Frogs go to Lakeside Garden Centre near Warminster Wiltshire

This is our first installation at the Lakeside Garden Centre in what will be a Nature themed sculpture trail round the lake and into a nearby wooded area.These two frogs illustrate the vast variety of frogs in the world which can be almost any colour. There are even blue eyed frogs. Frogs are threatened worldwide by a devastating fungus, pollution and habitat loss. Scientists regard them as the "canary in the coalmine" warning of ecological problems. (Canaries were placed down the mines to warn of dangerous gases.)

Pyramids in the Scraptors' sculpture mad garden

We have installed in the sculpturemad garden the pyramids that formed one of the installations at Stourhead, the National Trust garden in Wiltshire. Our sculpture trail from 2015 to 2017 commemorated the effect of World War 1 on the community. The Dorset Yeomanry, in  which many local men served, fought in the Middle East and Gallipoli campaigns. In the top image are  two pyramids on which Paul pointed motifs from the memorials at Gallipoli. On the left the soldier bearing a wounded companion is the memorial to the Commonwealth troops. Ont the right is Cannakale, the monument to the Turkish troops. In the image immediately above are the red poppy the British emblem of commemoration and the blue cornflower the French equivalent. Below shows the Stourhead now placed with pyramids in the Egyptian Frieze which Anthony created ten years ago. The pyramids were all donated and made by Sureset a Wiltshire firm that makes permeable paving. (One of the sheep in the field was spotted trying to mount a pyramid to eat the ripe apples.)

Art in the Garden Hillier's near Romsey

These are some of the sculptures in "Art in the Garden" in the Hillier Gardens near Romsey on until October 14th. Above and immediately below sculptures by Ptolemy Elrington. Below some corvids by Michael Kusz and below that a cycling fish by Darren Greenhow. Lots more and still time to  catch it.

Prague is sculpture heaven

Prague is sculpture heaven. These are a few of them, Above is the memorial to the victims of communism a series of disintegrating humans by sculptor Olbram Zoubek. Below are three by the wacky David Cerny. Each layer of the silver head of Kafka rotates so that the head disintegrates then reforms  in reference to Metamorphosis. Below that some snakes in a wall. Lots of baroque sculptures too.

Visit to Messums Tisbury Wiltshire

This gallery is in a huge mediaeval barn and this exhibition "Wood" continues until September 9th.

Stanton Drew Circle and Fort Nelson, Sources of inspiration

Two different sources of inspiration visited this summer. Above an anthropomorphic  stone at Stanton Drew a little visited prehistoric stone circle in Somerset  and below some cannons in Fort Nelson near Portchester.

Horse's Head on duty with SSAFA

The Horse's Head was on duty again promoting SSAFA the armed forces charity. In June it was at Salisbury Cathedral this time at Tidworth Polo Club where the Brits played the American Forces at polo. The Royal Marine Band played.

Pyramids morph into a beast

The pyramids in the Scraptors sculpturemad garden have morphed into a humped Beast.

Our frogs find a new home

These frogs are moving from the Scraptors' sculpturemad garden to be in a new nature themed  sculpture trail to be installed later this year at Lakeside Garden Centre in Wiltshire. Moby the Frog, above,  was made by Anthony in 2009 with mobile phone dummies . In the previous year he had made Frederick the Frog against a three week deadline for London Zoo. This was to publicize a world wide campaign to save amphibians. David Attenborough topped it above (see below).

Below Moby the Frog with another at the London Wetland Centre in the Love London Recycled Sculpture Show in 2009 which Anthony curated.

In 2011 the Frogs appeared with a Heron made by fellow sculptors Paul and Rachel at Stourhead, the National Trust landscape garden in Wiltshire as part of a sculpture trail. The tableau below represented one of Aesop's Fables: the frogs asked Jupiter to send a king to govern them and a heron was sent. But the frogs mocked the heron  So the heron ate the frogs.

The Horse's Head resting between gigs

The Horse's Head is resting between gigs  after appearing at Salisbury Cathedral in June at an event commemorating World War 1 . It will appear again at Tidworth Polo Club in Wiltshire on July 14th when the UK Armed Forces will play the USA. It will be on the stall of SSAFA the charity that helps the armed forces. The match will be preceded by a parachute drop. The Horse is wearing a gas mask as was the case in World War 1. Follow link to the Rundle Cup below.

The Rundle Cup – 2018 – Tidworth Polo Club

tidworthpolo.com/the-rundle-cup-20

The Beast in the Scraptors' sculpturemad garden

                           Dave and Lola sheltering from the heat in our  heatwave.

World War 1 Living History weekend at Salisbury Cathedral sculpture trail

We have sculptures on show over this weekend  with works by other artists as part of the World War 1 Living History event at Salisbury Cathedral Above and below In Memoriam showing a Tommy and a Horse in a gas mask.This was organized by SSAFA the charity for the armed forces and their families. The helmet is an actual First World War one.

Below our  Cannon . On the barrel on one side are lines from "Anthem for Doomed Youth" and on the other from "Magpies in Picardy" by Theodore Percival Cameron Wilson. Both were killed in World War 1. The Wire Tommy was made by the pupils of Rowde  CofE Primary School in Wiltshire

Below is our Gallipoli . The mural shows the cliff with a rock formation nicknamed the Anzac Sphynx . The boat represent the Allied evacuation after the disastrous campaign. The crutches were made for our sculpture trail at Stourhead, the National Trust property, commemorating the effect of the War on that community. Ebenezer Stone a stable lad made a bike for himself but lost both legs in the War, We commemorated him with a giant bike and these crutches.

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Sculpture at Salisbury Cathedral

 .We put up some of our pieces at Salisbury Cathedral for a weekend event commemorating World War 1. This had been organized by SSAFA the charity that helps the armed forces and their families. Above is the cannon. On each side of the barrel are lines from the poem of two poets killed in the War. On one side are  lines from "Anthem for Doomed Youth" by Wilfred Owen and on the other from Magpies in Picardy" by Theodore Cameron Wilson, a cousin of Scraptor Anthony Wilson. The accompanying  Wire Tommy was made by the pupils of Rowde CofE Primary School in Wiltshire. Over the weekend there will be displays by military museums and re-enactments of trenches.

Ebenezer's crutches to go to Salisbury Cathedral

Crutches from our Ebenezer Stone installation at Stourhead will be on show along with other World War 1 related Scraptors Sculptures on the 8 - 10 June 2018 in the the close  of Salisbury Cathedral. We were  asked by the National Trust at Stourhead to commemorate the effect of the War on the community and they were displayed there from 2015 t0 2017.. Ebenezer was a stable lad; he made a bike for himself before the War but lost both legs in it. One of the crutches morphs into a gun. The event at Salisbury will be  in aid of SSAFA the charity that helps members of the armed forces. There will be reconstructed trenches, re-enactors, stands representing military museums.

New Beast in the Scraptors sculpturemad garden

The spikes of the Beast, its tail and the lance were organ pipes from a demolished organ in a nearby church which I was given. A child's toy car provided the mouth and the skeleton was made with barrel hoops. Bands of stainless steel were woven into the body - like willow weaving but longer lasting. Dustbin lids and hubcaps for the eyes.

In Memoriam

This is a sculpture which will be on show from June 8th to 10th 2018  with other works of ours in World War I themed event in the Close of Salisbury Cathedral organized by SSAFA the armed forces charity. The helmet is an actual World War 1 one and a  was found on the site of an army camp of that war. More about the event below. There will be re-enactors and displays by military museums.