Images of here and there

July and August went by very quickly and were quite busy, it seems. Nicely though. When in the morning I opened the shutters and saw the top of a mountain under a blue sky, I knew the clouds would eventually disappear and leave room for another sunny and hot day.One day, as I went  to a small town down in the valley, I had the surprise of finding some marmots (groundhogs) very far away from their alpine territories. Mom and her girls. Those were local marble sculptures made by a great uncle of mine who passed away a long time ago. He had sculpted many  animals (foxes, squirrels, weasels, cats, owls, eagles and more) that were exhibited here and there in our area.  Often in parks, on fountains or bridges, in front of some schools too. What a happy and touching discovery!Up in the mountains wild flowers cover our pastures with varied and beautiful shades. This is just one of the many bouquets I picked during Summertime. Not two were alike and I just loved their delicate simplicity.A few minutes before a loud Summer storm, I spotted a complex agricultural machinery, a kind of rural art, don’t you think ? And a lovely splash of vibrant colors when the sky got real dark.Shopping one day in a dairy shop, I smiled as I read the wooden sign : “”Eggs from happy hens”. They must have tasted good because there were none left for sale. Too bad.At a multicultural family reunion around a little baby, Mady,  his Senegalese Dad had invited several members of his African family and friends and before long an exotic music was in the air for everyone’s pleasure.

Ninio loved our sunny Summer  but sometimes he enjoyed some shade too…going zebra- like !

I did not quilt much during these past months but just started an experiment with two or three plain materials that I cut  and assembled randomly. An improvisation without too much thinking or planning. The very hot days seemed to have slowed down my imagination… Let’s see where this will lead me to !I hope you will enjoy these few images taken during the last months. There was more to be thankful for or to feel sad about but we have to take days as they come and make the best of them, don’t we ?

Before long those little birds will stop their “chat on line” and leave for another Summer somewhere else while we will stay here with the happy memory of their cheerful singing.

What would they say ?

Or “If sculptures could speak”.  What  would those beautiful Caryatids say ? A stately demeanor, indecipherable  expressions on their sculpted faces. Would they talk about the endless flow of visitors coming and going around them in the New Acropolis Museum in Athens ? Or comment on the heavy burden they have been carrying on their head for so long ? Exchanging about their use as decorative supports in Greece and the ancient Near East ?

What could those men in their elegant toga be discussing about ?  Would they talk about philosophy ? Would one of them be teaching the others ? Or were they engaged in a more private conversation ? In any case they will remain anonymous…Two worlds meet in this picture. Modern buildings behind a vision of other times. In those past decades when women, mothers had to travel on the back  of a mule while taking their children with them as they went working in the fields.

Mules were equipped with two strong sacks (jute or leather) on each side of their flanks. Inside them and well protected, mothers would put a baby or a small child. Usually, the slow and regular mule’s step would bring the children to sleep.  Maybe the little girl standing behind the mule would ask : “Mom, let me sit on the mule, please, I feel tired”. The track to the alpine village or to the pasture could be long. (Sculpture by Edouard Sandoz for the association of “The Mule”s Friends”, or  Les Amis du Mulet, Sion, Switzerland).In an open air museum of the village of Etroubles,  Aosta Valley/Italy, close to the Swiss border, I stopped and observed this three-dimensional sculpture by Andrea Granchi, a Florentine artist. It was entitled : “Viaggiatore sedentario incontra il  Grande”. I tried to imagine what the sculptor expressed in this particular art work. Maybe the  great (grande) man on the wall would say to the traveller (viaggiatore) : “Here you come, bumping into (incontra) other travelers like you who  try – or tried – to cross this mountain pass !” It is just my interpretation of this amazing sculpture.

Greece, Naxos Island. On the  metallic entrance door opening to a wild garden, someone had written : “This is paradise”. After a few minutes’ walk uphill, amidst bushes and trees of all sorts, we stopped in front of a dry stone wall. At the bottom of it and protected by a fence, a huge statue  of a man, more than 17 feet,   seemed lost in a long sleep. It was the “Flerio Kouros”, built  in 570 BC in Naxian marble. What would the Kouros (young man) have said at that time ? Maybe he advised the stonecutters to be very careful when they would transport him to another site for the final touches. Apparently they weren’t enough or their artwork broke before ?  The statue remains unfinished, its leg broken, the marble has turned grey/brown in time and the mystery is unsolved.I wonder what these  sculptures inspire you ?

in peace

Jaun, a small village in the Gruyère area of the canton of Fribourg, Switzerland. Its cemetery, known for the beautiful woodcarvings built on each grave, depicting the life of the deceased, adds to the charm of this mountain village. I believe, these sculptures may be unique in Europe. They were created on the initiative of Walter Cottier, a self taught resident who passed in 1995. Other village artists have continued creating this most unusual artwork. I was there last week with friends and took some pictures to share with you

Jaun’s church is surrounded by many wooden tombs, each as different as the villagers were.

According to the old table and sewing machine sculpted on the wooden grave, this lady was a dressmaker. How many pieces of clothing had she sewn in her life ?

Another person who was remembered in the cemetery was a hunter. Between other words on his tomb I read : “Arbeit war Dein ganze Leben/Work was your whole life”.

How could one forget the grocer ? The lady who sold all that was needed, as well as daily bread ?

Another sculpture was dedicated to a lorry driver, an  important person in this mountain village. He would have transported wood beams, all kinds of goods, stones, and any  heavy materials people needed.

Marie; a church and a bouquet of flowers have been sculpted on her wooden grave. Would she have  been the faithful person who, week after week, decorated the altar of the church years ago ?

Family members, friends who are still missed,  who added their share to the life and history of the village and who now rest in peace in this lovely alpine setting. They are certainly honored in a beautiful way.

Inside the church, the late afternoon sun was shining softly on a stained glass window.

One can learn so much about the life of a village  – or any place – while visiting such a cemetery. Like a book whose pages you  would slowly turn with wonder and respect. My gratitude goes to the village artists who keep memory alive.

Whimsical – a photography assignment

“For a June Photo Hunt, please show me whimsy!”, writes Karma at http://karmardav.wordpress.com/2014/06/01/in-want-of-whimsy/.

 

The deadline to submit your whimsy photos  is Monday, June 30th if you wish to participate. I feel like sharing some pictures that may fit this definition of “whimsical” :

 

playfully quaint or fanciful, especially in an appealing and amusing way. “a whimsical sense of humour” synonyms: fanciful, playful, mischievous, waggish, quaint, fantastic, unusual, curious, droll; eccentric, quirky, offbeat, idiosyncratic, unconventional, outlandish, peculiar, queer, bizarre, weird, odd, freakish;

 

Here they are, I hope you enjoy them.

 

Two sculptures by Dutch artist Hanneke Beaumont in the courtyard of an old castle in Gruyères, Switzerland. Not whimsical enough, are you saying ? Just wait for the next picture… The same characters are visited by tourists. Do you think they enjoyed this sudden familiarity with a photographer and his mischievous son ? 😉 I did enjoy it. How about this whimsical presentation of two pairs of red shoes ?  No shop window here but  the yard of a large farm. I like the surrealist look of this work created by the artist, Flaviano Salzani. “To affirm oneself”  (or to assert oneself ?)  is the title of this curious sculpture by Mathilda Raboud. A playful angel riding on a not so funny crocodile. Look at his eyes and teeth ! One of them certainly needs to affirm oneself 😉   Thanks, dear Karen, for your June photo hunt which is really fun. I look forward to seeing the other bloggers’ whimsy pictures.