Day 15: Europe: Inspiration From Unlikely Places

I just returned from the UK and Ireland where I was inspired by many things.

The combination of old and new.

Here's a great example: The National College of Art & Design in The Liberties in Dublin.

Brick and new architectural insert/ addition -- mostly glass.

Three things I love about this picture: the beautiful, old brick buildings; the church steeple; the graffiti on the red box. 

Inner courtyard of NCAD -- same thing. Industrial brick buildings / renovated areas. Old/new mash-up.
Ceramics department (left), reception (right). Art students everywhere.

 I was invited to a super fab birthday party luncheon at a café in Belfast called Harlem Food & Wine (http://www.harlembelfast.com/).

Totally funky and delightful: colour, pattern, whimsy, style and delectable food.

It's owned and operated by Faye Rogers, an artist and graduate of the Fine Arts Department of the University of Ulster.

Luncheon at Harlem in Belfast: Prosecco with floating red currants; scones with cream and fresh jam; meringue with raspberry reduction and mint leaves; mis-matched china.

Fabulous piece of graffiti in downtown Belfast. I love the arts and crafts grill above the door, too.

It says BeLfASt.

 This was a huge inspiration and chance find: St. Anne's Cathedral in Belfast.

Instead of pews, there were wooden chairs. Sometime in the 1970s, the church women's auxiliary group embarked upon handsewing/stitching a unique kneeling/sitting pillow for each chair.

They are absolutely beautiful. All sorts of patterns and designs: representational and abstract.

Kneeling rail by the altar.

Mosaic.

Stained glass. I'd like to design and make stained glass windows for Humber House.

At the Tate Modern in London: Rirkrit Tiravanija pad thai food cart kitchen turned into a vitrine.

Rirkrit Tiravanija pad thai kitchen aftermath.

A really nice piece of "instant" architecture / pop -up gallery space / collaborartive sculpture by Polish artist Pawel Althamer. Artworks such as videos and paintings are commissioned for the space.

FGF, Warsaw 2007 Mixed media. Pawel Althamer

Still at the Tate Modern on the Structure and Clarity Floor -- Albers and Judd. Love.

I really like this piece. So strange and sort of physical.

A wooden baby's crib filled with paraffin wax.

Lithuanian artist Deimantas Narkevicius.

Never Backwards 1994 Wood and paraffin. Deimantas Narkevicius

Day 14: Indoor Outdoor

Tackled the stairs again. Removing old carpet from these is a very tough job.

There is a large amount of sediment and dirt under the old carpet and underlay.

Vinyl gloves and a respirator have become my new best friends.

Removing tack strip and pulling out every single nail, staple and takes hours but must be done.

It was still really cold outside but I wanted to prune the Lilac trees before they started to bud.

I read in a gardening book that the old flowers should be removed to promote new growth.

New pruning shears.

I buy things as I need them.

A stepladder and lawnmower will be next, as well as paint for the deck.

Lilac tree pruned.

I love pruning. It's very satisfying to trim dead wood.

Old welcome mat.

New welcome mat.

Really looking forward to painting the deck a new colour.