Lysithea

Photos of my new lady, Lysithea.  She's finished, and I'm now working on her presentation box.  Part of the inspiration for the story behind her name, is J.M.Waterhouse's evocative artwork, 'A Mermaid', and then following the art trail, Tennyson's poem, 'The Mermaid'.  I'm planning to to a bit more research on Waterhouse and the locations he used for his seascapes, which evoke so many memories of my own seaside walks.

Lysithea; 24.5cm High. 

Lysithea, detail.

Date with the early evening light

Determined to take a few photographs of one of the beaches I go to collect driftwood, and other objects left by the sea, I ended up reaching the beach off of Rock a Nore in Hastings after the sun had set.  I had lost the light, but I persevered with my camera and ended up taking one or two OK shots, capturing the atmosphere of the early evening.

Looking over towards Fairlight.

Rock a Nore beach, catching the fading light.

Along the beach I started to see bits of driftwood, a fantastic surprise, as Hastings beach is not that good for driftwood.  So in the fading light I took photographs of these pieces, and collected them as I went.  To begin with I could see the wood clearly, but as I was retreating to my car, the light had faded so much I didn't have a clue what I was picking up!  At least, I knew it was wood ;)  This really added to the experience of searching for wood to carve...it was exciting to open up my bag the next day to see what I had picked up!

Now the fun of looking for the wood, and becoming more aware of the beach surrounding, becomes part of the process of creating the finished piece.