Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week is to post Man-Made Items.
Humans have been creating and building things for thousands of years. Some are monumental and awe-inspiring, some are fun or functional, and some are ugly. Everywhere people go, they leave behind something, carelessly or with a purpose.
It’s been awhile since I have participated in Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, but I am back in time to contribute to this week’s bridges!
Point Defiance Park, Tacoma, WABudapest, Hungary (over the Danube River)Looking down from the top of the Melk Abbey, AustriaRegensberg, GermanyCologne, Germany with its famous cathedral spires in the distance. On this bridge, many lovers had put…thousands of love locks!One of many canal bridges, Amsterdam, NetherlandsPegasus Bridge, Normandy, FranceBridge over the moat at Caen Castle, Normandy, FranceMaisons-Alfort, suburb of ParisCovered bridge in Madison County, IowaDes Moines, Iowa
I haven’t been on my blog much lately, so I’ve missed many days of Becky’s Square Odds this month, even though I love to participate! So, instead of just one oddity, here are several odd faces (including some faux faces)!
This carving is on the back of a chair at Oude Kerk (Old Church) in Amsterdam.I found this guy looking around on Northwestern University campus, next to Lake Michigan.How often do you see a dog with sunglasses, hanging out a car window?A goat’s face on top of Little Goat restaurant in ChicagoAt a sculpture park in Des Moines, IowaTwo faces sculpted by the same artist
Not a real face, but this orchid sure looks like it is hamming it up for the camera!Unusual “face” on a building in GermanyWith a gaping mouth, this “face” is on a rock face (pun intended!) in Arches National ParkA stressed face on a hot day in Vienna
Jude’s Travel Words blog’s topic for Life in Colour this month is the color blue. Jude challenges us to find “unusual” blues! OK, I’ll do my best…
Sky reflected in a car’s headlightsGlass art decoration at The MooringsSelfie after modification by SnapSeedSteps up to an Immersive Van Gogh presentationViolaSiberian bugloss
Dandelion after modification with SnapSeed
Aquarium at Brookfield ZooChagall Windows at Chicago Art InstituteSeveral shades of blue in this shot of a church in BudapestBlue door, blue bag in BudapestGraffiti in Germany
CadyLuck Leedy hosts the challenge Just One Person From Around the World. Her posts are always interesting, and if you follow this link, you will learn about the rigorous life of the guards who guard the tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery!
When we took our European cruise two years ago, we spent three days in Amsterdam, which was at the beginning of a prolonged heat wave! Europeans are not used to this kind of weather, but do take advantage to enjoy it! In Amsterdam, many people spent a day in the sunshine on their house boats. I can’t tell if this guy is happy or grumpy about the weather, but he knew how to stay cool!
Anyway, the heat wave lasted until several days after we got home two weeks later. Later in the summer of 2019, another heat wave hit Europe, sending the temperature in Paris to 109 degrees F (43 degrees C) at one point!
2016 broke the high for hottest summer on record, and every summer since then has similarly broken the record of the previous year! I wonder if 2021 will do the same?
Climate change is real and urgent action is needed!
On Monday, Ludwig hosts his weekly challenge Monday Window. I looked in my archives and kept coming across window pairs. Here are a few of them, taken in Brazil, Mont St-Michel (France), Amsterdam, and Germany.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week has the topic Non-Alive Animals. Of course, any representation of an animal has a real animal in mind as the artist creates it. But the rendition may be very close in appearance to the real animal, or it may be whimsical, or abstract. It all depends on the craftsman’s talent and point of view.
It was hard to choose photos for this post – so many to choose from! Everywhere I go, locally or abroad, there is animal art. Animals have been subjects for every kind of art imaginable for thousands of years…
Such as the first known painting in the world, a painting of Egyptian geese on papyrus at the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo,
and the god Horus, usually represented as a hawk, at the Temple of Horus in Edfu, Egypt.
Also at the Egyptian Museum is a throne of King Tutankhamun, whose tomb was not found until 1922, with most of its grave goods intact – it hadn’t been subjected to many tomb robberies!
This elaborate throne contains many symbols and images of gods, such as twin lions on the front. One of ancient Egypt’s sacred symbols was the scarab beetle, depicted in the cartouche on the front of the arm; the hieroglyphics within the cartouche generally are names of kings, so this may have been Tuthankhamun’s. Embracing the throne of either side are the wings of the vulture, a bird considered to be a protector of kings. In this case, he represents the king-god himself, wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.
The ancient Chinese civilization also had many animal representations, one of the most common being the guardian lion. This one is in front of a restaurant, House of Szechwan, in Des Plaines, Illinois.
Generally depicted in pairs, guardian lions stood in front of imperial palaces, tombs, temples, government buildings, and the homes of the wealthy. The concept was to show the emotion of the animal, in this case ferocity, as a symbol of protection.
Deriving from this Chinese custom, there are people today who have a pair of lions as lawn ornaments, like this one in Des Plaines. He might look more ferocious if freshly painted!
Here are another example of a Des Plaines lawn ornament, this cute little bird sitting on an orb.
There were many whimsical animals on display for sale or as decoration in the charming small town of Poulsbo, Washington, north of Tacoma.
This large carved bear is at the entrance to the main shopping street of Poulsbo, sort of a town mascot.
In Evanston, Illinois, there is a little known museum called the American Toby Jug Museum, which we discovered during Chicago’s annual Open House in October. Toby Jugs are ceramic figures, usually depicting well known persons, but also animals. The history of the toby jug, or philpot, dates back to 18th century potters in Staffordshire, England and was popularized by colonists in the United States. The top of each toby jug has a spout for pouring, but nowadays, these figurines are primarily for ornamentation or collections.
After the wedding we attended near Poulsbo, Washington, we spent a day in Tacoma before returning to Seattle for our flight home. There is a beautiful Museum of Glass there, which has many objects designed by the famous Dale Chihuly, but there is also a fine collection of glass sculptures by other artists, such as this beautiful horse.
Horses are the subject of many works of art, including statues of famous heroes mounted on horses in many European cities, but I am only including two 2-dimensional renditions, one a drawing of a palomino I drew a few days ago, and another one at a short film display at the Ij (Eye) Museum in Amsterdam.
While in Amsterdam, we visited the Oude Kerk, the oldest building in Amsterdam, founded circa 1213 CE. Under the seats of the choir were unique carvings – some rather bawdy! – including this one of a pig.
Most people love animals, and there are many examples of whimsical animals to delight human sensibilities. In the gardens behind Melk Abbey in Austria are some cute creatures, mostly fantastical combinations of human and animal, but there was this turtle:
In Passau, Germany, which we had visited the previous day while on our Viking European cruise, while walking around town on our own, we came across a dachshund museum! Big and little dachshund statues were in front of it.
Who could resist being delighted by several painted cows in the town across from Mont St-Michel in France? Here is one of them, my personal favorite (I love that bright blue udder!).
Our daughter loves Hello Kitty, and for her bridal shower, Hello Kitty was the theme! I bought these as party favors.
Some animal sculptures are cute,
At Mount St. Mary Park in St. Charles, Illinois
but some can be a bit intimidating!…
Giant spider at Pappajohn Sculpture Park in Des Moines, Iowa
and some are reminders of favorite movies, such as this groundhog in Woodstock, Illinois, where Groundhog Day was filmed.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week has the topic of Bridges.
One of my early photos in high school, when I was learning how to take and develop photos. This is a bridge on my high school campus.Amsterdam, taken from a boat tourPegasus Bridge in Normandy, FranceThis bridge in Cologne, Germany had a fence covered with padlocks, which represent love relationships.That same bridge in Cologne, Germany, at sunsetBridge and kayakers in Bamberg, GermanyInternational bridge at Panama CanalOn the Chicago river, this low red bridge is in the district of Chinatown.Another bridge on the Chicago RiverDevil’s Elbow Bridge, in MissouriOn the St. Lawrence River near Quebec
Lisa Coleman of Our Eyes Open‘s Bird Weekly photo challenge this week asks us to post long-legged birds.
Heron, Arlington Heights, IL, USAWhite heron, Aswan, EgyptBlacksmith plover, Arusha NP, TanzaniaCongregation of egrets, Tarangire NP, TanzaniaMarabou stork with carcass & vultures, Ndutu-Serengeti, TanzaniaA pair of ostriches, Serengeti NP, TanzaniaFlamingos at Amsterdam Zoo, the Netherlands