Friday 18 April 2014

Columbia School Mosaics


These beautiful mosaics by Carina Wyatt and Cathy Ludlow are just around the corner from our house. They are huge scale pieces - a series of panels which must each be about 2 metres wide. The top image shows one of the panels in its entirety - the other images are all details.


The panels are on the back wall of the Columbia School - an old Victorian primary school with high brick walls around the compound. For me they represent public art at its very best - beautiful heart-lifting pieces sensitively placed in the environment. Columbia Road is famous for its Sunday flower market and the local reference is clear.


The designs remind me a little of the botanical photos by Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932). His incredible pioneering studies of plants investigate the 'engineering' of their forms. In his own words:

...the plant must be valued as a totally artistic and architectural structure...



I love all the mixes of colours and shapes in these pieces - Carina Wyatt and Cathy Ludlow feel to me like real masters of their materials and process. It's a pleasure to walk past them everyday.


Thursday 3 April 2014

Reiko Fujimoto at OEN


The other day I bought a brass coffee spoon made by Reiko Fujimoto. I think it may just be one of the most beautiful spoons I have ever seen. It is certainly the grandest one I own.



Reiko - who is based in Neyagawa, Osaka - is an extremely talented metal worker and maker. Her pieces have an amazing sense of integrity - you can really sense her hand in them. The dippled texture on the bowl of the spoon is exquisite. And with time the patina on the brass changes the appearance - it ages gracefully.




I found Reiko's work on the lovely website OEN. It is a beautiful site created and curated by Mark Robinson - a wonderful showcase of thoughtful, functional design. 



 All images by Mark Robinson - OEN