Art on Late Blooms

Don't Save the Good China!

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

[caption id=“attachment_436” align=“aligncenter” width=“584” caption=“Chinaware”][/caption]

All the images in this collage are from dinner plates and were taken because I found the colours and the motifs to be beautiful. I didn’t know how I would use them when I took them but I’m pleased with the results of this collage.

At a certain stage of life, we are all collectors. In the old days, most newly-weds received gifts of dinnerware to “start” them off. I myself have some nice Royal Albert bone china and have added several pieces over the years. Like many other people I know, these items sit in a nice china cabinet and are used only on special occasions, if at all. “We often call our fine dinnerware “China”, and there is a very logical reason for this. Dinnerware is more often than not made out of porcelain, and porcelain was invented by the Chinese over 1000 years. Although the emperors of the Song Dynasty get most of the credit for this invention, it was more likely invented during the Tang Dynasty. Half way through the Song Dynasty, about 1100 AD, this fine art had spread throughout the East. By 1400 it had worked its way to Europe.” I read somewhere that bone china, as in the pieces I have, is made by combining clay and china stone and adding calcified bone. It is a type of porcelain.

Trying on Monet

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

[caption id=“attachment_396” align=“aligncenter” width=“584” caption=“Trying on Monet”][/caption]

The three images in this collage with black frames caught my attention while I was waiting in line at my local bakery last week. They had never caught my attention before so I don’t know whether they are new or were always there. The image with the white frame is an acrylic painting that I myself did as a gift for my son many years ago. I had seen a Monet painting called “Garden at Sainte-Adresse” and wanted to try something like it. This is a scaled-down version. Putting the Canadian flag was entirely my idea. I did this because my son was away working in Mexico, and on his return to Canada, this painting was to be his birthday present. He is Canadian.

House of Pottery

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

[caption id=“attachment_213” align=“aligncenter” width=“584”] Pottery by Jason L’Abbe[/caption]

Birthdays are wonderful celebrations and especially milestone ones like a 60th. It was with great joy that I attended and celebrated my cousin’s 60th birthday with her recently. There was lots of good food, family and friends to eat all of it, and we all had fun together. The birthday cake always brings these special occasions to an exceptionally “sweet” culmination.

Tapestry

Thu, 31 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

[caption id=“attachment_201” align=“aligncenter” width=“584”] Tapestry[/caption]

A few weeks ago, my friend and I visited a fabulous fabric store in Toronto. She likes to sew and was looking for some fabric. The photos in this collage were taken there. It was delightful to admire all the tapestries with their beautiful colours and diversity of patterns. Quite suddenly, I thought of the weavers who had spent countless hours to produce these priceless works of art.

Cherry Blossom Angels

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

[caption id=“attachment_146” align=“alignleft” width=“300” caption="- Angels in Art"][/caption]

It’s cherry pink and apple blossom time in Toronto. Last Sunday, I went to an Art Exhibition at which my watermelon carver friend was an exhibitor. She exhibited her photography. As I went towards the building that housed the Exhibition, I was enthralled by the garden there. I had seen the cherry blossoms in High Park two weeks ago They were magnificent. However, I was captivated by the colour of the bough hanging before me laden with bright fuschia coloured blossoms. After enjoying its beauty with the naked eye, I took this photo.