It is so windy today. Slightly overcast and deliciously cool. The wind keeps creeping around my house then bursts in through the windows. I have an alarming sensation of being at sea.
Later, while walking the beach I am overcome by how absolutely beautiful it is here. The wind is dancing with the palm trees that fringe the beach, the ocean which is normally such an intense turquoise and aquamarine is softened to pastel with white sun flashes, instead of the usual sparkling silver. The tide is out and the beach is mine. I feel so happy to be living on such a gorgeous island.
Upon returning home I am slightly disheartened by the mess that meets me at the door! Laziness, or an artist’s temperament, either way, my house has a constant feel of ‘charming’ chaos! I confess I do enjoy my home more when it is clean and tidy. Not knowing much about Feng Shui , I can appreciate the idea of a home environment holding a certain energy, and when it is clean and tidy there is a sense of flow.
Our home is so important - a place of sanctuary and certainly spending time and money on our home is commonly accepted. Our environment is so influential on our sense of wellbeing. Colours for example, have understood properties that influence emotions.
"Even if a person tries to be angry or aggressive in the presence of pink, he can't. The heart muscles can’t race fast enough. It’s a tranquilizing color that saps your energy. Even the color-blind are tranquilized by pink rooms,” says Morton Walker, The Power of Color , (New York, Avery Publishing Group, 1991), pp. 50-52
Quite extraordinary!
Pictures and art work displayed in homes often express a feeling, or coordinate with an idea, or express the personality of the owner. By using colours, textures, and images, a whole environment is created of peace, personality or passion!
Outside of our homes is our living environment. The Bahamas is synonymous with stunning beaches and glorious weather. We are lucky to enjoy what this island has to offer geographically. However this wider outside environment affects us as much as the pink of the walls in our living room. It is interesting how we innately create spaces to suit our personalities in our homes, but seldom think about how the wider environment influences us.
Public Art is art that is commissioned to exist in shared, public space. Cities and towns councils now understand how important art is to create cities with interesting and unique personalities that satisfy not only tourists, but most importantly residents.
By investing in Public Art, communities show that they are investing in themselves. Most city councils have a Department of Public Art where resources are used in a plethora of ways.
Community projects are an example of Public Art, where artists work with local groups to create a piece of art that becomes a testament to a very real bond of community. An artist friend of mine from Scotland worked in extremely deprived neighbourhoods in the north of England. With a group of youths she would teach a skill, for example stone or wood carving. Then sponsored by the local authority, the group would create a sculpture for that neighbourhood. The children learned about art and about creating (which in environments where unemployment, depression and destruction are the norm, to create is profoundly optimistic). They experienced a true sense of community and learned the value of working together.
Public Art can create a specific environment for the public, for example the Gaudi Park in Barcelona, Spain, which is a fabulous exploration of imagination by architect Antonio Gaudi. Gaudi’s architectural masterpieces also speckle the city. There is something so awe inspiring when discovering one of his buildings. He defied convention by creating buildings with unique, elegant and challenging lines.
In Edinburgh, Scotland, one of my favourite public art projects sponsored by a power company involves an old power station that suddenly became a prominent art feature in the center of a new upcoming business district. The previous ugly wires and machinery were transformed by coloured lights that shift and change. Something that was at best unnoticed has now become a contemporary highlight of the city.
In 2005 my children and I spent some time unexpectedly in Bogota, Colombia. Admittedly with my poor Spanish, two small children, and travelling on our own, I was a little nervous to be in a country that has such a colourful reputation. However, the children and I were disarmed from the fascinating art exhibition in the mall, to the dramatic and contemporary sculptures that seemed to spill out everywhere along the vast aviendas into the city. We were so excited by the unexpected wealth of Public Art that our fear evaporated.
Environments profoundly affect us - from our homes to the wider world. Public Art is vital in creating happy and exciting places to live and visit.
But, for the mean time I will get the vacuum out and sort through the chaos in my own home…………!
Comments, Feedback...contact me at sozmac@yahoo.com
Upon returning home I am slightly disheartened by the mess that meets me at the door! Laziness, or an artist’s temperament, either way, my house has a constant feel of ‘charming’ chaos! I confess I do enjoy my home more when it is clean and tidy. Not knowing much about Feng Shui , I can appreciate the idea of a home environment holding a certain energy, and when it is clean and tidy there is a sense of flow.
Our home is so important - a place of sanctuary and certainly spending time and money on our home is commonly accepted. Our environment is so influential on our sense of wellbeing. Colours for example, have understood properties that influence emotions.
"Even if a person tries to be angry or aggressive in the presence of pink, he can't. The heart muscles can’t race fast enough. It’s a tranquilizing color that saps your energy. Even the color-blind are tranquilized by pink rooms,” says Morton Walker, The Power of Color , (New York, Avery Publishing Group, 1991), pp. 50-52
Quite extraordinary!
Pictures and art work displayed in homes often express a feeling, or coordinate with an idea, or express the personality of the owner. By using colours, textures, and images, a whole environment is created of peace, personality or passion!
Outside of our homes is our living environment. The Bahamas is synonymous with stunning beaches and glorious weather. We are lucky to enjoy what this island has to offer geographically. However this wider outside environment affects us as much as the pink of the walls in our living room. It is interesting how we innately create spaces to suit our personalities in our homes, but seldom think about how the wider environment influences us.
Public Art is art that is commissioned to exist in shared, public space. Cities and towns councils now understand how important art is to create cities with interesting and unique personalities that satisfy not only tourists, but most importantly residents.
By investing in Public Art, communities show that they are investing in themselves. Most city councils have a Department of Public Art where resources are used in a plethora of ways.
Community projects are an example of Public Art, where artists work with local groups to create a piece of art that becomes a testament to a very real bond of community. An artist friend of mine from Scotland worked in extremely deprived neighbourhoods in the north of England. With a group of youths she would teach a skill, for example stone or wood carving. Then sponsored by the local authority, the group would create a sculpture for that neighbourhood. The children learned about art and about creating (which in environments where unemployment, depression and destruction are the norm, to create is profoundly optimistic). They experienced a true sense of community and learned the value of working together.
Public Art can create a specific environment for the public, for example the Gaudi Park in Barcelona, Spain, which is a fabulous exploration of imagination by architect Antonio Gaudi. Gaudi’s architectural masterpieces also speckle the city. There is something so awe inspiring when discovering one of his buildings. He defied convention by creating buildings with unique, elegant and challenging lines.
In Edinburgh, Scotland, one of my favourite public art projects sponsored by a power company involves an old power station that suddenly became a prominent art feature in the center of a new upcoming business district. The previous ugly wires and machinery were transformed by coloured lights that shift and change. Something that was at best unnoticed has now become a contemporary highlight of the city.
In 2005 my children and I spent some time unexpectedly in Bogota, Colombia. Admittedly with my poor Spanish, two small children, and travelling on our own, I was a little nervous to be in a country that has such a colourful reputation. However, the children and I were disarmed from the fascinating art exhibition in the mall, to the dramatic and contemporary sculptures that seemed to spill out everywhere along the vast aviendas into the city. We were so excited by the unexpected wealth of Public Art that our fear evaporated.
Environments profoundly affect us - from our homes to the wider world. Public Art is vital in creating happy and exciting places to live and visit.
But, for the mean time I will get the vacuum out and sort through the chaos in my own home…………!
Comments, Feedback...contact me at sozmac@yahoo.com