The Royal Ontario Museum

Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum is the largest museum in Canada and one of the largest in North America. It first opened in 1914 and for much of its life was under the control of the University of Toronto, before becoming a fully independent body in 1968. Today it is Canada’s largest institution for scientific field research and is particularly renowned for its world class fossil collection.

A duck billed Hadrosaur

The museum buildings grew in stages with the original 1914 west wing being in a neo-Romanesque style and the 1933 east wing showing Art Nouveau influences including rather grand mosaic ceilings.

The mosaic ceiling of the east wing rotunda

The museum undertook another major phase of renovation and expansion in the early 2000’s with The Crystal, an extension designed by Daniel Libeskind opening in 2007.

Alex outside The Crystal extension

This extension seems to be loved and hated in equal measure. We found it an interesting bit of architecture but it is hard to deny that its primary purpose was to make a grand statement rather than provide a well planned space to display exhibits.

A stairwell in The Crystal extension

The museum has many galleries covering many aspects of science, history and culture but it is probably the dinosaur galleries that make the biggest impact. The layout is rather old fashioned, with many, often unrelated dinosaurs packed side by side. Here there is none of the blind stumbling through darkened rooms that is now fashionable in Europe and the impact of the exhibits is not diluted by vast walls of educational reading. It does have its modern quirks for the kids (get an instant photo of you being chased by a T-rex!) but the dinosaurs themselves are fabulous and really show off the fossil riches of Canada.

A small duck-billed dinosaur with a very narrow skull

A very grand Ceratopsian (the Triceratops family)

A notable feature of the dinosaur galleries is the number of creatures suspended from the ceilings. These include various Pterosaurs and prehistoric sea creatures.

Giant pterosaur with a 12metre wingspan

Two more pterosaurs

An enormous 4.5 metre ancient turtle – Calling all Terry Pratchett fans!

The ROM has many other interesting displays covering various aspects of the natural world and world culture. There is a good exhibit on biodiversity and a fine collection of minerals and gemstones. The European history exhibits are fairly small but with many fine specimens including nice Cycladic and Etruscan pieces.

This stunning lump of natural copper looks like a modern sculpture

Cycladic figure

The museum has large galleries dedicated to Canadian First Peoples but other world cultures are mainly represented by quite limited displays. The exception being Chinese displays, which have a large and prominent set of galleries with many fine artefacts, particularly the early ceramics. Sadly, many of the Chinese displays are in cases with glass all round and this combined with harsh lighting from a multitude of sources can make viewing difficult and photography near impossible.

The early Chinese ceramics are beautiful but the glass reflections often disturb your view

If you have enjoyed this bit of virtual lockdown travel, we plan to go somewhere else very soon. Maybe to Japan next!

Take good care of yourselves – Wai-Yuk and Alex

Summer garden

Hello everyone! It’s been a long while since I last posted but I’m planning on blogging a bit more regularly, as I’ve accumulated a lot of things to share and I think we could all do with some colour now the flowers are starting to pass.

We spent most of lockdown in the garden, and we’ve been rewarded with some lovely flowers and lots of vegetables. Alex has had a vision for our garden for years but we have always had other things that needed our attention. Not this year!

We now have a lovely pond filled with goldfish and the occasional frog, along with a granite bench made from a huge stone that used to lean against the back of our house. The next project is a summerhouse to give us somewhere to sit when it’s raining (which is quite often, given we’re in Cornwall!).

With the demands of the garden beginning to die down, I’m looking forward to returning to my studio and starting on some new projects. It will be a welcome change to get back to jewellery after making so many face masks!

I hope you and your family are keeping well and safe, and hope you enjoy this snippet of life in Cornwall.

A riot of Livingstone Daisies

The pond and bench, featuring Roxy the cat

The passionflower discovered the warmth of the tunnel… and exploded!

Roxy and me, with a shawl I knitted last year.

The Garden House

Alex and I made the most of the sunny weather by visiting The Garden House, a ten acre garden near Yelverton, in Devon.

The original house was built for the vicars of the parish, including the former Abbot of Buckland Abbey, who became vicar after the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1500s. A modern vicarage was built in the 1920s and The Garden House was sold as a private dwelling.

When the house and gardens came on to the market again in the 1940s, they were purchased by Lionel and Katharine Fortescue, who created the gardens whilst running a thriving market garden business. After their deaths, the Garden House was bequeathed to a charity to maintain their legacy.

The Garden House features both naturalistic planting and more traditional arrangements, making it a beautifully varied place to visit.

Here’s a sample of what was on offer (click to enlarge):

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Back after a break!

Hello everyone, it’s been quite a while since I’ve posted but I’m looking forward to blogging more frequently from now on.

Since I last posted, I’ve been enjoying retirement – lots more time for creativity, gardening, friends and family!

My daughter, Isla, has been dealing with a difficult health condition and has started her own blog where she talks about her experiences and posts her own artwork, you can find her at Medically Unexplained.

I spent a week staying with my son a few weeks back, and visited Hillier Gardens in Hampshire. The seasonal planting displays are stunning and I’m feeling very inspired by all the colours and patterns.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Widemouth Bay

Today has been wet and miserable in this bit of the world but last week we had some days of brilliant sunshine. Last Wednesday I had a really good day working on my textile jewellery. I finished a new necklace that I was pleased with so Alex and I decided that a trip to the beach to enjoy the sunset was overdue.

A new textile necklace

When we arrived the at Widemouth Bay the light was stunning. The reflection of the brilliant blue sky on the the breaking waves made them appear almost fluorescent.

Widemouth Bay near Bude in North Cornwall

Near the beach, the air was laden with spray that glowed in the evening light

A big wave crashing into the headland

I always enjoy the little details as well as the broad seascape

Light effects change very rapidly as the sun sinks down

Another shot of the amazing glow in the spray lit by the setting sun

The glowing sky reflected in the wet sand

Just as the sun dipped under the horizon

Rainswept Barking

I recently spent a few days staying with my daughter at her flat in Barking. During a brief but intense shower I turned my camera on the river Roding, that runs by Isla’s flat. Here are a few of my photographs.

An Ocean of Foxgloves

I went for a walk in the local forest a few weeks ago and came across this glorious patch of purple. This area had been cleared last year, and the foxgloves seem to have wasted no time in colonising!

Unfortunately, there was no way to get a better view (though I did consider sending Alex up a tree), but hopefully these photos will convey some of the drama.

A lone spire of white amongst the purple. 

Digitalis purpurea (Common Foxglove)

Wilsey Down Forest

Clearing in the conifers

Icy Photos in Cornwall

Many parts of the UK have had a lot of snow recently. Here in Cornwall we have only had a light dusting but it was enough to get me out of the house with my camera. I ended up having a lot of fun trying to get shots of just one lump of ice. This had frozen inside a bowl in the garden and when I turned it out, it had all sorts of interesting curves and textures. I am not sure that the photographs do it justice but here are a few.

When water turns to solid!

Not much snow here but a lovely crisp winter’s day

This piece of ice formed in a bowl full of water in my garden

Side view

Top view

Frozen ground

The Horniman Museum

I have discovered a new favourite museum! Hidden away in Forest Hill, South London is a late-Victorian gem – The Horniman Museum.

The facade of the original Horiniman Museum building

Founded in 1901 by Victorian tea trader Frederick John Horniman, the museum contains an eclectic mix of displays including natural history, ethnology and musical instruments. The original building was designed in the Arts and Crafts style by Charles Harrison Townsend who also designed an extension opened in 1912. New buildings were again added in the 1990’s, including a grass-roofed Centre for Understanding the Environment.

Townsend’s 1912 extension

The CUE building (Centre for Understanding the Environment)

This is a very traditional museum with many of the natural history exhibits being slightly faded examples of the taxidermist’s art, but they are a major part the place’s charm. Other display cases contain particularly good educational explanations.

Scarlet ibis

Slightly faded and scruffy but still very beautiful!

Beautiful if slightly dusty insects abound

The museum has a vast collection of musical instruments, from ancient to modern, with many beautiful specimens.

A case of musical instruments

One of the Benin bronzes in the Africa gallery

Mask

One of the delights of the Horniman is it’s freedom from the modern “sanitised” display aesthetic. Many of the ethnographic displays are housed in dark old wooden cabinets, often with an eccentric mix of items displayed side by side.

Model of a north-African doorway behind a case of stuffed birds

Fossil Ichthyosaur fore-limb

A beautiful set of teeth!

Lettuce Coral

One of the many fine moths and butterflys

The Ruined City of Jiaohe

I can often find great beauty and inspiration in old, abandoned objects. This blog is about an entire abandoned city, which strikes me as being both very beautiful and rather eerie. The photographs were taken by my husband Alex and daughter Isla during their trip along the silk road in 2010. Alex has provided the information on the city’s history.

Jiaohe ruins

Our daughter Isla feeling the 38C heat

The city of Jiaohe was built on an islet in a river, with the high cliffs around its plateau forming a natural fortress. No one knows when it was first settled but it first became the capital city for the Turpan region in around 180 BC and remained an important centre on the silk road until it was abandoned after being sacked by Genghis Khan in the 13th century. At its peak the city is thought to have housed around 7,000 people during the Tang dynasty.

Buildings were a mix of carved loess soil and mud brick

The city is protected by steep cliffs all around

The Turpan area is a bleak desert that bursts into life where there is water

Jaiohe city walls

Centuries of weathering carves mud bricks into fantastic shapes

A buddhist temple can still be recognized

In the early twentieth century, the archaeologist Aurel Stein complained that local people were carrying away material from the site to make new buildings but today the ruins are protected by the Chinese government. New paths have been laid for tourist access and a lot of conservation work, plus some restoration has taken place.

Chelsea Physic Garden

I recently paid a delightful visit to Chelsea Physic Garden, the first time I had been there in many years. For those who love plants, this is one of London’s great hidden treasures. Being someone who is inspired by natural forms, I found many unusual shapes and textures that can serve as inspiration for my work but the garden is a great place for anyone to visit.Chelsea Physic Garden is one of the oldest horticultural establishments in the world. It was founded in 1673 by the Society of Apothecaries as a place to train apprentices in growing and using medicinal plants. Despite its long history, the garden only opened to the general public in 1983. Prior to that time it was almost exclusively a place for scientists and students to study and today the garden remains a centre for education and scientific research.

Oxford Snapshots

I love to explore textures and colours in my textile work, and I try to make sure I’ve got my camera handy to snap anything interesting. Below are a few of the images that caught my eye in Oxford: colour combinations in lichen-covered bark, forms in tree sap, and mosaic reflections in windows. 

Graduation!

Earlier this month, my family and I visited Oxford for Isla’s graduation ceremony. We were lucky to have good weather and it was an emotional day – it was lovely to see my daughter all grown up and stepping into the next stage of her life. I’ve included some of my favourite photos of the day below. Isla in her gown and hood, walking across Wadham College quad with Alex.Lunch in Wadham College hall, Isla and Greg kept each other amused!The Graduation Ceremony at the Sheldonian Theatre. The family all together after the ceremony (my son in formal wear…)

Back to Eden

Thanks to the beautiful weather we’ve been enjoying, we’ve taken full advantage of our Eden Project Local Passes. I always spot something new and unexpected, which makes the visits fantastic for firing up my imagination and creativity.
I thought I’d share some of my photos for those of you who are a bit further afield – I hope you enjoy!

For more Eden photos, have a look at these posts (back when the weather wasn’t quite so good!):
Gardens of Eden
More Eden

Natural History Museum

The animal and plant decoration on the museum’s exterior

I have posted before about my love for the Waterhouse Building, home of London’s Natural History Museum (The Sculpture of Nature). This time I thought that I would share a few photographs showing the outside of this beautiful and eccentric building, specifically, a few of the many, many animal and plant sculptures and reliefs that decorate its rich exterior.

A Cathedral to Science – entrance to the museum

The ambition of Alfred Waterhouse’s design is breathtaking in its complexity, with literally hundreds of sculptures and gargoyles adorning a façade that is already a busy excursion into the Gothic fairytale-land of the German Romanesque. Such richness of detail could easily have disintegrated into a jumbled mess, yet through careful control of scale and proportion, together with the cohesive force of the strong lines running through the design, Waterhouse never loses the overall coherence of the building.

Iconic landmark – The towers of the museum seen from South Kensington underground station

Primitive reptiles and a dire-wolf? beneath one of the many windows

This magnificent feline is high up, against one of the building’s central towers

A whole menagerie of beasts and gargoyles look down on visitors

This lion, like all the other beasts, was modelled from Waterhouse’s own drawings

The building also has more subtle decoration, such as this fox and birds over the entrance

Smaller creatures are represented on tiles such as these

Apart from the animal in the roundel, note the birds in the rooftop ironwork

The famous pterodactyl

I fell in love with this building on the day I first saw it and in the decades since I have only grown to appreciate it more. If you have a chance to visit London then please make a trip to the Natural History Museum one of your priorities.

(As always, thanks are due to husband Alex for helping to put my thoughts into words.)