Everyday Aesthetics 6 The Tin Can

Art of the Everyday, Arts Chat, Roaming The Arts

The tin canning process was conceived by the Frenchman Philippe de Girard, who had British merchant Peter Durand patent the idea in 1810. Everyday Aesthetics 6 The Tin Can. Where would we be without the tin can? It holds my beer, my baked beans, canned veg and fruit. Apparently like frozen food, the contents are just as fresh (almost) as newly harvested veg and fruit owing to the speedy transfer from fisld to canning. It’s undoubtedly one of the most valuable everyday essential convenience. The canning concept was based on experimental food preservation work in glass containers the year before by the French inventor Nicholas Appert. Durand did not pursue food canning, but, in 1812, sold his patent to two Englishmen, Bryan Donkin and John Hall, who refined the process and product, and set up the world’s first commercial canning factory on Southwark Park Road, London. By 1813 they … Continue reading Everyday Aesthetics 6 The Tin Can →

Cafe Vino da Vinci

Roaming The Arts

Advance notification: Café Vino da Vinci. Tuesday 10th October 2023 6.30 to 8.30 pm: Brockenhurst Village Hall Poster attached for more details. Bring your acrylic paints (or water-colours) brushes and A4 acrylic paper or card. And a donation for the Hall please Plus: Wine or beverage of your choice. Glasses will be provided. Tea or coffee will be available. At the end of our artistic soiree, you’ll have made a pretty good copy of Vincent van Gogh’s ‘Chair’. To help I’ll have a template of Vincent’s chair to get you started or if you wish I’ll have a grid so you can easily copy the original. Or make your own start of course. On the day, I’ll guide you through the choice of colours, mixes etc. This is a new and exciting event that has proved to be a huge … Continue reading Cafe Vino da Vinci →

Monuments Day Advanced Notice

Roaming The Arts, Uncategorized

Tuesday 14th November 1.30 to 5.00 pm (includes a film) Monuments Day Advanced Notice Brockenhurst Village Hall Poster attached for more detail. One of the most revered works of art in the world is the Ghent Altarpiece. Discover one of the greatest treasure hunts of the art world. It’s a fascinating story of human endeavour and passion…and art. We’ll be exploring its creation, the stories within it, those working behind the scenes as well as those who made it all possible. We’ll see how it survived for 6 centuries, in particular its looting by the Nazis and the incredible tale of its recovery, as depicted in George Clooney’s ‘Monuments Men’ movie. If you’ve not seen it, even if you have, the movie is well worth a viewing, which will be part of the afternoon (1 hour 50 mins), following our … Continue reading Monuments Day Advanced Notice →

King Arthur & William Morris

Artists, Exhibitions & Galleries, Roaming The Arts, Uncategorized

Don’t we all love the stuff of myth and legend? Certainly did King Arthur & William Morris. Fantastic exhibition at Falmouth Art Gallery Cornwall. The stunning highlight of this exhibition was a series of tapestries created by William Morris and Edward Byrne-Jones now owned by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and kindly loaned to Falmouth for this exhibition. The ‘Quest for the Holy Grail‘ Tapestries … King Arthur & William Morris Nothing surpasses all the tales and stories than that of King Arthur, Guinevere and the Knights of the Round Table. And look at the tale of The Lady of Shallot. Confined in a tower and only allowed to look outside through a mirror. Then she sports Lancelot … here’s the story … King Arthur rests peace supposedly in Glastonbury and the Isle of Avalon. An area super rich in … Continue reading King Arthur & William Morris →

St Austell Cornwall Portmeirion

Artists, Arts Chat, Roaming The Arts, Uncategorized

St Austell Brewery Visitor Centre holds a fascinating tale. St Austell Cornwall Portmeirion What links Cornish beer, the Spanish Armada, a German artist, pub signs, a grade II listed building, Fowey with Munich and London, not forgetting Wales? Not the impressive beer, not the coffee or delicious food but an intriguing story of a great example of overlooked public art: the pub sign and an amazing set of links. St Austell Brewery rightly prides itself on its pubs’ signage, the artwork enticing patrons to come on in and enjoy. So with that in mind it is amazing what tales you can find opening up sitting quietly in a corner of such an outfit. What caught my attention was the name of Hans Feibusch and the Ship Inn Fowey Cornwall. The ‘Old Lady of Fowey’ according to English Heritage was built … Continue reading St Austell Cornwall Portmeirion →

Lamorna Cove Penlee House Cornwall

Exhibitions & Galleries, Gallery, Roaming The Arts, Uncategorized

Lamorna Cove Penlee House Cornwall Penlee House Museum and Gallery Penzance Cornwall – an exhibition of the Lamorna Cove artists. Lamorna Cove Cornwall became one of the hottest artists’ colonies in the early 20th Century. Frank Gascoigne Heath (1873-1936) built a house in the valley, served in WWI and invalided out with what we’d now call PTSD. Laura Knight DBE RA (1877-1970) … and her husband Harold RA (1873-1953) William Norman Garstin Cox ARWA (1892-1933), Denys Law (1907-1981), Samuel John ‘Lamorna’ Birch RA RWS (1869-1955) Now many of the artist are forgotten and their place taken by the more avant-garde known artists such as Ben Nicholson, Alfred Wallis and of course Barbara Hepworth. Lamorna Cove was a bohemian hedonistic set up and what a place for such a life style. Dame Laura Knight summed it up brilliantly: ‘It was worth … Continue reading Lamorna Cove Penlee House Cornwall →

Everyday Aesthetics 5 – The Letter

Art of the Everyday, Roaming The Arts

Everyday Aesthetics 5  – The Letter Without the letter I wouldn’t be able to read, I wouldn’t be able to order from a menu, I would be able to keep up with the news, I wouldn’t be able to follow instructions. I would be able to type this and you wouldn’t be able to read it. Everyday Aesthetics 5  – The Letter Of course, it’s endless. Where would we be without letters, reading, writing, the press? Who really knows where the first letters we use today originated from. India, Egypt, Syria?  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_alphabet) Who knows for sure. But what we do know is how letters and with them writing, changed the world. Nomadic tribes, to agricultural society, to civilization and the first recordings of history and theology (Old Testament), philosophy (Greece), poems (Homer) through the millennia to today with some exceptions. … Continue reading Everyday Aesthetics 5 – The Letter →

Henry Moore – An Inspiration

Artists, Exhibitions & Galleries, Roaming The Arts, Uncategorized

Visiting the Henry Moore Foundation is an inspiration and something we’d been promising to do for years. The day arrived and it was one of those brilliantly late summer sunny days. Henry Moore – An Inspiration So impressive is this place that the visit will remain in our memories for many a day. The buildings, the café, the entry and above all the staff were brilliant. Entering thorough the visitor centre the grounds are laid out in their vast acreage as an awe-inspiring sight. Dramatically dotted about are Moore’s sculptures that can even be touched (but no hard materials on the plinths of course – apologies for Clarence but he’s only soft wood!) Strolling through the grounds one can view the sculptures from many different angles and distances. Of particular merit is the sculpture on top of one of the … Continue reading Henry Moore – An Inspiration →

Everyday Aesthetics 4 The Match

Art of the Everyday, Arts Chat, Roaming The Arts, Uncategorized

Everyday Aesthetics 4 The Match The match used to be an essential means of lighting a fire, cooker, smoking articles, candles and other items. Without a match a flintlock or other ignition tool was required. A utensil for lighting campimg stoves is still often preferred to the match which can of course become damp in wet weather. Where did the match come from? Once again, possibly China. A note in the text Cho Keng Lu, written in 1366, describes a sulfur match, small sticks of pinewood impregnated with sulfur, used in China by “impoverished court ladies” in AD 577 during the conquest of Northern Qi. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (AD 907–960), a book called the Records of the Unworldly and the Strange written by Chinese author Tao Gu in about 950 stated: If there occurs an emergency at night it may take some time to make … Continue reading Everyday Aesthetics 4 The Match →

Everyday Aesthetics 3 Tap Valve

Art of the Everyday, Arts Chat, Roaming The Arts, Uncategorized

Everyday aesthetics 3 Tap Valve Apparently evidence of taps or faucets goes back to Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece and even Knossos in Crete. That’s at least 1700 BC. Most evidence though points to Ancient Rome where aqueducts were built to bring fresh water from the hills into the centre of the city. Thus the need for the next invention, the tap. Water, one of the most precious requirements to life of all descriptions, but so much taken for granted. Without the valve mechanism to control the flow of water, the tap would be useless. Hence the valve being an everyday essential and certainly deserves the importance of being considered an aesthetic. I wouldn’t be able to run my bath or shower without the tap valve. I certainly wouldn’t be able to fill my kettle for my tea or coffee without … Continue reading Everyday Aesthetics 3 Tap Valve →