Impact of Glass
I love the way an art exhibition can leave you energised and often it is unexpected objects or paintings that have the most impact. So today I am feeling inspired and motivated, recalling not only the creations of Henry Moore at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park but also a display of glass art there by the Venetian siblings, Laura and Alessandro Diaz de Santallina.
The exhibition was inside a chapel which, after deconsecration, has been turned into a unique white painted gallery where the light floods in. Outside, on long term loan, is Iron Tree, a sculpture by Al Weiwei who has also exhibited there.
Peering through the door, I spotted a row of glass vases and immediately thought that this was going to be a bit dull.
How easy it is to be wrong. The pieces demonstrate and experiment with both transparency and reflection, distorting the light and reverberating colour. The effect was simple yet mesmerising.
The trouble is, short of writing this blog entry, it is difficult to channel the inspiration.
Whilst retirement has given me the opportunity to experience and appreciate so many facets of the creative world as yet my own participation feels like that of a voyeur, camera in hand. Instinctively, however, I know that my sub-conscious is desirous of creating items of beauty in order to express itself and I also know that painting the walls of my home is not going to be sufficient to fulfil that part of my psyche, regardless of how expressive I make the brush strokes.
Surrounded by colour and the countryside with Yorkshire's renowned landscapes and vast skies, perhaps it is time once again to dust down the sketch book abandoned last year in favour of my new pocket camera.
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