Ipswich Artathon (2)

This is my second offering of Ipswich art as I saw it. Some of it is not exactly of the date of this entry, as I have tried to group the images together. However, most images were take `around` this time! This first image was probable the newest of the group, and one of my favourites.

THE QUESTION?

2011 UCS Waterfront

Marble and granite

The two-part work, created by internationally-acclaimed artists Langlands & Bell, is linked to an LED screen on top of the town’s iconic chimney tower at the Campus North site. It was financed by the university and grants of £75,000 from Arts Council England and £25,000 from Ipswich Borough Council.

THE QUESTION (2)

Linking with image above, on other half of UCE

PRINCE ALEXANDER OBOLENSKY

Cromwell Square, St. Nicholas Street

2009 Harry Gray

Stone and bronze

Artist Harry Gray was commissioned to make this artwork which mirrors the excitement and speed of the game and is in the style of the futurist 1930’s modernism. 

Prince Alexander Obolensky was born in St Petersburg, the son of Prince Serge Obolensky and his wife Princess Luba. The year after his birth the Russian Revolution broke out and the family fled to England, settling in North London. Prince Alexander studied at Oxford University where he played Rugby 

football and went on to play for Leicester and England. His selection for England caused a stir because he was not English but gained British citizenship in 1936. He was killed during the Battle of Britain when his Hawker Hurricane crashed on Martlesham Heath near Ipswich whilst training in 1940. He is buried in Ipswich Cemetery. 

THE CLASPED HANDS

South West corner of Christchurch Park

David Good

Ash

The clasped hands are near the St Margaret's Plain entrance to Christchurch Park. Ipswich Rangers and Parks Department commissioned chainsaw sculptors to work on the ash trees in the Park which presented a threat of falling branches. This is one of two.

TRIPLE MYCOMORPH

1992 Christchurch Park

Bernard Reynolds

Aluminium

This piece commissioned by Tom Gondris, was originally made in plaster in 1953 and was later cast into metal in 1992. The sculptor explained that - "Tom Gondris came to my studio to select from my past work a sculpture which he felt could symbolise the continuous resurgence of life. He chose this Triple Mycomorph.... to be a memorial to his parents who disappeared on the 'Continent' during World War II". 

Born in Norwich in 1915 and trained at Norwich School of Art, Bernard Reynolds met and exhibited with Henry Moore in 1936-37. From 1949 he organised nine exhibitions of East Anglian Sculpture. He was Lecturer in Charge of Three-dimensional Design, Suffolk College until 1980. 

ST PETERS GATES

2008 St Peter's Church

Paul Richardson

Steel

These gates were commissioned by the Ipswich Hospital Band, who converted the deconsecrated church into a concert venue. They show 'angels of music' to combine the new role of St Peters while staying in sympathy with the church architecture. 

The angels' wings echo parts of the wind instruments from the Hospital Band. Playing flute and horn, they hover over water under a starry sky, celebrating the new home of music at the waterfront. They were installed in spring 2008. 

BARLEY SCULPTURE

1999 Maltings, Felaw Street

Venessa Parker

Steel

Felaw Maltings is a heritage building which has been redeveloped as part of the waterfront regeneration in Ipswich. The waterfront regeneration has introduced unusual examples of public art including this sculpture in the form of barley sheaves by Venessa Parker which reflects the building's previous use. 

The stems are made from steel tubes of various in diameters, the heads of barley are made from 5 mm plate steel and layered for texture. 

TRIDENT WITH NETS

2000 Neptune Quay

Venessa Parker

Steel

The Trident stands tall in the courtyard of the Neptune Quay flats. You cannot get close enough for a good look as the gates are only open to residents. This photo is taken from inside the courtyard which gives the best view. Yes, someone let me in! 

A QUICK STEP TO RECOVERY

2004 Ipswich Hospital

Paul Richardson

Steel

A Quick Step to Recovery, consists of two stylish dancing couples with wide grins. They have been placed in a courtyard on the south side of the hospital, an area surrounded by corridors just off entrance 2. 

Paul spent time in the hospital thinking about what he would make and as he watched the bustle of activity it reminded him of the movements of a dance. 

The sculptures are made out of steel that was cut, bent and welded into position piece by piece. They took about four and a half months to build. They were painted to make them weatherproof and together they weigh around one ton. 

SWANS

Toyota Garage

The Havens

The origins of this sculpture are unknown

FLIGHTPOST

2006 Ravenswood Health Centre

Andrew Smith

Stainless Steel

Andrew Smith, a very experienced artist, craftsman and tutor, trained at the RCA. He has a large portfolio of architectural commissions, from sculpture to functional metalwork. Situated in a Modern Open Piazza on a redeveloped RAF Aerodrome, 'Flightpost' is a reference to gateways and portals as

well as flight and take-off. One post stands still in the open space, rather like a person, while the other element becomes animated and 'takes off' in to the sky in a manner referential to vertical take-off flying machines and rockets.

HANDSTANDING

2006 Near Ravenswood Primary School

Martin Heron

Steel

Handstanding' was produced as a response to Ravenswood and the surrounding community. It was commissioned by Ipswich Borough Council in partnership with Bellway Homes. The commission involved the design and production of a centrepiece sculpture and a number of small linked interventions.

‘Handstanding’ is a celebratory work: it has youthful energy in its pose but is a form which is strong and robust. It symbolises the aspirations of a new and growing community and what can be achieved by joining together.

The material used is cor-ten steel also known as ‘weathering steel’. It is designed to rust but will not decay. Instead it goes through a distinct colour change and eventually seals itself and remains the same colour. The work was fabricated and installed by Art Fabrications based in Warwickshire.

FORMATION

2003 Ravenswood

Rick Kirby

Steel

The flying figures in Formation greet you as you enter the new Ravenswood development on the edge of Ipswich, built on the site of the old airport. The six figures are closely connected and the whole form sweeps up and away in a 'symbolic' flypast. This figurative work commemorates the role of the RAF and its personnel. Rick Kirby was inspired by a 2nd World War poster of planes flying in formation, being tracked by searchlights. This has been represented by the female form which is a reference to planes and ships being feminine.

The supporting columns of the work mirrors the idea of five beams of light. The work was hand-crafted by the artist using fabricated mild stainless-steel plate. These are small plates welded together, giving texture and strength to his work. The work is lit from the base and is approximately 6 metres high. It was officially opened by the Mayoress in 2003.

MAN AND BALL

2000 Ransomes Way, nr B&Q

Giles Penny

Bronze

Giles works on large sculpture commissions as well as producing smaller pieces. He makes mostly figurative work which often has a humorous quality.

We in Ipswich do not have the only Man and Ball, there is also one in Cheltenham and one in Portsmouth.

Giles Penny was trained at the Heatherley School of Art, Chelsea and Newport College of Art in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. He has exhibited widely during his career.

INNOCENCE

2007 Christchurch Park

Linda Thomas

Portland stone

Viewing is during park opening hours. See www.ipswich.gov.uk. An elegant white marker with a tapered 'eye' to the top right, which reflects the pattern of light and shade from the nearby trees. The sculpture is the artist’s response to the restoration of Christchurch Park. Inspired by the beautiful windows in the main entrance to Christchurch Mansion; the artist decided to take the window into the park. 

The artwork contrasts people with the landscape, traditional with contemporary and new with old. The sculpture provides a constantly running live video showing in one direction a traditional rolling landscape and in the other the fun and innocence of children at play.

The artwork has the dimensions of the ‘golden ratio’ and is carved out of a single piece of Portland stone (Bowers Basebed) quarried from Portland in Dorset. It is a material which is tactile encouraging the viewer to fully interact with the piece.

ORCHARD LIFE

1999 Orchard Street

Jonathan Clarke

Aluminium

Powerful and compelling, Jonathan Clarke' s sculptures are informed by current social issues. His sand-cast aluminium sculptures have a classical discipline, dispassionate and impersonal. From the age of sixteen Jonathan served his apprenticeship in his father Geoffrey' s studio and foundry, learning to master the means of sand-cast aluminium. Without any preparatory drawings Jonathan goes straight into the work, carving polystyrene into components which make up the finished piece. There is an immediacy and directness of approach reflected in the robust construction of the imagery. The advantage in being brought up within the artistic environment at home, instead of going through the art school process, has served to give Jonathan a sound appreciation of the workmanlike virtues of making sculpture.

THE RHUMBA

1994-95 Ransomes Way, nr B&Q

Peter Blunsden

The site was once an engineering works, making goods such as some of the early aircraft, steam locomotives and lawnmowers and this sculpture reflects the industrial past of the site. The Rhumba is a cuban dance involving much exaggerated hip movement. Peter Blunsden is a sculptor based in Norfolk, born in 1949. He studied at Norwich School of Art and Anglia Polytechnic University. 

This piece featured in the Hardingham Sculpture show in Christchurch Park in the Summer of 1995. Blunsden normally works in this way, constructing large-scale, often painted welded metal pieces from ready made and worked fragments of steel. His work explores space and creates internal rhythms. Although apparently abstract, his sculptures appear to have figurative possibilities 

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Ipswich Artathon

Ipswich has several sculptures and works of art, so I learned. So I planned a few hours finding as many as I could and photographing them.

The sculptures represent Ipswich`s maritime, industrial and sporting heritage both through the artwork and the landscape that is walked through.

Although I didn't follow the pre planned routes suggested on the Artethom Map, I had a great time just wandering from one of the sculptures to the other and in fact, managed quite a few today. 

The Trawlerman

1992 Sainsburys, Hadleigh Road

John Ravera

Bronze

This sculpture is tucked away out of the town centre at Sainsburys which is close to the river, just before it becomes tidal.

John Ravera was born in Surrey in 1941. He trained at Camberwell School of Art and works mainly in clay for bronze. He is a Past President of the Royal Society of British Sculptors and has public monuments scattered over London and the home counties including the much admired "Family Group" near Battersea Bridge as well as works in Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Against the Tide

2004 Riverside Walk, Bridge Street

Laurence Edwards

This artwork is next to the skate park, by the river, not far from Cardinal Park. It can be seen from the road if you look carefully. It shows a figure struggling with an imagined wave but he is not defeated. The sculpture harnesses the waters power to stay afloat and travel.

The Navigator

2003 River Gipping/Orwell

John Atkin

Cast Iron

John Atkin was commissioned to make this sculpture for Ipswich, alongside the River Orwell, by Ipswich River Action Group. The sculpture was inspired by Ipswich's Maritime history and industrial past. Influences were found amongst a variety of sources, from nineteenth century stern castings for ships, 

navigational instruments, to pattern templates and the “wheels” of industry.

This work was constructed in corten steel, a material that is synonymous with the area's past industrial use. It stands, 16ft high, alongside the river, adjacent to a cycle path, watching, guarding, a sentinel to a new era. The Navigator alludes to Ipswich's maritime history as well as a navigator for the future. 

Cineworld Bollards

1996 Cineworld, Cardinal Park

Bettina Furnee

These bollards are engraved with lines from films. Bettina Furnee works as a letter cutter and public artist and is based in Cambridge. Her work is site specific and made to commission. She collaborates with communities and has produced text based work for exhibitions. Her public art projects evolve from an interest in the history and future of a particular site.

Sir Bobby Robson Statue

2002 Ipswich Town Football Club

Sean Hedges-Quinn

Bronze

Sir Bobby Robson managed ITFC from 1969 and saw them through the FA cup and UEFA cup, then in 1982 became England boss. He died in 2009 and ITFC renamed their North Stand in his memory. This sculpture was commissioned by the Ipswich Town Supporters' Association and funded by Ipswich Borough Council and TXU.

Sculptor Sean Hedges-Quinn, whose day job is to make animatronics for films, has also made a sculpture of FA Cup-winning Sunderland manager Bob Stokoe at the Stadium of Light. Sean works from his studio just outside Ipswich. 

Sir Alf Ramsey Statue

2000 Ipswich Town Football Club

Sean Hedges -Quinn

Bronze

A life size bronze of the former England and Ipswich manager. Sir Alf led ITFC to the league title in 1961-2 and then went on to manage England. He died in 1999. The sculpture was unveiled by Ray Crawford.

Sculptor Sean Hedges-Quinn, whose day job is to make animatronics for films, has also made a sculpture of FA Cup-winning Sunderland manager Bob Stokoe at the Stadium of Light. Sean Hedges Quinn works from his studio just outside Ipswich.

Ship

1971 Civic Centre Roundabout, Civic Drive

Bernard Reynolds

Aluminium, steel and fibreglass

In designing this artwork the sculptor "wanted to create a composition which would have a buoyant character and appear to be riding on the fountain jets, its form to be irregular, to produce changing but balanced profiles from different 

view-points and to be an assembly of sail and hull motifs the shapes of which would suggest ships and shipping through the ages - a tribute to Ipswich as a port". 

All the parts were moulded and finally assembled by the sculptor himself with the assistance of two of his students. The internal structure of steel tubes and aluminium castings was made by Ipswich firms and the whole sheathed in aluminium/resin reinforced with glass fibre applied and finished by the sculptor. 

This sculpture is described by the sculptor as "an arrangement in 3-D of 5 units each based on a shape suggesting sails or hulls. It aims to symbolise ships and shipping of all periods, and therefore Ipswich' s long history as a port. The Ship sculpture won the Sir Otto Beit Medal for Sculpture in 1972. 

Sor Of Hing

1963 St Matthew Roundabout

Mervyn Crawford

Aluminium

The installation of this sculpture set-off a flurry of correspondence in the local newspaper. Apparently, its informal nickname derives from one such letter, where the writer referred to it as being the "sort of thing" appropriate to London but not Suffolk. An unfortunate typographic error, on the part of the paper, resulted in the name that many people still know the sculpture by today. 

Sor of Hing was commissioned by architects Hare and Pert for their St Matthews Street roundabout development and was cast in Geoffrey Clarkes Hartest foundry. 

Crawford was born in 1943. A painter, foundryman and naturalist. While on his National Diploma Course in Painting at Ipswich School of Art, he took a year (1961 - 62) off to help his neighbour Geoffrey Clarke with his work on Coventry Cathedral. Has been a marine foundryman and consultant engineer since then. He has always lived in West Suffolk. 

Madonna

1990

Lady Lane

Robert Mellamphy

Bronze

This bronze on the wall in Lady Lane closely resembles the oaken statue which was once in the pilgrim chapel of Our Lady of Grace on this site in medieval times. The original statue is now in a chapel at Nettuo, Italy and Mellaphamy modelled his statue after studying the one in Nettuo. 

Robert Mellamphy was born in Cork City, Ireland in 1927. Studied at Crawford College of Art and Technology (1943-46). He then joined the Royal Air Force and travelled worldwide as an aircraft engineer, continuing this occupation since then with civil airlines. 

Although he lives in Suffolk, Mellamphy still keeps his connections with Cork and is a member of the National Sculpture Factory. 

Tam

1995 Black Horse Lane

Honoria Surie

Bronze

Honoria Surie, the artist who made Tam, was born in Hertfordshire in 1944. She trained at Watford School of Art and is now a painter and potter. The bronze of Tam, the artist's daughter, is Surie's first work in the field of sculpture and is sited on a short plinth on the grass triangle between Black Horse Lane and St Mary Elms Church.

The statue is made of bronze and has a calm and serene feel to it in keeping with its location. 

Triptych

2006 St Mary at the Elms

Charles Gurrey

Ancaster hard white limestone

The three modern sculptures are located in the medieval porch of the Ipswich town centre church of St Mary at the Elms, replacing those which would have been in place here up until the 16th century Anglican Reformation. 

The sculptures depict Christ as Salvator Mundi, the Saviour of the World. The Blessed Virgin, his mother, is depicted as Stella Maris, Our Lady Star of the Sea, because of the importance of this dedication for the ancient port of Ipswich. St 

John the Evangelist holds the gospel inscribed with his symbol, an eagle. 

The designs were executed by the York-based sculptor Charles Gurrey, and dedicated in 2006. 

Spirit of Youth

1990 St Mary's Court, off Museum Street 

John Ravera 

Bronze 

This work is tucked away in a quiet corner of Ipswich, not far from the town centre. 

John Ravera was born in Surrey in 1941. Trained at Camberwell School of Art. Works mainly in clay for bronze. Past President of the Royal Society of British Sculptors. He has public monuments scattered over London and the home counties including the much admired "Family Group" near Battersea 

Bridge as well as works in Hong Kong and Tokyo. 

Harvest Mural

1962 Cox Lane, Behind Coop Department Store

Artist Unknown

Mosaic Wall Mural

This Mosaic was unveiled in March 1962. It is well hidden as you have to go behind the shop to see it, but it is rather large. Go through the arch to the right of the store and then look behind you and up!

There are images in it from the emblems of the cooperative movement, such as a wheat sheaf.

Cranes Tableau

1977 Upper Orwell Street

John A Green

Bronze

John A Green was born in Ipswich in 1932, son of a Master Mason. John gained his Master Mason Certificate in 1951. He studied at Ipswich School of Art (1951-54) and the Royal College of Art (1954-57) where he was encouraged by Prof. John Skeaping. From 1957 until 1959 John was assistant to Jacob Epstein. 

His main run of work is the restoration of church monuments. His work in Ipswich is this bronze panel on a brick plinth in Upper Orwell Street, symbolising the technical development in foundry methods during the fifty years since the firm Cranes came to Ipswich. 

There are several more of these works of art dotted around Ipswich and I will probably return in a few days to find a few more. 

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Beauty in Nature - 21 days in July

Sometimes it is awe inspiring to consider the variety in nature that surrounds us, and which we often take for granted, or just plain `don't see`! The images that follow were all taken by me in a period of 21 days in July and could pass unnoticed if I had been in a rush. Unfortunately, for many people there is little alternative to the modern day hustle and bustle. I am one of the lucky ones, I know. Firstly, the star of the week for me ......

....... the Fen Raft Spider. The Raft spider is a large, chunky spider that lives around the edge of ponds and ditches, and on wet heaths and bogs. Adults sit at the edge of the water, or on floating vegetation, with their front legs resting on the water's surface in order to feel for the vibrations of potential prey. Using the surface tension of the water, they chase out on to the water to catch their prey, which will even include tadpoles or small fish. Raft Spiders will also swim underwater, often diving beneath the surface when threatened. 

The much rarer Fen Raft spider is similar to the Raft Spider, but is only found in two places in the UK, one of which is a Suffolk Wildlife Trust nature reserve, which is where I took these images. If you want more information on these fascinating creatures, follow this link. 

Bee gathering nectar.

The Ringlet butterfly

The Speckled Wood

Pest or not, the Garden Snail

Brown Argus

Brown Argus with wings open

Common Green grasshopper

Small White

Common Blue

Small tortoiseshell butterfly

Essex Skipper

Cinnabar moth caterpillar

The beautiful Banded Demoiselle

A Green Veined White - up to its neck!

Stag Beetle or Lucanus cervus if you are into your Latin

Peacock

Four Spotted Chaser

And last, but by no means least - Reed Dagger Moth caterpillar

All in all a great collection of creatures with all their differing colours and habitats, many more I possible passed by. These are the potential casualties to our Climate Change problem, if we don`t start doing something now.

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Fire! Fire!

A Sunday morning walk around the lanes of Layham and Shelley was a fairly regular route at the weekend, but the rather close sound of fire engines was certainly not normal! So, looking around at the skyline, I soon spotted a plume of smoke, luckily blowing away from me. It appeared to be only a couple of fields away. As luck would have it I was carrying my camera, so made my way toward the fire. 

In the village of Shelley lives a man who is a thatcher by trade, and unfortunately it was his store in a nearby barn that had caught fire.

By the time I arrived, the building was well alight.

At this stage the building was standing - to a degree.

One fireman pours water into the building.

 The owner looks on helplessly - it's all in someone else's hands.

  

Gradually the whole building collapses into a burning heap.

 All the firemen can do is keep it under control, and dampen down.

When you stand outside the site of the fire, you can see the close proximity of the fire to a thatched residential property! Good job the wind was blowing away from the house.

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