More Garden Art

August 2017 - Burlington ON

We took so many photos at the Royal Botanical Gardens that I've broken them into sections.

 A display of a favourite artist of mine outside the gifts hop.
Sam Tofts series of paintings feature a charming array of characters known as The Mustards.

Here's a couple of them.
Bums on Seats


The Suitcase of Sardine Sandwiches - how could you not love that title?



These fun pieces were in the Mediterranean exhibit.

Pollinizers
Dave Hind (Canada) with The Aluminum Quilting Society
This installation focuses on the importance of pollination. Royal Botanical Gardens supports pollinators by protecting the plant species and habitats that sustain them. The designs on the arms reflect some of these species.

Haven
Catherine Lavelle (Canada) designed in collaboration with Douglas Senft
Haven is a large nest. Lavelle uses her art to speak to the changing nature of animal habitats in a city landscape.

On the Wings of Love
Bob and Jo Wilfong (USA)
On the Wings of Love explores themes of love and human connection. The simple stylized forms are designed to connect with each viewer’s personal experience.

Rejoicing Family
Taurai Mutigwa (Zimbabwe)
Rejoicing Family shows people embraced together. The sculpture weaves into itself to represent how everything is connected.

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Audio Bee Booth for Greenway (2011)
an amplified habitat installation for wild, solitary nesting bees and wasps
By Sarah Peebles. Assisted by Rob Cruickshank, electronics; John Kuisma, woodworking; Chris Bennett, pyrography.

Bloodroot
Artist: Karl Unnasch
From: USA
Date: 2016
Inspired by Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot), this installment represents one of the first woodland plants to greet spring as it contrasts its unique structure with the more innocuous plants surrounding it.

Jardín
Artist: Lisbet Fernandez Ramos
From: Spain
Date: 2016
Jardín displays five figures of children to represent our differences as individuals within a group.

Garden Art - Lego Style

August 2017 - Burlington ON

We went to the Royal Botanical Gardens this week to see the Lego exhibit which was ending shortly.

I'll have a more earthy post on the plants we saw on Friday. Today I'll concentrate on the art.

Nature Connects is an award-winning, record-breaking exhibition now touring North America. Created with over 2 million LEGO pieces, this show features over 100 sculptures built with LEGO bricks by New York artist Sean Kenney.

Moth Orchid 2,300 bricks

Hummingbird and trumpet flower 31.565 bricks

This giant Ruby-throated hummingbird magically hovers 8 feet in the air as it feeds out of giant flowers.

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Roto tiller 20,903 bricks

Lunch break

A Wealth of Health 34,340 bricks

American bald eagle 42,198 bricks

The eye is a LEGO magnifying glass, turned upside-down, with a black circular piece behind it.  The black ring of the magnifying glass, coupled with the convex clear lens perfectly simulated the steely gaze of the American Bald Eagle.

Duck and ducklings 6,927 bricks

The set of 5 ducklings took about 3 weeks to design and build. The baby duckling nestled under the father duck is actually structural, in that it masks the steel bar that keeps the duck fastened down.

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One Day at a Time Bluebird on Sundial (really works!) 27,869 bricks

Hidden Hunters  praying mantis 42,164 bricks

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Monarch 60,549 bricks

It has an 8-foot wingspan.

White Henry lily 32,514 bricks

He was lucky that he could  purchase a lot of otherwise very rare pink LEGO pieces, but even still were limited by the fact that only a few very small sizes and shapes are available. He had to layer many, many small pieces together to create the massive pink center of the flower in a structurally sound way.

Pileated woodpecker 4,424 bricks