Barn Charm - in Pen and Ink & Watercolor

~ click on collage to enlarge ~

A different take on Barn Charm this week - I bought this pen and ink drawing with watercolor wash by Kentucky artist Robert S. McCorrum several years ago at the Kentucky Crafted Market.  Looking at it recently thinking about how to frame it and was reminded of how much much I love this style of drawing/painting.

Here are a few full photos so you can really appreciate the great detail:

Macro Monday - The People's Park

This closeup is of one of over 200 granite, bronze, and wrought iron sculptures in Frogner Park in Oslo, Norway (commonly referred to as Vigeland Park).  The sculpture figures all depict the human condition from birth to death--and many human activities from children running to couples embracing.  I call this the "people's park" because the sculptor, Gustav Vigeland, gifted his works to the city of Oslo in the mid-30s and since then has attracted visitors from all over the world.

Here's a view of the park looking back toward the city street (it was a very rainy day when we visited as you can tell from my photos):

This view is from walking into the park toward the Sculpture Monolith which is the centerpiece of the sculpture collection:

Some other examples of sculptures--some joyful, as with the Dancing Girl or children playing, others depicting more sorrowful human conditions--aging, conflict:

For more closeups from all over, or to enter your own macros, be sure to check out Lisa's Chaos here every Monday.

 

(Photos: August 2011 at  Frogner Park--commonly called Vigeland Park--in Oslo, Norway)

Project Runway - Swedish Style

In the summer drought of TV viewing I'm always happy to see Lifetime's Project Runway start a new season. If you're not familiar with the show, about ten young designers gather in New York to design and sew--in a few cases some outlandish--fashions that hopefully will be featured in major fashion magazines and worn by people who get noticed. Each one hoping to hear Heidi Klum, the show's hostess, say "You're in." to that challenge "In fashion, one day you're in, one day you're out." A couple of weeks ago their challenge was to make something wearable out of candy from a candy shop. So you had models strutting the runway dressed in twizzle sticks, hard candy and jelly beans! It got me thinking about this fabulous ceramics exhibition that I saw at Sofiero Palace and Gardens in southern Sweden last year. Called "Cocktail Couture", the exhibit by artist Agneta Spangberg featured beautiful dresses made of ceramic pieces. Here's some other examples:

In addition to the cocktail dresses, the exhibit displayed a wonderful collection of more traditional ceramic pieces such as plates, plaques, and vases:

To get to the ceramics exhibit you walked though the Palace Gardens. Here's the semi-wild Mediterranean garden:

The sunken garden and steps leading down to the garden. Note the living monogram:

A green mossy passageway to the exhibit:

And finally Sofiero Palace, the summer home of Sweden's royal family earlier in the century and a wall plaque of young Princess Margarette who was instrumental in designing the garden with her husband while managing a large young family.

(Photos: Sofiero Palace and Gardens at Helsingborg, Sweden--August 2011)