Very often my blog posts are based upon random acts of discovery. An incident, event or landscape feature appears during my daily life which just lends itself nicely to a blog post and this is one of those.
During my holidays, I was wandering down the main shopping street in Lytham trying to avoid Tiger Woods, Lady Gaga and any other celebrities which might pop up and surprise me whilst putting in an appearance at the Open Golf Championship. At Clifton Square, I came across this pebble mosaic called “Paradise Garden”…
It reminded me very much of an embroidery sampler with its level of detail and illustrations depicting local connections. After some searching on the Internet, I found out that it was created by Maggy Howarth, an expert craftsperson who has written the definitive guide, the Complete Pebble Mosaic Handbook. This is well worth buying if you wish to create a similar feature in your garden or outdoor space.
The centre of the mosaic has the red rose of Lancashire as the feature, made, of course from lots of red pebbles…
My favourite illustrations were definitely the fish around the outside which contrasted nicely with the black sea and slate waves…
I liked the use of contrasting sizes of pebbles to add detail especially of the local wildlife…
And it was lovely to see our native red squirrel featured…
Local industries were highlighted. Lytham is a seashore community just south of Blackpool…
There is a beautiful windmill on the sea front that is a key feature within the townscape…
The next day, I happened to be wandering along the promenade in Morecambe in search of a nice cafe and ice cream. If you look carefully, there happens to be a feather-textured surface weaving its way down either side of the walkway, occasionally intertwining…
As I rather liked how the windblown sand had become trapped within the design and actually added a complementary dimension to it, I stopped and took a closer look. I had a feeling I had seen something similar…
The stonework was also designed by Maggy Howarth. Another random act of discovery!
Mmmm it’s it always weird how once you come across something you keep seeig it in different places? You latest posts have inspired me to keep my eyes peeled when in new places for interesting outdoor ‘art work’.
Yes – I reckon if the public has paid for works of art then we might as well use these to benefit children – I rely heavily on artists of all sorts to help me view the world in different ways.