November 10, 2015 by Cynthia
I thought I was pretty observant but I missed Dionysus’s torso as I meandered about the Oscar Wilde Memorial in Merrion Square. The complete memorial includes three pieces: “the stone sculpture of Oscar Wilde, a pillar with a bronze of his pregnant wife and a pillar with a bronze male torso.” Actually, I think I noticed a torso but somehow it didn’t grab me the way Mr. Wilde did.
The sculpture was designed by Irish sculptor Danny Osborne. As described on the Dublin City Council website, “Osborne used complementary polished colour stones and varying textures to create this striking lifelike pose of the writer sitting atop a 35-tonne boulder of white quartz from the Wicklow mountains. He wanted to depict Wilde’s love of beautiful objects, including stones, as well as his colourful personality. … Wilde is wearing a green smoking jacket with a pink collar, long trousers and shiny black shoes, with an unusual two-sided expression on his face, depicting both joy and sadness. Wilde’s shiny green jacket is made from nephrite jade, sourced in Canada. The pink collar is made of a rare semi precious stone called thulite, brought here from central Norway. Wilde’s head and hands are carved from Guatemalan jade. His trousers are made from larvikite – a crystalline stone from Norway, and his shiny shoes are black granite.”
Learn more, in the artist’s own words, in the video on the following page: http://www.dublincity.ie/DublinArtInParks/English
And Wikipedia has a great page about Oscar Wilde: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Wilde
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged artwork, dublin, Inspiration, ireland, memorials, Merrion Square, Oscar Wilde, Photography, travel | 2 Comments »
November 10, 2015 by Cynthia
As the previous post suggests, yes, I am on the road for a bit beginning with a return to Dublin, Ireland! A quick trip for work and pleasure, and it was certainly a pleasure to chance upon the Saint Saviour’s Dominican Priory. I had such a short window of time to photograph that I mostly focused my attention on a few windows. These are details from one window.
Here are details from a second.
Here is the third …
Little literature could I find at the time on the church’s architecture or artwork but the stories can be discerned from the glass.
I found the building by getting lost, but if you are seeking it out, it is located at 9-11 Upper Dorset Street, Dublin 1. Learn more about the priory via the following link: http://www.saintsavioursdublin.ie/
Posted in Inspiration, On the Road | Tagged architecture, art, churches, colors, dublin, faith, Inspiration, ireland, Photography, religion, travel | 3 Comments »
November 10, 2015 by Cynthia
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road | Tagged colors, dublin, Inspiration, ireland, nature, Photography, st. stephen's green, travel, urban landscape, water | Leave a Comment »
November 8, 2015 by Cynthia
Here’s the lastest photo through the rippled glass. I’m proud to have three other images, a sequence of seasonal shots through the rippled glass window, as part of the African American Artists Passion for a Lifetime 2015 Exhibit at the Riverside Gallery in Cambridge, MA. Opening reception is today 3-5. I hope you have the opportunity to visit this exhibit which runs until January 2016. There’s a wonderful range of artwork featured. Read more about the history of this show and the Riverside Gallery here: http://www.cambridgecc.org/riverside-gallery.html
And if you’re interested in seeing more of my rippled window images, please visit HERE. Have a good week! 😉
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged abstract, african american art, art, beauty, colors, Inspiration, nature, Photography | 7 Comments »
November 7, 2015 by Cynthia
Posted in Inspiration, Postcards | Tagged architecture, art, churches, Clayton & Bell, faith, Inspiration, Photography, Postcards, religion, stained glass windows | Leave a Comment »
November 3, 2015 by Cynthia
The drinking glass I picked up at a thrift store with the intention of planting sprouts in it this winter. But for now it has been sitting on a table next to the window. This morning I dropped two small tomatoes into it, just a placeholder until I chop them up for salad later. Then that thing happened again. While at the keyboard I happened to glance over my shoulder and there it was, a curious light on the tomato as the morning sun shone through the curves of the green glass. At first my focus was purely the tomato but as I hunched over my still life I noticed what was happening at the base of the glass. So I placed a piece of black cardboard beneath the glass, removed the tomatoes and added some water. This is what I saw.
I changed the level of the water. I placed the green glass on top of a clear glass to raise its height. At one point I dropped in an ice cube.
It was just fun to see what changes might take place.
I set aside the green glass and replaced it with a clear square glass that has a thick bottom. I photographed its pyramid like base and that was pretty cool.
Overall, my “experiment” took about 15-20 minutes.
Not much clean up. Just some glasses to dry.
Just some glasses to dry.
Posted in Inspiration | Tagged abstract, beauty, colors, curiosity, fun, glass, green, Inspiration, light, Photography, rainbows, refraction, storytelling, water | 4 Comments »
November 2, 2015 by Cynthia
… they are Edward Burne-Jones angels. Eighteen of them in a series of windows that are often referred to as the Christmas Windows, located inside Trinity Church in the City of Boston. As I’ve written about before on this blog, these windows depict The Journey into Egypt, Worship of the Magi, and Wonder of the Shepherds. The windows were designed by Burne-Jones and executed by William Morris in 1882.
Photographing these angels is very much a work in progress. I’ve only captured eight so far and not all to my satisfaction. British historian Fiona McCarthy once wrote what would Christmas be without a Burne-Jones angel.
Maybe that is the goal I can set for myself. Before Christmas to have photographed all eighteen angels. Wouldn’t that be something? We’ll see. You know I’ll share if I succeed. 😉
Meanwhile, learn more about visiting Trinity Church and seeing the angels for yourself via this link: http://trinitychurchboston.org/art-history/tours
Posted in Inspiration | Tagged angels, architecture, art, Christmas, colors, Edward Burne-Jones, faith, Inspiration, Photography, pre-raphaelites, religion, stained glass windows, Trinity Church, William Morris | 9 Comments »
November 1, 2015 by Cynthia
Many things have caught my eyes in the fading autumn light. Shadows on the ground. Angels in stained glass windows. Parsley fading in my indoor garden. I have snapped shots of them all and yet it is the detail from two leaves given by a friend that I choose to share this day.
She handed them to me as she raced out the door, baby in one hand, and two leaves in the other. She said she thought of me as she saw them, and as she’s done in the past, she added with a smile, “Now, see what you can do with these.” Encouragement is always good. 😉
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged abstract, art, autumn, beauty, colors, encouragement, friendship, gifts, Inspiration, leaves, nature, Photography, seasons, water | 7 Comments »
November 1, 2015 by Cynthia
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged beauty, Blue Hills Reservation, colors, Inspiration, light, nature, Photography, pine needles | Leave a Comment »
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