Week 22 – Go and Look for Shadows
On a recent day out to the delightful Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens at Gulval, near Penzance I became aware of the wonderful shadows that played out on a variety of surfaces.
The more I looked the more I saw. Shadows are so engaging but often they are overlooked as a source of creative inspiration in their own right.
The Organic Nature of Shadows
Shadows move and change all the time. They are not static, regular or controllable. They are uncomplicated and beautiful in their own way. They are a form of natural creativity which seems to be effortlessly perfect. They are short-livid or momentary.
One of my favourite books is Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers
Wabi-Sabi is a Japanese aesthetic. It acknowledges the beauty in things which are unconventional, humble and modest. It recognises the incomplete, imperfect and impermanent.
I feel that these photographs of shadows are a fine example of Wabi-Sabi.
Surfaces
Prior to walking around the gardens I had visited the exhibition in the gallery. By sheer coincidence I had begun to think about sourcing alternative surfaces on which to progress my own work.
Shadows play out on a variety of surfaces. Gravel pathways, rocks and stones, leaves, grass, wood, walls, metal and fabric. It reminded me of the time I used solar dyes to make some images from the plants in the garden at home.
They can appear wispy and delicate. The forms can overlay and overlap for intensity. There can be fine lines, blocks of form and imaginative imagery.
Surface texture with its own line, indentations, spaces and existing patterning can add further to the creative dimension.
Once I had seen a number of shadows I just kept seeing more
The Big Green Grasshopper and the Potted Plant
To my sudden surprise and delight I spotted a large grasshopper. I tried, as we all do, to capture a good clear photograph. But it was tucked in on the other side of the vegetation. Despite my efforts to reposition myself on the edge of the border I could not get the “snap” I thought I wanted.
It was then that I saw the shadow.
Later on as I was leaving the gardens I glanced across into the plant sales area. The shadow on the side of the metal container caught my eye more than the plant in it.
Two great images to complete my search for shadows this week.
