One form of public art that really enhances many of our cities are the many fountains to be found in our squares and parks. However I often find myself drawn to photograph these. I like to try to capture the flowing water, or perhaps to pick out interesting details in their sculptural groups.
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Over breakfast on a damp Parisian morning we discussed our plans for the day. Maybe rather than a walk a museum visit would be a better option, given the weather? This museum occupies the Hôtel Biron, where Rodin lived for the last decade of his life.
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On the outskirts of Nairobi is a very special place, where orphaned baby elephants find safety and refuge… Thus I started a blog post last May about the amazing work being done at the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. Imagine how thrilled I was when many of those residents made their way, in sculptural form, to London’s Spitalfields Market!
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When I started blogging almost eighteen months ago I had no idea that the blogosphere was full of challenges, and it took me some time to discover them. Once I did, I was hooked, and especially on photo challenges.
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Plovdiv’s Kapana district is an object lesson in how to transform run-down into lively, neglected into loved. In this part of the city , a maze of small streets follows much the same pattern as the Ottoman souk which once stood here, although the mainly wooden buildings of that era are long since gone. The very name, Kapana, recalls that maze, as it means ‘Trap’; once among these streets it was hard to find your way out!
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In a previous post I took you on a walk along the River Tyne in Newcastle and introduced you to its famous bridges. But I neglected to mention all the public art to be found along the Quayside. So now I want to rectify that omission.
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In the Plaza de la Encarnación of Seville a strange structure reaches skywards. This is the Metropol Parasol, often referred to by locals as the Mushrooms, Las Setas de la Encarnación. The dramatic forms arch overhead, framing views of the surrounding streets and buildings.
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Spain, along with its neighbour Portugal, is home to some of the most beautiful tilework in the world, and much of it originates in Seville. Or more accurately, in the Seville barrio of Triana. Known as Majolica, or sometimes Talavera, after the ceramic centre of Talavera de la Reina in Castilla, these tiles have been produced in this country for hundred of years. Made initially for churches and palaces, the art later spread to homes, adorning floors and walls.
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On my first afternoon in Riga, as I sat with a coffee in the Livu Laukums, my eye was naturally drawn to the large bright yellow snail in one corner. Later that day I spotted a green one in the Ratslaukums and I was to come across several more during the course of my stay. What is more, these snails were on the move; slowly (as is normal for snails) they made their way around the city, each day a little further from their original starting place.
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If you want to find street art in London (and I mean LOTS of street art) you could do far worse than to head to Shoreditch. This trendy (albeit some say ex-trendy) district is a mecca for enthusiasts, both those who create and those, like me, who go to admire.
