Sunday, May 03, 2009

Wait! Don't go! You're not in the wrong place. I changed my blog template, or rather, I started the change. I was tired of my photos not fitting in the old format. I also felt like some people might have had a problem with white print on dark background. I've lost a lot of my sidebar gadgets and links but the sidebar has needed updating for ages anyway. Maybe now I'll be more inspired to actually do it. More to come. But for now, let's move on to more garden photos.

Today I'm only sharing one garden feature, but I took a zillion photos of it.

A million (or did I say zillion?) photos, and not one photo of the work in it's entirety. Oops. Here's the most overall pic of it I have. Isn't it amazing! It curves on to the right and the left and there's another solo animal and in the middle, the bottom of it just visible, a fountain.


A close up of Mr. Turtle, ready for children to climb on his back.


The creator is a mixed media artist named Colleen Barry. Surprisingly, she doesn't have a website or even a blog so I can't link there for you. You can Goggle her name and find other sites that show photos of her work however. She must have ordered these letter tiles for her signature. And I love the little dancing skelly with a heart.


I spoke with Colleen for a brief bit. Signed up on a mailing list for a possible class in the autumn. I so hope the timing works for me to take it. I've been a frustrated in-my-head mosaic artist for years. The only mosaics I ever attempted got left outside unfinished and with no grout, fell apart through a series of rains.

She said the tile and other pieces for this work were partially donations. It's like dozens of single pieces that also make a cohesive whole. I could have spent a lot more time finding all the pretties hidden in her design. Had to take a photo of the lady bug parade for Joli.


The top of the fountain. It was mottled shade, difficult conditions for photographing, and yet it fits the mosaic well, makes it difficult to tell where the mosaic ends and the shadows begin.


And the bottom of the fountain. Silly me didn't take a photo of the whole thing. Sheesh.


At the foot of the drinking fountain.... was it a drinking fountain? Didn't photograph that either, but hmmmm, I'm certain it was there..... anyway, these embedded keys were one of my favorite bits.


Another favorite, agates and spirals hidden on the back side of the wall that curved behind the benches. Forgot to go to macro so it's not the best photo. I was pretty blown away by it and a little distracted.


The other free standing animal, a friendly green frog. Or is he a toad?


A section of the beautiful back of the sculpture. I thought those shimmery white tiles in with the blue were glass that you could see through but now I realize that can't be possible. Maybe they were mirrored tiles. I guess I'll have to go back and look again.

Yesterday's pics didn't open for me like I'd hoped so I tried a new technique today, knock on wood. If you can open the photos to a larger size, you'll see that square tile says "Prepare the child for the path, not the path for the child." That confuses me. I'm not sure if I agree. Maybe I'm hearing the intent wrong. It sounds sort of "Mold the child to fit the path" to me. What about Thoreau's different drummer or Frost's road less traveled?


Oh no! Watch out little green ladybug!


The center of the wall is this gorgeous butterfly. I like that I unknowingly captured Sam and Ashley in the background.


A coolio bat.


A dragon fly with glowing green eyes.


It makes me want to run out and make a dozen of these gorgeous mosaic balls. I wonder what the middle is made out of? Do they make cement balls? Okay, here's where you can stop and make ball jokes. I'll wait......

It makes me want to collect all these wonderful different bits and pieces. Much to the family's consternation, I already have a huge pile of broken ceramic and glass stored in the backyard. I have it in my head to have a mosaic making day or weekend with others. I have no idea who these "others" might be. And there's the little thing of having to put my backyard back together again. It's rather Humpty Dumpty after the fall-ish at the moment. We'll see if I can do what all the king's horses and all the king's men could not.


Okay, blogging is hard work. After all that chatter, I think you can leave me here to sit a spell. You can check out Beach Treasure. I think I'm going on about books again over there.

5 comments:

cynsheis said...

I could not think of one ball joke, but have to say we are very like minded in this area except i am pretty sure you have a better follow through.

Thanks for showing this in so much detail. This is where i will sit next time i play (((hugs))))

cynsheis said...

"Prepare the child for the path, not the path for the child."

well my generation was taught to consume to take to make the path bend to me....maybe our children should learn.....
maybe there is only so much the path can take before it dead ends...we should allow the path to be and learn to walk it for what it is


teach the child, make it ready for the path and allow it to walk its own...do not make the path for the child and then set it upon it.

just thinking...

The Bodhi Chicklet said...

That is an incredible mosaic. I have done some, the largest is a 2 x 4 foot piece in the transom in my kitchen but I have always wanted to make a huge outdoor one. How inspiring!

Unknown said...

I thought Gaudi! but this is CLOSE to you?? lucky lucky girl! Fantastic garden, just wonderful, I have to go back and read again to see where this is.

AND yes, the mosaic balls..ALL of it fabulous

thank you!
x...x

Troop 1309 said...

WOW That is awesome! I have gathered several things so I can make some garden art, but I haven't done it yet. This might be the inspiration I need! :)