….thanks to Jez for hosting I’m a fan of…..https://jezbraithwaite.blog/2022/05/16/susan-fan-of-156/
The hardest part of this challenge will be choosing which pieces of art to display here. I’ll choose art from our trip and try to limit it to one painting from each gallery we visited.
….thanks Marsha for hosting Photographing Public Art Challenge https://alwayswrite.blog/2022/05/13/ppac-46-danger-in-lake-havasu-city/
After our disappointing discovery at the Curve Garden in Dalston our luck changed for the better. While looking at the scaffolding one of the curators from the garden came over to us and asked us if we were admiring the plants behind the metal barrier. We told her about our journey to find a Stik mural and how disappointed we were to finally find one that was almost completely hidden from view.
The curator’s name was Mari and she felt very badly for us. She told us the history of how the garden came to be and how much Stik supported this community project. The mural was very much visible when the garden was first built and they owned another one that was stolen after Stik became well known. She gave us a quick tour of the place and got our email address so that she could send us photos of the mural before the wall became a safety hazard.
In the second photo we see the lovely Mari who was so kind to us and next to her is Stik, the artist.
When Mari heard that we were going to the British Museum later that day she hesitantly told us that there was supposedly another Stik mural close by in the Phoenix Garden.
After seeing the Stonehenge Exhibition at the British Museum, Kevin checked google maps to see how close the Stik mural was from our location. Once again we were off on a mission. Coming from a city where all the streets run north and south and east and west we found London difficult to navigate because there are so many circles, diagonals and curvy roads. After a few missed turns we finally found ourselves on the right path and saw the sign for Phoenix Garden.
As soon as we stepped through the gates I saw what I thought could be the mural off in the distance. With his cane in hand, I swear Kevin started to run down the path towards the mural. Success…..we actually found a Stik mural.
….an adventure of epic proportions
While living in London, my husband decided he needed to find some street art created by the famous artist Stik. He went on the internet to locate some Stik murals that were not too far from our flat in Islington/Highbury.
Stik is a British graffiti artist based in London.[1][2] He is known for painting large stick figures.
One of his works fetched £150,000 at auction.
We started our search for a Stik mural at Shakespeare Walk. We got on a bus and made our way using Google Maps. When we got there we found ourselves walking through a nice residential neighbourhood with a community centre and parks. We thought we might be close because we did see some street art made by children.
We asked a couple of local residents if they could help us but they were at a complete loss and had never heard of Stik. We ended up walking through Butterfield Green before getting back on the bus and heading home.
Two days later, Kevin found another area where he thought we’d have more luck. This time we got on a bus that took us further east towards Dalston. When we got there I wasn’t sure where Kevin was taking me. We walked through back alleys and abandoned lots but didn’t see a Stik.
We went back to the main street and passed a colourful gate to a city garden but it didn’t open for another 10 minutes so we walked a little further and down a dead-end street where we passed some quirky shop windows and some graffiti art on the buildings.
We returned to the Curve Garden Gate and looked up and saw this amazing mural on the wall outside the gate. Later we found out the people in the mural were famous local residents of Dalston.
Kevin was certain that we would find a Stik mural behind those doors. What we did find was an amazing garden space that had been created by the community back in 2012 to make up for the fact that Dalston had no green spaces for the residents to enjoy. Inside there was a cafe, a tiny ‘museum’ of sorts, a play area for children and wonderful pots of spring plants. The walkway inside twisted and turned around trees and plants and areas to sit and enjoy this green space.
While I was enjoying the scenery and taking photos Kevin was off looking for a Stik. When I caught up with him he looked dejected and not because he couldn’t find it. He found it buried behind scaffolding and overgrown plants. Unfortunately we could only see the bottom third of the figure. Apparently the wall it was painted on was deemed unsafe so the city covered it up for safety reasons.
The search continues…….
Thanks to Sami for hosting Monday Murals https://sami-colourfulworld.blogspot.com/2022/05/monday-murals-ellenbrook-ii.html and Marsha for host Photographing Public Art Challenge https://alwayswrite.blog/photographing_public_art_challenge/?wref=tp
If you have any trios you’d like to share just copy the link from this post, copy it into your post and when I get your ping back I will be sure to comment.
…when there’s no TV you have time to read and make art
For this trip I brought one novel (close to 600 pages) and a small pad of paper, watercolours and a few pens.
Very relaxing and it’s gearing me up to paint when I get home.
…..in a store window on Upper Street, London
…..they’re everywhere…..on and in churches and castles
Did you know that gargoyles are more than decorative motifs on the sides of buildings? Most serve a very practical function.
Gargoyles are designed to allow rainwater to run off from the roof, usually through the mouth of the creature, man or animal that it is fashioned after. They were the precursor to gutters and rain spouts.
Historians also say that gargoyles were designed to protect a location and the people therein from negativity and unwanted spirits.
….April 25, 2022
I’m hoping to find more in the next few days. I’ve forgotten who hosts this challenge but when I find out I’ll come back and credit the blogger who is responsible for this challenge.
….Textures from France
….especially to our daughter, Andrea
Mama Cormier 