats.

Fragments from the streets

One feature of Fiona's and my journey is the amount of walking we do; but it is through walking that one discovers fragments of art, history and lives. 

A few images from Cardiff streets including the first photos of a public sculpture that was part of a war memorial. One side of the work was a face, the other the hull of a ship and the back the structure of a boat -  a very powerful work.

And there we less challenging fragments in Cardiff.

We are back in Edinburgh and there are always layers of history and forgotten bits.

We also visited a couple of public galleries in Cardiff and Edinburgh but sharing fragments from those will be for another day.

Surprised by fragments of Spring

Fiona and I have been wandering the highways and byways of Scotland and Wales for three weeks now. We were told it is Spring. Given that we have been blown on, snowed on, rained on, hailed on and sleeted on we have at times not been convinced. But the small touches of colour and growth not only make one smile but also make one realise that nature is doing its best to mov from winter to spring. A few photos of signs of Spring that have caught my eye.

In their own way they look like photos from my morning walks.