A Visit to Cockington

Yesterday afternoon my hubby and I went to Cockington, a beautiful village near where we live. Unfortunately we didn’t have very much time but we did manage to see a good bit. In the village there are some workshops for artists and craftsmen and you can wander around and look, and it’s all in such a beautiful setting. At the moment they’ve got a sculpture trail and I photographed a few of the pieces.

There is a beautiful rose garden, full of white roses, in an enclosed slightly sunken area.

Interesting little archways and pathways.

Another sculpture.

I loved this sign outside one of the workshops. Unfortunately I managed to get my hand over the camera lens on my phone! The sun was very bright and it was almost impossible to see the screen so I didn’t notice, and also I haven’t had the phone very long, and I keep forgetting where the lens is and spoiling my photos!

Anyway, I loved the idea of the slats of wood with the worn paint and the letters painted on them. I’ve got some bits from an old garden border fence about 18 inches long and was wondering what to do with them and I’m sure I could do something like this…

This is the walkway into the rose garden.

The rose garden.

In the glass workshop, I was intrigued by this strip of wood along the front of the counter. We weren’t allowed to take photos of her work, unfortunately.

Not many photos this time, but I’m hoping to go back fairly soon when we’ve got a bit more time. It was a nice little outing for a Sunday afternoon, though. It’s a pity we didn’t set off earlier but we had rather a late lunch.

A Walk at Kingsteignton

On Saturday we went out for lunch with some friends, followed by a walk along the river at Kingsteignton. To begin with the day was warm and sunny but later it clouded over, but it didn’t spoil our enjoyment. It was a good place to walk with a level path, and surprisingly for a Bank Holiday weekend, not too many people about.

A canoeist on the river.

Approaching the suspension bridge.

View of the river from the bridge.

The suspension bridge – I love railings and shadows!

Looking up at the structure of the suspension bridge.

The metal cut-out figures. I love how the steel has rusted.

Our party.

A gorgeous sinuous metal bench.

 

Lovely curves and shadows.

Industrial construction beside the railway bridge.

Under the railway bridge.

Newton Abbot Racecourse through the netting. No racing unfortunately – I love looking at the horses!

Acorns.

One of several carvings along the walk.

More carvings – my hubby astride a water buffalo!

 

The flowing river.

They have constructed a special place for dogs to swim.

Carved kingfisher seat.

Since then I’ve been really tired, so trying to rest now I’ve got a few quieter days, and enjoying spending time with the kittens.

Recycled Mini-Album Pages–Poem, and an Outing to Paignton Sea Front

The first of two posts today.

Making good progress on the recycled mini-album. This page celebrates my Dad’s love for nonsense verse. He committed several Hilaire Belloc verses to memory and loved to recite them at every opportunity!

These are the materials I used to create the background to the page.

Here is the completed page.

As this is such a short post, I am going to add an outing we had to Paignton Sea Front. We had intended to go somewhere else which didn’t work out, and ended up going to have a look at the sea. By this time it was mid-afternoon with the light already beginning to fade, and the weather was quite strange, with sudden brief bursts of sunshine through rather threatening clouds, with occasional brief showers of rain. This made the light (or lack of it!) quite interesting, and I got some lovely photos. I adore the seaside in the winter, when the beaches are deserted apart from a few stalwart dog walkers. The tide was on the ebb, leaving an expanse of wet sand which gave rise to amazing reflections.

I also took photos of some of Paignton’s more unusual and eccentric hotels on the Esplanade. This is the Redcliffe – I just love those turrets! Really OTT Victorian! Somehow you can get away with more OTT at the seaside – perhaps it’s something to do with the free, holiday spirit!

The Marina Villa. I love those Colonial style balconies and the green copper dome over the beautiful round bay window – what great views of the sea!

Finally, the Recliffe Lodge. More Victorian OTT! Love that pinnacle with all the windows, the double gable with the twiddly bits on the roof.

My final photos are looking back along the Esplanade.

Here’s that seagull, with a a bit of photo manipulation to make him stand out.

After this we went to the chocolate-box village of Cockington with its thatched cottages and the complex of art studios and galleries – I didn’t take any photos there because it was getting late and too dark. We didn’t spend long, and we intend going back another day, perhaps when it isn’t quite so cold. I will leave you with details of one artist we visited, Marc Heaton, who knocks my reputation as Recycling Queen into a cocked hat! We had a lovely time in his gallery and were delighted with the eclectic display of his art, which he was only too pleased to show us – he paints, draws, sculpts, upcycles, distresses… you name it! His work is really quirky and fun, and proves that you really can make art out of anything, if you only start looking at the world in a different way. Here’s a link to his website, which covers his work over two decades, and the evolution of his ideas.

Salisbury and Cotswolds Holiday Day 8–Cirencester–2nd Post–Art Exhibition

As I mentioned in my last post, at the side of the museum in Cirencester is a small art gallery which hosts temporary exhibitions of work by local artists. The current exhibition is on the theme of William Shakespeare, and I think you will agree with me that these pieces are exceptional, and depict the Bard very well, each in their own way. Many of the pieces have an ancient feel but using modern materials, and in a modern style – in exactly the same way as we interpret Shakespeare today!

A mixed-media scroll, decorated front and back.

“Birds on a Wire,” the wire being a quotation from Richard III: “True hope is swift, and flies with swallows’ wings; Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings.”

Coiled pot with printed paper, “Love Potion.”

A display of mini-books.

These were so intriguing and beautiful that I had to take a few detailed shots of them.

It is a shame there was so much reflection from the display case, but I did the best I could to capture them. These little books are so exquisite, and so along the lines that I want my own work to progress; I am very attracted to the idea of making art in books which themselves are little pieces of art, not something to be hung on the wall, but dynamic, to be handled, tactile, with texture to be enjoyed.

This beautiful installation displays a series of mini-books in a cabinet. Gorgeous distressed frame.

Again, my apologies for the reflections.

Ariel, the winged messenger.

Details about the exhibition.

Beautiful backgrounds.

A display of mini-books arranged between a pair of masked bookends.

Gorgeous grungey black and white mini-books.

One of my favourite pieces in the exhibition, a paper sculpture entitled “Will Writes.”

I love how the pages of words flow from the end of the giant quill pen and gradually become part of the structure in which he is sitting – just as his original ink-still-wet words have over the centuries become part of the edifice of our national culture. The words are for us all, but it is up to us to draw aside the curtain and dig more deeply to discover the beauty and meaning of the immortal words which transcend historical period and fashion.

There were many other pieces too, mostly paintings and a few more sculptures and ceramics, but I felt this selection best represented the theme to me. I hope you agree that they are beautiful and inspirational – a modern interpretation of the sublime works of our greatest wordsmith.

As with my previous post, this was composed on the following day, as I was too tired on our arrival home last night to tackle anything on the computer! As before, I have kept the date in sequence to make my holiday record complete.