Art

When I saw Hugh’s Photo Challenge this week I knew that I had to join in the fun.

I had just the photo in mind, and here he is, Mr Frowning Tree.

Isn’t he extraordinary?

I photographed him some time ago when I was working as a Christmas temp at John Lewis. I was on my way to work one morning, and there he was greeting me with that wretched face. I had to stop and photograph him, I couldn’t walk pass without doing so. I have to admit that on that particular morning I just wasn’t in the mood for work. He knew it. I knew it. I just wanted  to spend time blogging or writing!! Anyway, I saw his sad face and his monumental frown had me in stitches.  He knew what I was thinking: There is nothing as fulfilling as spending time being creative. So that sad tree kind of frowned in sympathy, cheeky so and so….

Today, I was with my daughter in Ely. We were prom dress shopping. We went to a charming shop called Something Special and we found just the right one. The amazing thing was it wasn’t one she had picked. I spotted it! C’est Moi, the Fashionista! It had no price tag on. Eek, but she tried it on anyway, and I prayed it wouldn’t be too expensive. It fitted her like a glove. This in itself was a big bonus as she is so petite that finding a dress is no easy feat. This is the moment when she transformed from a very pretty sixteen year old into classy, and beautiful. The dress is simple, elegant, with just the right amount of detail for her to look like a total knock out.

She just loved it. Of course this midnight blue gown was way over my intended budget. I tried to make her see sense but as we left the shop, she kind of worked her magic on me. Of course she convinced me!! We only walked a few yards down the road, and then we were heading our way back to the shop much to the shop assistant’s amusement and the rest is history. Anyway, that sad tree has a lot to answer for, he’s probably chuckling now, cracking his bark, with splinters of spontaneous laughter. My poor wee bank account…..

So how did my daughter manage to work her magic on me?

Easy.

We mothers just can’t resist their daughters when they look so beautiful. But, as an insurance policy she promised to get A’s and B’s in her GCSE’s and to help with the price tag…. Clever lass. So I can’t complain.  Perhaps this will spur her on to do extraordinary things….

This is when my day out with my daughter turned into an extraordinary day.

We had such a lovely day in Ely, it was such fun. The sun shone. We walked down to the waterfront and took loads of photographs. This is a common interest as we are both photography mad. I banished the thought of my money blues by suggesting that we visit a free event at the Babylon Gallery. Yes free, can you imagine? The Gallery is right on the waterfront. There is a very interesting exhibition at the moment called Time and Time Again, by Helena g Anderson from 20-31 January. Today is the last day, so hurry if you want to go see it.  It totally took my mind off the state of my bank balance. In fact it was such a wonderful idea to go, as my daughter is doing GCSE Textiles and is a keen photographer and this exhibition really inspired her.  The main theme of the exhibition is “an opportunity to look at the changing nature of time on the human condition, where one sees the body deteriorate but the soul remain omnipresent. Women and girls were photographed in 10-year increments, ranging from 0 to 100 years old.”

Startlingly we recognised one of the photographed faces, a friend of my daughters. Isn’t that quite amazing? It can only happen in Ely you know, you must visit!

More about Babylon Gallery here:  http://www.babylonarts.org.uk/gallery/view,time-and-time-again-helena-g-anderson-2031-january_1906.htm

My photos of Ely will shortly be on my Instagram account so if you’d like to see them please follow the link: https://www.instagram.com/kyrosmagica/

I just love Ely. It is a must see place to visit, with its beautiful cathedral, lovely places to eat, riverside restaurants, and independent bookshops.  Moreover, I just love spending time with my daughters, even when they cost me a fortune.  I even found a dress for the Bloggers Bash too. It was in the same shop, fortunately the price wasn’t in the same frowning price tag league!!! But it was really pretty. So two dresses bought in one day, ouch…. what a day!!

Yes, I’m intending on going to the Bash again this year. I went last year and it was such fun. A day not to miss….

More about the Bloggers Bash this year via Sacha Black’s blog. The date is 11th of June, so do put it in your calendar. By all accounts it sounds like it’s going to be an awesome event. I just can’t wait.

http://sachablack.co.uk/2015/10/01/the-bash-is-back-the-second-annual-bloggersbash-2016/

And my account of last year’s event:

https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/08/02/the-bloggers-bash-oh-what-a-day/

Want to meet the organisers and attendees from last year? :

https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/08/05/meet-the-bloggers-who-attended-the-first-annual-bloggersbash-held-in-london-on-august-1st-2015/

Here’s the link to Hugh’s blog if you’d like to join in his photography challenge:

http://hughsviewsandnews.com/2016/01/26/hughs-weekly-photo-challenge-week-10-faces/

Here’s Hugh’s advice on what to do if you want to join in:

This week take a photo of an object that looks like it has a face. Rather than taking photos of the faces of people or animals try and capture an object that looks like it has a face.

Want to join the fun? Here’s what you need to do.
1. Take a photo of an object that looks like it has a face.
2. Create a new post on your blog entitled “Hugh’s Photo Challenge: Week 10 – Faces.”
3. Add the photo(s) you have taken to the post and tell us a little about what you are showing.
4. Create a pingback to this post or leave a link to your post in the comments section below so that other participants can view your post.

Bye for now,

Marje @ Kyrosmagica XX

 

Encouraging young people to believe in themselves and find their own voice, whether it is through drama, writing or art is so important in giving young people a sense of self-worth.   Michael Morpurgo.

I absolutely believe this is true, and the photograph below, (which I’ve edited with Michael Morpugo’s quote,) is taken from my youngest daughter’s art work when she was still at primary school.

Here’s a trio of Georgina’s artwork from primary school, the one on the left and right remind me of batik, The middle one is very colourful and exotic too! Batik is a technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to whole cloth, or cloth made using this technique. It is found in various countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Nigeria. More about Batik on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batik

                 

Author’s Bio – Goodreads

Michael Morpurgo is the author of many books for children, five of which have been made into films. He also writes his own screenplays and libretti for opera. Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1943, he was evacuated to Cumberland during the last years of the war, then returned to London, moving later to Essex. After a brief and unsuccessful spell in the army, he took up teaching and started to write. He left teaching after ten years in order to set up ‘Farms for City Children’ with his wife. They have three farms in Devon, Wales and Gloucestershire, open to inner city school children who come to stay and work with the animals. In 1999 this work was publicly recognised when he and his wife were awarded an MBE for services to youth. He is also a father and grandfather, so children have always played a large part in his life. Every year he and his family spend time in the Scilly Isles, the setting for three of his books.

If you are artistic or creative and would like to be featured on this blog, I will be posting artistic, photographic, writing, poetry, creative, and dramatic pieces, (written accounts for the drama please!) by youngsters in the age group 11-18. So do get in touch if you are interested in featuring, leave a comment below.

This is my photo for Julia’s Camera Lucida this week. The theme this week is The Colour of Life. If you’d like to join in or check out Julia’s awesome owl post here’s the link: https://myredpage.wordpress.com/2015/09/14/camera-lucida-the-colour-of-life/

My photo of Alice’s card filled hair is a bit of a steal really as it is a photograph of my daughter Natasha’s artwork when she was studying GCSE Art but it seemed to fit the theme very well, as it is so colourful and vibrant. This week I will be doing some posts about celebrating and encouraging the artistic endeavours of young people.  Life is full of challenges and possibilities pick an Alice fantasy card and see where time will take you. I Love the wackiness of Alice in Wonderland, our lives should be full of exuberant, eccentric moments and this painting sums it up for me.

Hope you liked my post. If you’d like to share any of your children’s art work/photography in the comments below please do.

Marje @ Kyrosmagica. xx

In my earlier blog post today, Secrets and Lies, I mentioned that I would be revealing one of my secret sources of inspiration. Well here it is, The Corpus Christi Clock in Cambridge, a stunning timepiece that is featured in my writing. The clock is a very popular tourist attraction that’s frequently photographed. People tend to respond to the clock in many different ways. I found the grasshopper thought provoking and weird looking. What do you think? Are you enticed by its fine gossamer wings, or repelled by its stinging tail?

I discovered a couple of interesting videos on Youtube about the Corpus Christi Clock and I’ve shared these on my Tumblr site, here’s the link: http://kyrosmagica.tumblr.com/.

I’m not going to tell you any more about the grasshopper other than to say he plays a very interesting part in the mysterious Crystal Cottage.

I’m excited to say that writing inspiration can be found everywhere, all you have to do is look with a keen eye. Museums, Art and Photography displays can provide such a wonderful source of ideas. In fact, I’m desperate to visit the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge to view the Silent Partners Artist & Mannequin from Function to Fetish exhibition. Sounds weird but interesting! It’s free too, where else can you get entertainment for free? Ok, libraries you say. C’est Vrai. Absolutely.

Here’s the link and trailer about the Fitzwilliam’s Silent Partner’s exhibition: http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/whatson/exhibitions/silentpartners/

Enjoy. Have a very Happy Weekend, and if you’ve been shopping this Black Friday hope you’re aren’t too exhausted. I’ve ignored the Blackest of temptations and stayed well away from the shopping queues. How about you?

Photos: My own.

Well, it’s Friday again, we’re about to embark on another weekend. So, what’s on my list of things to do today? Every Friday I try to post a photographic image on my blog. This week I decided to focus on one image that particularly inspired me whilst writing about the Crystal Cottage. So later in the day I will post this special image to my blog. Not telling you what the image is yet as I like, no LOVE, secrets so you’ll just have to wait!

Oh, if you like secrets, deception, hypnotism, art, and myth, then I’ve got a feeling you might like to visit the Crystal Cottage one day. I’ve already been there, and it is a wondrous place.

Jupiter Artland.

THE LIGHT POURS OUT OF ME

Anya Gallaccio

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.