Art Sculptures – M J Mallon YA Author and Poet

COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 91, “Magic & Green,” #SYNONYMSONLY

Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Pembroke College with the SCBWI group – writers and illustrators. We had a fantastic time.

A statue – Figure in a Shelter – by Henry Moore caught my eye and I wrote a short piece of flash fiction using it as inspiration. So today I thought I’d share with you the photos and flash fiction plus a Tanka too.

For Green I used greenery and devilry for magic.

This ended up very Dr Who like!

Behold a statue,

What devilry can this be?

A woman captured,

Fooled by the lush greenery,

Buckled, damaged by a child.

A statue dominated the landscape of green, lush perfection. Two halves beckoned to her to approach. She hesitated, unsure. Captured within she imagined that a triangle of light fell on the woman within enveloping her hunched over body. But she couldn’t see her expression. She didn’t smile, frown or speak. It was as if a terrible freak of nature had broken the woman’s heart and left her mute.

One side of the statue curled inwards pointing an accusing, gnarled finger. It resembled a walnut cracked – its hard exterior broken and lost without its other significant half.

The missing part curved into a perfect mould with no sharp edges or broken pieces. Its womb-like space quivered dancing away from her – out of reach.

She sighed.

She felt a hand grip her fingertips. A child’s hand, small, urgent. The voice of this hand spoke to her. ‘Come on!’

It was her four-year-old niece urging her to move away from the statue to come and play.

This small person reminded her that she was needed. Wanted. She felt a tug and another and another.

She gazed at her niece’s playful grey eyes and saw the truth. Tiny freckles speckled across her face like displaced rays of sunshine.

‘This is for you,’ she said.

It was a sunflower. Such a beautiful gift, but wilted.

The woman cried.

‘Why are you crying, Aunty?’ asked the little girl.

The statue murmured. The two halves moved inwards to caress the woman.

The girl vanished.

And so did the woman.

My lovely SCBWI friends and I enjoying the sunshine and sharing our work:

To enter Colleen’s challenge please follow the link below:

https://colleenchesebro.com/2018/07/03/colleens-weekly-tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenge-no-91-magic-green-synonymsonly/

Buy Paperback Book link: http://mybook.to/TheCurseofTime
Unique Selling Point: Unique, Imaginative, ‘Charming, enchanting and richly layered this is purely delightful.’

“This delightful book will appeal to teens and young adults who love stories filled with magical crystals, dark family curses, and mysteries waiting to be solved around every corner. Each chapter leads you on a journey of discovery where Amelina earns the right to use three wizard stones to reset the balance of time and finally break the curse that holds her family hostage. A captivating tale!” – Colleen M. Chesebro (Editor)

Social Media:
Authors Website: https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com
Collaborative blog: https://sistersofthefey.wordpress.com
Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time
Facebook Authors/Bloggers Support Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1829166787333493/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17064826.M_J_Mallon
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mjmallonauthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mjmallonauthor/
Tumblr: http://mjmallonauthor.tumblr.com/

Edinburgh Festival: The Kelpies Sculptures

Aren’t these stunning?

These miniature statues are currently a feature of Edinburgh’s West End for the duration of the Edinburgh International Festival. The real Kelpies are one of the largest standing equine sculptures in the world, standing 30 metres high, and located within “the Helix” park, Falkirk, a 350 hectare park situated between Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland. The Kelpies are the creation of sculpter Andy Scott. Next time I’m up in Scotland I will most definitely be visiting the “real” Kelpies in Falkirk.

Taking photographs of them at different angles, certainly seemed to breathe life into these miniature Kelpies! Also I played about with the exposure, brightness, etc, on a photo editing site: http://www.picmonkey.com/ to get differing effects.

Links:

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news/article/1876/world-famous_kelpies_come_to_edinburghs_west_end

http://www.thekelpies.co.uk/

Hope you enjoyed the Kelpies. I loved them. Have you seen the Kelpies?

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

Edinburgh Festival: Photographs of My Art Gallery Visit

A fantastic motto to live your life by, Martin Creed’s message: Everything Is Going To Be Alright. Keep positive folks…. Yes, Everything is alright, my mum is doing really well after her operation, I’m so pleased, and relieved. She’s such a strong lady, I’m in awe of her really I am. My brother mentioned that he thought he’d have to wheel her out of the hospital after her operation but no my mum was up on her feet telling the nurses she wanted to go home! Amazing!

I thought I’d share with you this visit to the Scottish National Gallery Of Modern Art. It was one of the highlights of my trip to Edinburgh as I got a chance to go out with my mum, just the two of us, which was a treat in itself. She is still a bit delicate after her operation, no dancing for a while yet, so we had a coffee and a chat in the café and afterwards I did a super fast tour, while she read a book and had a well deserved rest.

I always like to pop into these two art galleries when I’m in Edinburgh. This time I just managed to go to Gallery One, but that’s alright as Gallery One is my favourite, it’s always full of inspiring art, has a lovely shop, and a coffee shop too. It is well worth a visit if you are ever in Edinburgh. Currently there is an exhibition of Roy Lichtenstein’s work at Gallery One, as part of Reflections, which is on until 10th January 2016 so still plenty time to see this free exhibition. The gallery is located at 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR, and is easily accessible via bus.

These images caught my eye as I went up the stairs, I liked the idea of looking through the window panes and seeing the view divided into six panes of awesomeness! So I nipped down to the café and told my mum that I wanted to take some photos, and then I popped up the stairs to snap these two images. Yes, I was running around that gallery like a sprinter. We were on a tight time frame, it really was a flying visit, as I was going out later in the day to the …….. yes you guessed it, the Book Festival.

Here’s another view of the same spot from the outside, with a Miró sculpture in the foreground.

Oh and on the way out…. I came face to face with the Sunken Statue, on the way to….. the bus stop!

Kind of sinister isn’t it? This is what happens to you if you spend too much time in art galleries you sink into the concrete of life and partially disappear! That unsuspecting lady and her child making their way out of the gallery better watch out, they’re heading for a Doctor Who moment if you ask me, they’re following the straight line to oblivion! Poor unsuspecting fools. Yes, the sunken statue doesn’t look too happy does he? Can’t blame him, whatever has happened to his nipples? They look hammered in. Must be the shock, poor chap!!

Links:

https://www.nationalgalleries.org/

http://www.culture24.org.uk/art/art399888

https://www.nationalgalleries.org/visit/modern-one-23559/room-displays/reflections-creed-lewitt

http://martincreed.com/

Hope you enjoyed my post, have you been to any wonderful art galleries or sculpture parks recently? Or had any Doctor Who moments recently?

Do comment and let me know, I’d love to hear from you.

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

Jupiter Artland – The Light Pours Out of Me

THE LIGHT POURS OUT OF ME

Anya Gallaccio

https://www.jupiterartland.org/artwork/the-light-pours-out-of-me

Jupiter Artland’s The Light Pours Out OF ME’s crystal grotto was and still remains one of my greatest sources of inspiration for writing my YA novel, which I hope to publish soon. I was lucky to be invited to Jupiter Artland two years ago by a friend of mine. I didn’t realise at the time just how much impact this magical Artland would have on shaping my novel. In fact I think the Light poured out of that grotto and landed deep in my soul! This wonderful Artland houses many amazing artworks, and sculptures, as well as being a hotspot for educational activities, artist’s talks, and workshops for adults and children. This is one of those truly magical places that you want to devote some time to. So stay there a full day, visit the shop and the café. Enjoy.

“‘The Light Pours Out Of Me’ is a contemporary folly or grotto, a nod to the great tradition of British landscape gardening developed in the 18th century. This is a sculpture, but it’s also part of a garden. I would like it to be unsettling for people when they first encounter it. I’d like them to question whether they should enter the gate or not. Then, when they come into the space it is very formal, quite grandiose but intimate, a quiet place for one or two people.”

“The undulating amethyst walls are very seductive, sensual. The individual crystals grow in unruly clusters producing a deceptively smooth but treacherously jagged surface.”

“The garden is a garden of discovery – an earthwork here, a copse of cradled rocks there, the entrance to a fathomless burrow right before your feet. Visitors to Jupiter Artland are given a map indicating the location of the artworks within the grounds. But there’s no set route. Clockwise or anticlockwise is your choice. As is a left turn here or a right turn there; or the retracing of steps for a second look. The artworks are land marks, events, confrontations on a journey of discovery; an open-ended journey. If you enjoy Jupiter Artland we hope you will return. If you do, over time, you will come across new installations in the park and hopefully come to appreciate more fully the concept of this continual work-in-progress. Come and discover, contemplate and delight.”

“Travelling to Jupiter is easy and we’re only 25 minutes from the centre of Edinburgh. If you are using satellite navigation, be warned you will end up in the middle of a field upsetting our very patient neighbours. PLEASE do follow our instructions on the internet, there is only one entrance to Jupiter and that is via the B7015.”

The above text is taken from the Jupiter Artland website: http://jupiterartland.org

Photos in the body of the text are my own feeble attempts at recording this magnificent grotto.

Click on the link at the top of the page to see the Crystal Grotto in its full glory.

I will be doing a future blog post on the amazing sculptures soon. Can’t wait to tell you all about it.

Have you ever been somewhere special that inspired you? If so, please do let me know, tell me via the comment box below. I’d love to hear your experiences.

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