Category: Art and beauty

Parksville sand sculpting 2017

Randy and Val arrived Parksville for a week holiday. First stop was the annual sand sculpting competition.

Theme this year was Canada 150.

Maple leaves, trees and water were recurring themes as 29 competitors devoted their creativity to the theme of Canada 150 in the 2017 Quality Foods Sand Sculpting Competition at Parksville’s Community Park last weekend.

In the end, the winning entries were those that focused on Canada’s people — particularly those of its First Nations. …

Parksville sand sculpting competition honours Canada

Canadian Mosaic, a 360-degree series of pillars featuring five Canadian icons — Neil Young, Buffy St. Marie, Terry Fox, Chief Dan George and David Suzuki won a prize.

Excellent detail impresses me.

My brother liked best another winner, with an indigenous figure on one side and a uniformed Mountie on the other.

I voted for one called Little Iron Horse celebrating a certain breed of Canadian horses.

more photos

7 Wonders of the Ancient World – Temple of Artemis

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair

Though hundreds of thousand visit nearby Ephesus, Turkey, I was the only person at the Temple of Artemis when I visited.

Me, turtles and the stork nesting atop the last remaining column.

How fragile are the works of man.

Of the original Seven Wonders, only one—the Great Pyramid of Giza, the oldest of the ancient wonders—remains relatively intact.

The Colossus of Rhodes, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Temple of Artemis and the Statue of Zeus were all destroyed.

The location and ultimate fate of the Hanging Gardens are unknown, and there is speculation that they may not have existed at all.

model of the original Temple of Artemis, at Miniatürk Park, Istanbul

A Greek temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis, it was completely rebuilt three times before its final destruction in 401 AD.

Click PLAY or watch a BBC documentary on YouTube.

Christ the Redeemer, Rio

Like everybody, I’ve always wanted to visit this most famous statue.

IMG_0979

Live everyone, I found it to be no let down. 🙂

Most take the quaint cog railway up and down. (But there is a rough scramble trail which starts close to the Botanical Gardens.)

Things go better with ...
Things go better with …

You arrive at the top to his back facing. Interesting.

IMG_0972

IMG_0974

I like the face. It’s as tranquil as many Buddha statues.

IMG_0977

The views are terrific. Obviously.

IMG_0973

IMG_0980

IMG_0983

There’s Maracanã Stadium. It will host Opening & Closing Olympic ceremonies.

IMG_0975

This guy’s certainly going to be cheering Brazil to win the men’s futebol gold medal.

IMG_0978

Everybody here is happy, happy.

IMG_0986

IMG_0985

But the Russian girl – Lena – I arrived with nearly got us kicked out. She climbed the Redeemer for a photo. 🙂

… A symbol of Christianity across the world, the statue has also become a cultural icon of both Rio de Janeiro and Brazil, and is listed as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone, and was constructed between 1922 and 1931. …

Rick and Christ the Redeemer

BEAUTIFUL – Selaron Steps, Rio

One of my favourite Rio tourist attractions. Unique. Quirky. And very Rio. 🙂

Escadaria Selarón, also known as the ‘Selaron Steps’, is a set of world-famous steps in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They are the work of Chilean-born artist Jorge Selarón who claimed it as “my tribute to the Brazilian people”.

In 1990, Selarón began renovating dilapidated steps that ran along the front of his house. At first, neighbours mocked him for his choice of colours as he covered the steps in fragments of blue, green and yellow tiles – the colours of the Brazilian flag. It started out as a side-project to his main passion, painting, but soon became an obsession. …

There are 250 steps measuring 125 metres long which are covered in over 2000 tiles collected from over 60 countries …

Escalera_Seleron

You’ve seen the steps if you’ve seen this video – Beautiful with Snoop and Pharrell.

(The artist) Jorge Selarón was found dead on the Escadaria Selarón near his home on January 10, 2013, at the age of 65. Police did not rule out homicide, saying he had received death threats. Later in 2013, police has said the main line of investigation was suicide, considering allegations from friends that he was depressive.

what’s with Adult colouring books?

Adult coloring books, though available in print, are increasingly being offered digitally, via ebooks, digital apps, and coloring pages that can be colored online or downloaded.

Contributing to the popularity of e-coloring books are their de-stressing, relaxation effects and the fact that users’ work-products can be saved and shared. …

A friend of mine, Cynthia, was one of the artists in this one – Coloring Creative Characters: Fun Coloring Pages with Personality. ($12.99)

adult coloring book

when unibrows were cool

The Museum of Islamic Art, Doha has a special exhibition right now called Qajar Women.

“… artwork of the Qajar period in Iran (1785-1925). … ”

A unibrow was considered very fashionable. Very beautiful.

two-women-in-european-dress-from-the-olga-davidson-collection-feature-image

That’s not so odd. They are still popular in Tajikistan.

But some ladies added facial hair. Moustache and/or beard. That I find strange.

women with moustache