Gallery 26 (Grey Red Oak) City Hall

Grey 'Red Oak'

Click on each image to see the full sized pic.

This is a  Metal Tree sculpture on the north corner of Wellington St. and Dufferin Av., at the corner of the City Hall building. This tree is the only grey one, and has a thicker trunk than the others.

You can go to the Metal Trees of the Carolinian Forest Map, or return to the Thumbnail Gallery, or go to the list of my essays on What Makes Effective Public Art?

You can even head back to the Homepage.

Gallery 25 (Red White Pines) Pair

Red 'White Pines'

Click on each image to see the full sized pic.
This is a  Metal Tree sculpture on the south side of York St., between Talbot and Richmond St.
You can go to the Metal Trees of the Carolinian Forest Map, or return to the Thumbnail Gallery, or go to the list of my essays on What Makes Effective Public Art?
You can even head back to the Homepage.

Gallery 24 (Green White Pine) Wellington Island

Green 'White Pine'

Click on each image to see the full sized pic.
This is a  Metal Tree sculpture on the Wellington St. island, between King and York St.
You can go to the Metal Trees of the Carolinian Forest Map, or return to the Thumbnail Gallery, or go to the list of my essays on What Makes Effective Public Art?
You can even head back to the Homepage.

Gallery 23 (Red White Oak)

Red 'White Oak'

Click on each image to see the full sized pic.
This is a  Metal Tree sculpture on the northwest corner of Talbot St., and King St.
You can go to the Metal Trees of the Carolinian Forest Map, or return to the Thumbnail Gallery, or go to the list of my essays on What Makes Effective Public Art?
You can even head back to the Homepage.

Gallery 22 (Green Tulip)

Green 'Tulip Tree'

Click on each image to see the full sized pic.
This is a  Metal Tree sculpture on the north corner of Dundas St., and Wellington St.
You can go to the Metal Trees of the Carolinian Forest Map, or return to the Thumbnail Gallery, or go to the list of my essays on What Makes Effective Public Art?
You can even head back to the Homepage.

Gallery 21 (Red Slippery Elm)

Red 'Slippery Elm'

Click on each image to see the full sized pic.
This is a  Metal Tree sculpture on the south side of Dundas St., between Wellington St. and Waterloo St.
You can go to the Metal Trees of the Carolinian Forest Map, or return to the Thumbnail Gallery, or go to the list of my essays on What Makes Effective Public Art?
You can even head back to the Homepage.

Gallery 20 (Orange White Oak)

Orange 'White Oak'

Click on each image to see the full sized pic.
This is a  Metal Tree sculpture on the north side of Dundas St., between Waterloo St. and Colborne St.
You can go to the Metal Trees of the Carolinian Forest Map, or return to the Thumbnail Gallery, or go to the list of my essays on What Makes Effective Public Art?
You can even head back to the Homepage.

Gallery 19 (Purple Silver Maple) Dundas West

Purple 'Silver Maple'

Click on each image to see the full sized pic.
This is a  Metal Tree sculpture on the north side of Dundas St., between Clarence and Wellington St.
You can go to the Metal Trees of the Carolinian Forest Map, or return to the Thumbnail Gallery, or go to the list of my essays on What Makes Effective Public Art?
You can even head back to the Homepage.

Gallery 18 (Red Slippery Elm)

Red 'Slippery Elm'

Click on each image to see the full sized pic.
This is a  Metal Tree sculpture on the south side of Dundas St., between Richmond and Clarence St.
You can go to the Metal Trees of the Carolinian Forest Map, or return to the Thumbnail Gallery, or go to the list of my essays on What Makes Effective Public Art?
You can even head back to the Homepage.

Gallery 17 (Green White Ash)

Green 'White Ash'

Click on each image to see the full sized pic.
This is a  Metal Tree sculpture on the south side of Dundas St., between Colborne and Waterloo St.
You can go to the Metal Trees of the Carolinian Forest Map, or return to the Thumbnail Gallery, or go to the list of my essays on What Makes Effective Public Art?
You can even head back to the Homepage.

Gallery 16 (Yellow Sassafras)

Yellow 'Sassafras'

Click on each image to see the full sized pic.
This is a  Metal Tree sculpture on the southeast corner of Dundas St., and Waterloo St.
You can go to the Metal Trees of the Carolinian Forest Map, or return to the Thumbnail Gallery, or go to the list of my essays on What Makes Effective Public Art?
You can even head back to the Homepage.

Gallery 15 (Purple Silver Maple) East Dundas

Purple 'Silver Maple'

Click on each image to see the full sized pic.

This is a  Metal Tree sculpture on the north side of Dundas St., east of Wellington St.

You can go to the Metal Trees of the Carolinian Forest Map, or return to the Thumbnail Gallery, or go to the list of my essays on What Makes Effective Public Art?

You can even head back to the Homepage.

Art for Everyone : Public Art Installations

The first writing tip that seems to be handed out to prospective writers is “Write what you know.” This certainly seems to be a sound piece of advice, as an informed opinion or idea is better than an uninformed one. The corollary for photographers would be “Photograph what you see.” Again, the informed viewpoint and familiarity with the subject would offer many advantages over the stranger’s.

I live in London. Not the big one, in England, one of the little ones, in Ontario, Canada. There is a certain apology that goes along with explaining you live in London, but not THAT London. This is further complicated by the fact that we have a Thames River, a Piccadilly St, and a Covent Garden. How this city looks, however, is nothing like any of its counterparts across the Atlantic.

So, what do I see when I travel around London, ON? I see whole lot of things that get passed by by people who live here. As with any city, and hometown, the little things blend into one big blur in the drive to work, or the bus ride to school, or the walk downtown. I see my role as a photographer as one a highlighting the little things missed.

What I am going to begin here is an exploration of London, Ontario, in a series of photo essays. There is no rhyme or reason to the order of what I am trying out here, the viewer is subject to my whims and flights of fancy.

Art for Everyone: Sculpture and painting in public spaces.

London is known as ‘The Forest City’, apparently from the days when its location was carved out by cutting down swaths of trees to make room for roads and buildings.  Literally, London was the City in the Forest. Over time, the value of trees in the urban environment has increased, and London has been focused on how many trees still remain in our city. The city symbol is this. However, lately there have been a couple of ideas floated about that keep the idea of trees in the urban setting, with no actual living trees, per se.

The first idea that I would like to show you is The London Tree Trunk Tour. Their website gives an overview of the project and every official location. The project is a way of creating something out of nothing, really. Large trees do not last forever, and rather than grinding a tree stump into nothing, partnerships have been formed to create some art out of the remaining trunk. Click away to see the results, and my take on each.

Overview: Tree Trunk Tour

Beyond the Tree Trunk Tour: Mythical Tree

Most of the carved tree trunks in London were works commissioned for the Tree Trunk Tour, but they are not the end of the story when it comes to these kinds of carvings. Private commissions have been added to Robbin Wenzoski's portfolio in the city.

In late 2011, Robbin finished a sculpture at 147 Wychwood Place in northwest London. He calls it 'The Mythical Tree'. It is a work which pushes the boundaries of what a carved trunk can become.

There are a lot of spectacular elements incorporated into this sculpture. The all centre around a medieval fantasy theme. The most attention grabbing part is, of course, the dragon.

As always, click the photo to enlarge it. The level of detail is amazing. The neck and head of the dragon extend well away from the trunk, and every bit of it is painstakingly detailed with teeth, horns and scales.

There is green paint on the eyes for emphasis, the only colouring I could see on the whole carving. Again, the long snout and swept back horns provide a dynamic impression.







The wings have no shortage of detail either. They appear crumpled and leathery, both deeply creased from the top and the bottom.

Of course, the dragon wings aren't the only wings on the Mythical Tree. The unicorn/Pegasus at the top of the trunk also has a very elaborate pair of wings. These add on wings were done in Robbin's workshop and brought to the tree later on. The Pegasus is poised to leap into flight off the side of the tree, again a very dynamic pose.

Sharing the top of the tree with the winged horse are a pair of monsters. I'm going to call them 'demons', but I'm not sure exactly what creature they are based on. They are both nasty looking critters, one has wings, the other spines running up his back. The main trunk, as you may have noticed, has been carved in relief to appear as castle brickwork.

Around the rear of the trunk is relief carving of a wizard. He stands with a staff, inside the arch of a castle doorway.

The artists signature is that of Robbin Wenzoski, dated 2011, and located below the wizard. This logo is small letters and caps, as are all of his more recent signatures. Having just been finished and stained a few days before I took these pictures, the carving is , of course, undamaged and unweathered.

The wild subject matter, and incredible execution, of  the carving inspired me personally, I created the following two impressions in Photoshop of what kind of world this sculpture really belongs in.

I my opinion, this is the very top end of skill and imagination in the chainsaw carving technique. Whether it is to your taste or not, the bold, confident form, and mastery of technique are undeniable. If you find yourself around Sherwood Forest P.S., it is worth the little detour to find it.

Looking for more art like this? Well try these links -


Return to the Tree Trunk Tour Overview Page

Check out all the entries on my blog using the London's All Inclusive Art Map  
Curious about this artist? Try Robbin's Links Page

Beyond The Tree Trunk Tour: Amanda's Angel

There are still about a dozen carvings left on London Tourism's Tree Trunk Tour. There were a total of 19 carved from 2006-2011, but some have been removed as the trunks have deteriorated. You can read all about them at my overview page. There are, however, other carvings, commissioned by private individuals, which would fit the criteria for being on the tour. This is my first look 'Beyond the Tour'. The carving is titled Amanda's Angel, and is located at 40 Carfrae Cres.






















Amanda's Angel is one of the first sculptures of its type that I, myself, noticed in the city. It is of a female angel, crouched and unclothed, its face bowed, and wings straight up from its back. The wings are probably the most attention grabbing feature of the whole carving, they are very dramatic in their placement and wonderfully detailed.



 
The castle that is perched on top of the wings is also full of wonderful little details, with several little turrets and windows. There is even a stone bridge between two of the towers. And yes, that is a real woodpecker at the bottom part of the picture, I'll get to him later.











The back of the trunk has a couple of flowers with wavy petals, carved in relief. The flowers have painted stems and petals to make them stand out. I have had a chance to speak to the artist personally, and he usually doesn't like to paint his carvings. This was obviously an exception.

The naked body of the angel itself is hunched and hiding its head, as if crying. Of all the carvings I've seen, this one part has a much stronger emotional impact than any other for me. The skin texture is polished very smooth, and the emotion of the moment really comes through. It is obviously inspired by something like this.

The title of the piece is Amanda's Angel, inscribed between the wings on the front of the sculpture. Just below that is the Raw Art 07 block letter logo, which confirms this was made by Robbin Wenzoski. There is also a white cut crystal embedded in the trunk underneath that. The metal pieces above are the remains of a bracket, which attached a light to the carving.





I was able to find out a couple more bits of information about this piece. First off, it was set to be a Tree Trunk Tour carving, and then the city backed out. The owner talks about that in this documentary, starting at about the 2:22 mark. He doesn't elaborate as to the reason that Tourism London didn't sponsor it, but either the subject matter, or the cost may have made them change their minds. The second thing we learn from the video, is that the owners name is Jim Angell. It is certainly not unusual for a client to include a pun or reference to his or her own name in a commissioned work.






As with all the tree trunks I've catalogued, it isn't without its condition issues. The dark corners at the top of the castle have some fungus growing in them, and the finish on the angel itself is peeling in places. Like any wood left outdoors, a little time and care still needs to be invested every year to make sure it stays in good shape.







Now, about that woodpecker I mentioned above. I was quite lucky, and very shocked to see this little guy perched on the side of one of the wingtips. He was madly trying to tunnel into the trunk. I was no more that twenty feet away, and he was much more interested in the trunk than in me. It was a fun moment for me on my travels to all of the carved trunks, but I hope he gives up and finds a different spot to try and bore into.

Looking for more art like this? Well try these links -


Return to the Tree Trunk Tour Overview Page

Check out all the entries on my blog using the London's All Inclusive Art Map  
Curious about this artist? Try Robbin's Links Page