A Word A Week Photograph Challenge: Arch

An archway with a view of the gardens at the Cuneo Mansion in Vernon Hills, Illinois.

It doesn’t have to be as enormous as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis to find its way into my photo files. Arches come in all different sizes and are built for many different purposes, so here, in response to Sue Llewellyn’s Word A Week Photograph Challenge on A Word In Your Ear at http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2014/08/19/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-arch/ here are a few arches that have caught my eye whilst out and about with the camera.

An arched doorway to the Portiuncula chapel on the Peabody Estate in Mayslake.

Lazarus And The Rich Man, an arched sculpture created by Aaron Benson, in Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park.

The arched entryway to the old City Hall in Columbus, Indiana, which at that time had been converted to an hotel and which now, I believe, stands empty.

An arched gateway, decorated with glasswork created by Dale Chihuly, at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis.

The arched entryway to the old Chicago Stock Exchange building on display outside the Chicago Art Institute.

A Word A Week Challenge: Create

My thanks to Sue Llewellyn whose Word A Week Challenge on A Word In Your Ear at https://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2014/08/08/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-create/ has given me an excellent opportunity to share some pictures that I recently took at the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Although I’m not mad about most modern or contemporary art, I can appreciate the work and creativity that goes into making some of these pieces, and the garden-like setting at the Frederik Meijer Sculpture Park has a tendency to soften the overall effect which, for me at least, makes these somewhat outlandish sculptures rather more palatable.

The sculpture pictured above is entitled ‘Neuron’ and was created by American artist Roxy Paine, using 3,500 stainless steel rods and pipe.

Part of the two-piece sculpture entitled ‘Urban Excursion Rendezvous’ by Chakaia Booker is made of rubber tires.

I have to admit that sometimes I find the title of the piece as baffling as the artwork itself. ‘Disc In The Form Of A Desert Rose’ by Italian artist Arnaldo Pomodoro is a case in point. Well, OK. I can see the disc and maybe some thorns. I guess if you look at the thing long enough and use your imagination…..

‘Aria’, created by Alexander Liberman, stands some 42ft tall, enabling viewers to not only walk around but through the artwork.

One of three figures created with hundreds of stainless steel letters that make up a group entitled ‘I, You, She Or He…’ by Spanish artist Juame Plensa.

This whimsical piece created by Jim Dine is aptly called ‘Large Parrot Screams Color’.

Standing alone in a field of grass and wildflowers, this bronze sculpture entitled ‘Espaliered Girl’ was created by British artist Laura Ford.

Towering over the park, this giant aluminum figure entitled ‘Male/Female’ was created by Jonathan Borofsky.

A Word A Week Challenge: Water

Sue Llewellyn’s Word A Week Challenge on A Word In Your Ear at https://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2014/04/26/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-water/ is Water.

The images for this challenge were all taken at the same location but what a wealth of opportunity for water shots it presented!

Across the street from historic Union Station in St Louis stands Carl Milles’ fountain sculpture ‘The Meeting Of The Waters.’

The fountain represents the meeting of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and was originally entitled ‘The Wedding Of The Waters‘ but because the naked figures and rather risqué nature of the sculpture caused such a stir when they made their debut in 1940, local officials insisted that the name be changed.

A Word A Week Challenge: Violet

Sue’s Word A Week Challenge on A Word In Your Ear at http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-violet/ is Violet.

When I was a child, violets, along with cowslips, bluebells and primroses, were among the flowers that Mum and I looked for on our nature rambles in Kent (there weren’t too many violets and bluebells in Tottenham at the time so we had to wait until our annual visit to my grandparents.)

It was like finding a little jewel among the grass and was cause for a certain amount of excitement. We got a great deal of pleasure from the simple things in life back then.

I think it was one of my mother’s favorite flowers and, later on in life, when we went for our country rambles at the local nature centers here in the US, she would inevitably point them out and say, “Take a picture! Take a picture!” Which is why I have a liberal sprinkling of them in my photo files.

A Word A Week Photograph Challenge: Waiting

Sue Llewellyn’s Word A Week Challenge on A Word in Your Ear at http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2014/01/15/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-waiting/ is Waiting.

These ladies were waiting for the arrival of a very important visitor at the Hindu temple in Bartlett as part of the festivities to celebrate India’s Independence Day.

The Knights of Columbus, forming a guard of honor, were waiting for the procession, which included Francis Cardinal George, to pass by as it made it’s way through Grant Park in Chicago.

A driver with his carriage waiting for his horse to get some much-needed refreshment at a water fountain in Indianapolis.

Ladies from the Ballet Folklorico waiting to perform on stage at the Gale Borden Library in Elgin.

A lady in period costume waiting with a team of horses at Old World Wisconsin.

A Word A Week Photograph Challenge: Yellow

Sue’s Word A Week Photograph Challenge on A Word In Your Ear at http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2014/01/07/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-yellow/ is Yellow.

Having just written a piece, for one of my other blogs, entitled A Touch of Yellow, I found myself having to once again go through the photo files in order to find some suitable pictures to match the challenge. Although I am by no means a fan of ‘modern art’ I thought this yellow sculpture entitled Love/Embrace, by Leslie Bruning, part of the ‘Sculptures on the Boulevard’ project in Chicago, a bright addition to the park.

Sometimes the chosen color can be only a small part of the overall picture and yet the eye is drawn to it right away, such as the tub of yellow chrysanthemums, in the shot above, captured at the Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford. Or a yellow raft floating by the dock at a lake in Wisconsin.

At other times the color is the majority of the picture such these yellow flowers in a field at Vogelei Park in Hoffman Estates.

Or this stained-glass window; part of a display at Navy Pier in Chicago.

Sometimes the color is part of a recognizable symbol such as this yellow water taxi, a familiar sight during the summer months on the river in downtown Chicago.

A Word A Week Photograph Challenge: Reflect

Sue’s Word A Week Photograph Challenge on A Word In Your Ear at http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-reflect/ is Reflect.

Our eldest grandson catches sight of his reflection in a shop window as he goes ‘trick or treating’ at the local mall.

Our granddaughter studies her reflection in the mirror as she applies some make-up while visiting the Hamill Family play area at Brookfield Zoo.

Our youngest daughter checking out her reflection from every angle at that crucial last-minute dress fitting just days before her wedding.

A Word A Week Photograph Challenge: Wind

Sue’s Word A Week Photograph Challenge on A Word In Your Ear at http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-wind/ is Wind.

Sometimes we need a little help from Mother Nature and the following shots illustrate some of the things that require wind to assist in getting the job done.

A Halladay Standard windmill at the Volkening Farm in Schaumburg.

A kite flying in the Kite Festival at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Flags of various countries flying at the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park.

Yachts racing at what was then called Lake Opeka in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Milkweed seeds waiting for a breeze to help carry them to a new home.

A Word A Week Challenge: Shadow

Sue’s Word A Week Challenge on A Word In Your Ear at http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2013/12/02/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-shadow/ is Shadow.

Skillfully pruned pines cast distorted shadows on the snow in the Japanese Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Our little granddaughter racing to keep ahead of her shadow. I can’t take the credit for this picture. My son-in-law, her Uncle C, captured it as they were coming home from the park but it was so cute that I just had to include it.

Shadows emphasize the path across a bridge at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle.

A shadow is cast on The Sundial, a sculpture in the Plant Evaluation Garden of the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Shadows criss-cross the old red barn at Volkening Heritage Farm in Schaumburg.

A Word A Week Challenge: Lines – Part 2

I couldn’t resist having another go at Sue’s Word A Week Challenge on A Word In Your Ear at http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2013/11/19/a-word-a-week-challenge-lines/ It seems like our whole life is made up of lines of one kind or another; waiting in line, learning lines (if you’re an actor), toeing the line, writing lines (our punishment in school), genetic lines, and so on.

Following the white line on in-line skates.

The lines on a monarch butterfly.

The lines on a leaf so clearly defined that you can almost feel the texture.

A barn full of lines in the Volkening Heritage Farm in Schaumburg.

The lines of a decorative steel structure in the White River Gardens, Indianapolis.

Strong architectural lines of the Milwaukee Art Museum.