….I love texture in art pieces
There are two main types of texture in art: physical or actual texture that you can feel or the illusion of texture, created by lines and marks made on the canvas. The photos that I took at the AGO last week have actual textures that you can but probably shouldn’t touch.
….trios are everywhere, why not join in and share some of yours
…thanks to Cee for hosting PPAC this week https://ceenphotography.com/2021/10/22/ppac-19/
On a trip today to Guelph we ventured over to the Arboretum. It was just underway when I went to school there, some 50 years ago so many of the trees are now very mature. The colours were beautiful but to my surprise there were numerous and interesting statues and sculptures on the grounds. Here are just a few.
…thanks to Cee for hosting the Black and White Photo Challenge (https://ceenphotography.com/2020/08/06/cees-black-white-photo-challenge-carvings-sculptures-and-statues/)
…thanks to Cee for hosting the Black and White Challenge
All these photos were taken in London, England: a sculpture from the Whitechapel Gallery, the iron gate at the Natural History Museum, the tower from the Imperial College of London, a plane at the Science Museum, an outdoor sculpture and a dress from the Design Museum, a guitar from Canada House in Trafalgar Square, a statue in the V&A and the gate at Holland Park.
…..the weather that is
I’m not talking about the weather that we’re experiencing today but the weather that we had when we were in London, England back in October. Most people think of England as being foggy, cloudy and teaming with rain with a bit of sunshine here and there. Fortunately for us that was not the case. Out of the 14 days in London we only had one rainy day. That happened on Day 8.
Originally we planned to take the train to Brighton and enjoy the seaside. The relentless downpour that day changed our plans. Instead we took a bus to Brick Lane. Brick Lane is in the East End of London and is famous for its curry houses. Having said that I found it unusual that our son wanted us to try a deli where they serve salt beef sandwiches. I guess they’re pretty popular because there was a huge line-up to order one of these massive buns. The weather certainly didn’t keep people away. Unfortunately I didn’t take any photos of the area because the rain was really lashing down.
After sampling the salt beef we ventured back outside and maneuvered our way down the street with umbrellas overhead. We made our way to the Whitechapel Gallery to see the Elmgreen and Dragset show. It was to say the least, a most unusual show. On the ground floor gallery they present the ghost of the Whitechapel Pool. 
Throughout the exhibition there are more sculptures, such as, a cash machine, in front of which a baby has been abandoned. This supposedly acts as an emotional precursor to sculptures in the rest of the galleries. These include a rifle on the wall, a judge’s wig, a pregnant maid and a frightened schoolboy.
Later that evening, closer to our accommodations, we all went out for dinner together. It would be our last night together with all six of us. Andrea and Josie were heading for Scotland and my husband and I were moving to a hotel in South Kensington the following day. Our son picked his favourite Ramen restaurant, Kanada-Ya, Ramen Bar on Upper Street.
Not only did the good weather come to an end but so did our time with our daughter and daughter-in-law. Luckily for us the good weather did return for the rest of our trip but Andrea and Josie had quite different weather farther north in Scotland.
….after 4 days with Mom and Papa we decided to give the girls a break
Today Kevin and I ventured out on our own while Andrea and Josie did their own thing. We got on the Tube and made our way to the Bloomsbury District of London. The Tube by the way is the name of London’s subway system because it is shaped like a tube.
The Underground platforms lie anywhere from 41m to 58m below street level. The longest escalator at the Angel station is 60 m or 200 ft. long. All day long the PA system sends out PSAs warning people about the dangers on the escalators and advising commuters to keep to the right side.
The first stop we made on this day was at the British Museum. We were there in the middle of the week and so were hundreds of school children. This museum was built in 1753 and is a public institution dedicated to human history, art and culture.
Some of the objects that we saw included Japanese art forms from Manga cartoons to wood cut prints and sculptures made from clay, bronze and glass.
We also visited the Iraq display where we saw the Cyrus Cylinder.
We passed on seeing the Rosetta Stone because there was a class of children in the line ahead of us and my husband just wanted to leave at that point. We made our way across the street and decided to grab some lunch at a pub.
One of our biggest disappointments in London was the lack of independent pubs. Many of the pubs belong to a chain called Greene King and when you walk into one it is pretty obvious that it is part of the chain. It seems they all have the same menu and alcohol selection. The first one we ate in was situated across the street from the museum. The food was good but later during our trip we found it difficult to find a pub with a different menu.
Around the block from the pub we discovered this wonderful art gallery called the Contemporary Ceramic Centre. We were immediately drawn to the window by the display of Sophie Favre’s figurative sculptures. At the front and back of the gallery dozens of her animated sculptures greeted us with their human-like qualities.
These creatures certainly brought a smile to my face.
…thanks to Nancy Merrill for hosting the Photo a Week Challenge
My second most favourite colour is blue. Here are my entries for the theme blue.
….thanks to Cee for hosting the Black and White Photo Challenge
This summer I’ve spent as much time as possible visiting art galleries, museums and gardens. The first group of photos are from the grounds surrounding the McMichael Gallery in Kleinberg. These amazing sculptures were created by Ivan Eyre.
The next set were taken at the AGO from the Rebecca Belmore show. Rebecca is an Anishinaabekwe artist who is known for her performance and installation work.
….this week’s theme for WordPress’ photo challenge is unusual
A few ‘unusual’ finds on my walk today.
Mama Cormier 