Summer sun and sand castles

A triumph of sandcastle design

So many humans have a desire to create. For thousands of years humans have drawn, painted or made music. This is such a lovely trait. We don’t just meet our basic human needs; we demand more of life. We want to be inspired and we want to leave our mark on the planet.

The coasts of the UK seem to bring this creativity to the fore. Go to any seaside town and you will find someone sitting on the beach painting. Even the wonderful names of every small boat demonstrate our need to create things of beauty.

How else can I explain the time and effort that went into the creation of this awe-inspiring sand castle. Someone has spent a happy afternoon designing and building a castle that will last for  just a few hours.

The building of sand castles has no purpose other than to create and entertain and I think that sometimes, this alone is purpose enough.

Ceramics and Sunshine

Jason's sculptural forms with Mounts Bay as a backdrop

Penzance has three quite individual art gallery’s, each with it’s own charm. This week the sun has been shining, so Newlyn Art Gallery is the place to be.

For an exhibition at Newlyn to be successful, it has to compete with the most amazing view. Jason Wason’s wonderful ceramics are complemented by the sea and sunshine and just look wonderful.

Wonderfully red

Jason creates large forms inspired by the rugged landscape of west Penwith. They are left unglazed and are instead treated to leave a soft metallic finish.

This weekend, is however, not a weekend of art, but of food! It is Porthleven’s food festival and I can’t wait!

Lovely word clouds

Louisaholly as a word cloud

I love word clouds, they are really useful and quite fun. I normally use wordle, home of ‘beautiful word clouds’. It’s easy to use and has an interesting gallery to peruse.

But, I think I have found a new site that looks even more exciting! Tagxedo encourages a lot more creativity when you style your word cloud. You can change the layout, colour scheme and even the shape! I tried it out yesterday and loved it, I think it might be my new favourite!

Guerilla Beach Art at Marazion

A lovely collection of limpet shells

I’m quite a fan of guerilla knitting, and think that guerilla gardening is a fab idea; so I was most excited to discover guerilla beach art at Marazion!

Someone has spent quite a while collecting shells, rocks and seaweed to create this amazing mosaic. I don’t know who the creator is and wonder if it has been a team effort but I definitely think that they deserve some celebration and recognition!

I’m quite intrigued about how long the mosaic will last. I hope that it will get bigger and bigger as more people add in their own little section creating a little piece of community art on the beach.

To the artist and shell collector – Thank you!!

Peace and love

Stars and waves

A lovely collection of limpet shells

Falmouth’s Street Art

Reclaiming the street with hearts and circles

Using our streets as community art spaces is quite an appealing idea. I’m not desperately keen on graffiti, however, it is possible for graffiti to be both beautiful and inspiring, and quite fun! The traders in Falmouth have used street art to come together and brighten up their little part of town.

Falmouth is a lovely place for a wander, I particularly like The Old High Street. Here a collection of individual and quite arty shops can be found. I love Jam Records, a tiny independent music shop whose worn out chairs are just perfect to collapse in whilst drinking coffee; and whose music collection is wonderfully eclectic. The Oxfam bookshop is also fab – there are always amazing books here. The Old High Street is the place to go for quirky gifts, health food, cinnamon toast and original works of art and fashion.

Footprints to lead you up the street

This week, the Old High Street’s friendly vibe has spread out onto the road. I love these bright and welcoming patterns, they draw you up the street. This is an under-rated area in Falmouth, but don’t miss it if you are after a surprising and interesting shopping trip away from the brand names and mass production of our ubiquitous shopping streets.