Saturday 20 March 2010

You can't make a silk purse...

... out of a sow's ear... or can you?
I took a stroll by the river in my town. The sun was just making its way through the clouds and there was a definite hint of Spring whispering through the greening willows. The riverside cafés and bars were bursting at the seams with jovial patrons enjoying the sudden warm weather. The punts and row boats had been dragged out of winter storage and laughing lovers paddled and poled their way up and down the river. Ducks, swans, moorhens, herons and even a dodo followed in their happy wake.

Dodo? Riverside café? Boats for hire? Jovial crowds?

Not in my town. River? Yes (and a canal!). Rubbish? Oh yes - there was actually a soiled nappy hanging in a tree. Shopping trolley caked in rust and weed? Yes.

When I saw the challenge at Inspiration Avenue this week to be about our towns there was not much that sprang to mind about mine in terms of artistic creation. Still, this was a challenge and in the end I managed a whole exhibition - turns out there's creative inspiration in the unlikeliest places... (although I didn't quite manage anything with the soiled nappy).
I present my first exhibit: Trolley on radioactive Riverbank (Photoshop helped here)



Hanging nicely next to Traditional English phone boxes (Photoshop again)


With a finale of interesting doorway at the Guildhall (altered photograph using bleach)

As you can see, things got slowly better!

13 comments:

  1. Gosh wow very impressive.
    Fantastic work Lisa.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love them!! I couldn't even pic a favorite because they're all awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Silk purse - sow's ear, piece of cake for a veteran crafter like you. I especially like the trolley treatment.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I like your story. I like your illustrations. And best of all, I like the hope of a better town.

    ReplyDelete
  5. These are great! I agree, it's difficult to pick a fav since they are all beautiful. Beauty is truly where you find it...

    ReplyDelete
  6. wow lisa! interesting ways to alter photographs! LOL!! love your little sarcasm in there too :) i'm glad it ended with that beautifully architecture tho!

    ReplyDelete
  7. All your photos are fab Lisa, but I absolutely ADORE the image of the shopping trolley!!

    You've shown that there's beauty to be found in the most unexpected places, if you can just look closely enough.

    That to me is what art is about - making people look at things another way. Wonderful work.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Angie put it perfectly, and I agree with everything she wrote! I do love the shopping cart image also.

    Your opening description is great - I was ready to hop on a plane today! Ha, as if I could do that.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, I am so impressed with how you changed your sow's ear and found a silver lining! I totally agree with Angie and Maggie that this is truly what making art is all about. And I also agree that I couldn't choose a favorite because I love them all!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm feeling inspired to get me a wee Ps package!! Love the photos but especially the bleached one. Mind you - the shopping trolley's pretty cool. Great work Lisa!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great stuff, Lisa! Love those phone booths.

    ReplyDelete
  12. i absolutely love the trolley photo.... very interesting alteration! can i come visit you?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh god you make me laugh! come on Lisa you know you cant dangle something like a soiled nappy in a tree and not pull thru with an artistic photo.
    I think teenage boys would refer to you as a tease!! hehe I guess I can be satisfied with the toxic trolley...brilliant!
    xxx
    sheree

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments - I always love to hear what you think :)

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...