Ryder Hall & Aquarium Ornament

Lately I have been going to

a local pet shop and buying

ornaments that are designed

to be immersed in aquaria.

This tree trunk is an example.

On Saturday however,

while out walking,

I was outside New Plymouth

Boys' High School

and noticed these objects

stuck onto Ryder Hall.

They reminded me of the

fake trees that I had being buying

at the pet shop.

Ryder Hall was built in 1970-1972

and designed by Desmond White

for the Taranaki Education Board.

The Pet Shop

I find that pet shops are a good

source of material for my

photography.

Lately I have been buying objects

that are intended for submersion

in aquaria.

One day I will buy

the aquarium itself.

Glass

Recently, in Eltham, I bought

this glass dish.

It immediately caught my eye

as something that I could

photograph. Or at least

something that I should try to

photograph.

Visually, it reminded me of

of both a milk drop and

an oyster shell.

Jim Allen

This weekend, at the Govett-Brewster

here in New Plymouth there has

been an opening and several events.

One of the artists featured is

Jim Allen.

The work in the photograph at the top

is a reconstruction of a 1969 work.

The performance shown in the two

photographs below is a 1974 work.

Inch Worm

Parallel with my photographic

career I have from time to

time worked in other media.

Sometimes I have worked in stone,

sometimes in wood, and sometimes,

as in the photo above

I have used polymer clay,

of which Fimo is the most

famous example, although

on this occasion I used

a variety made in Palmerston North

called Du-Kit.

I like polymer clay because of its pliability.

It's possible to doodle with it so to speak.

When a shape reaches something

that I like it can be popped in the oven

for a few minutes and it will harden.

Bakelite was an early example

of polymer clay.

In this case I have not yet cooked it

because it needs smoothing out a bit more,

there are places where it is a bit lumpy.

However, I had bought a new camera

and I decided to try photographing

it. I quite like the result.