Whimsy Wednesday - Scents and sights of the Season

Introducing Whimsy Wednesdays, a regular weekly update on things in the PS Whimsy world. This post features fragrant flowers, hummingbird videos and an update on the critters in a local park.

Finally some better weather and opportunity to spend more time outside in the garden and out enjoying the natural beauty of the season.

The early summer flowers are blooming and the air is filled with their beautiful scents. Here a peony with its delicate blooms and sweet fragrance.

Wisteria is not only a beautiful vine, the smell of the blossoms is sweet and delicate.

A closeup of one of the blooms on my wisteria, which mysteriously seemed to have died a couple of years ago but has since grown back from the root, probably from below the graft, and this year is blooming again finally and providing lovely shade for those warm summer afternoons (please).

Horse chestnut blossoms with their delicate scent and the first of the wild roses.  The wild roses are a native plant and have a rich scent.

Honeysuckle is almost ready to burst into bloom, here is my painting of honeysuckle:

Done in watercolour and inspired by pictures I took while vacationing in the Dordogne area of France. This is available in cards or prints (4" x 6" or 8" x 10"). There is a link to the website on the sidebar, for more information on format and prices on this and other images.

Flowers add a beautiful fragrance to the air and also provide nectar for the hummingbirds. At this time of year the Rufus hummingbirds make an appearance to share the flowers and the feeders with the Anna's hummingbirds.

Hummingbirds are fascinating creatures. The Anna's hummingbirds stay all winter, I have two at least that I feed throughout the winter. I bought a cover for one of my feeders this winter because the snow buildup on the feeder was preventing them from getting at the food.

Hummingbirds drink nectar from flowers or sugar water from feeder using their tongue, if you watch the following videos carefully you will see the tongues protruding from their beaks during pauses in feeding. They seem to lap it up. Hummingbirds also need protein, and they get that from eating small insects and spiders.

Rufus hummingbird drinking from my feeder:

Anna's hummingbird at my feeder:

Here is an update on the local critters. I got a couple of pictures of the turtles recently:

Here is an eagle parent feeding one of the two youngsters in its nest near Aberthau House. You may have to click to enlarge this to see the little guy.

The goslings are growing fast, all fluff and down now, but feathers starting to develop on wings.

Here are some of the baby bunnies sharing a carrot, the grey one especially is still quite small.


That's all for today. Thank you, hope you enjoyed this post. You are welcome to leave your comments on the blog.

Marine Building and "Marine Mosaic"

The Marine Building at 355 Burrard Street in Vancouver was built in the art deco style. Designed by McCarter, Nairne and partners (they also designed the Georgia Medical Dental Building), it took 16 months to complete and opened in October 1930. It has 21 floors, and rises 321 feet. The exterior is terra cotta coloured brick and cream coloured brick decoration making it resemble, to some, an iced cake. Built for G A Stimson Co., by the time it was completed the stock market had collapsed, the owner was in financial difficulty and, as a result it was sold (for less than it cost to build) to British Pacific Building Co. (owned by the Guinness family of Ireland). The Guinness family had previously bought property in West Vancouver and had financed construction of the Lions Gate Bridge to provide access to their new subdivision British Properties (see my earlier blog, "Lion at the Gate" on the Lions Gate Bridge).

Marine Building reflection

A J Taylor, managing director of British Pacific Building Co., converted the observation deck of the Marine Building into a penthouse apartment for himself, his wife and his daughters, but later moved out because his wife disliked the height.

The interior of the Marine Building is beautifully appointed with several types of hardwood, brass and stone. Both the interior and exterior are decorated with striking relief sculpture in a marine theme.

Lobby details

Exterior details

The building was renovated from 1982 to 1989 to update the structure, during which the lobby floor was replaced with marble and the former Merchant Exchange on the ground floor was replaced by a restaurant.

The variety of marine life and lore on the building is fascinating and includes ships, marine birds, fish and shells and images of Neptune. This is what interested me in the building and why I chose the mosaic theme which allows me to integrate these elements in a single piece. Here is my tribute to the Marine Building titled "Marine Mosaic":

Here are more of my marine theme works:

 "Barnacle Beaks"

"Beached by a Storm"

 "Ocean Pearls"



 "See Shells"

"Seeing Stars"

These images are available on 5" x 7" cards or as prints (4" x 6" or 8" x 10") at http://www.pswhimsy.com/

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Just a reminder:

ART SHOW @ Knox Fellowship Hall, May 29, 2011 from 11 am to 3 pm. My painting friends and I will be having an art show and sale at Knox Fellowship Hall on Sunday, May 29, 2011. Knox Fellowship Hall is located beside Knox United Church at 5600 Balaclava Street, one block east of Blenheim just north of 41st Avenue. There will be a variety of media (watercolour, acrylic, oil), subjects and sizes of original work and light refreshments will be served. Hope to see you there. Here are some of the paintings I will be showing: 

Thank you for reading this latest post.

"Creature Comfort" at Cathedral Place

Cathedral Place is named because of its proximity to Christ Church Cathedral. To understand the origins of the decorations on the current tower at Cathedral Place, which has been named The Shaw Tower at Cathedral Place, you need to know a little history.



The Georgia Medical Dental Building, pictured above, was built in 1929 on the corner of Georgia and Hornby Streets. It was an art deco building designed by McCarter, Nairne and Partners (who were also responsible for the design of the Marine Building). The Tower had 17 floors with an exterior facade decorated with terra cotta and masonry. Most of the tenants were doctors and dentists, thus the Medical Dental building title, and it was Vancouver's first comprehensive medical dental building. At about the 10th storey level were three 11 foot terra cotta statues of Nursing Sisters in WW1 uniforms, one on each of the corners along Georgia and Hornby Streets. These statues were designed by Joseph Francis Watson, a sculptor and architect who worked with McCarter and Nairne, and were chosen to reflect the medical use of the building and to honor the WW1 nurses that McCarter credited with saving his life when he was badly injured while serving overseas in WW1. In the 1980's when the building was found not to be up to the earthquake standards of the time, it was gutted and then brought down by a controlled explosion. The demolition took place on Sunday morning May 28, 1989 and lasted 10 seconds. The streets around the building were closed off and a large crowd gathered to witness the event.

      

The three terra cotta nursing sisters were the only items from the facade that were saved. The Vancouver Museum took the least damaged head from the three statues, (which had deteriorated through time and neglect), repaired and patched it and holds it for display. A fibre glass replica of this head, shown below, is now on display in the lobby at Cathedral Place.


The original statues were too badly damaged and too heavy to be remounted on the new building. They had been molded in terra cotta and filled with concrete and weighed about 5000 pounds each. The least damaged statue was repaired and used as a model to build fibre glass replicas (500 pounds each).
"Requiem for the Medical Dental Building" contains some interesting details about the building and pictures of the nursing sisters and front entrance way. The article compares the Nurses' statues to "twentieth century gargoyles" and suggests they were "placed there in 1929 to remind us that it is now the wonders of modern science, not the mysteries of medieval superstition and magic, that will save us from evil spirits...".

The Shaw Tower at Cathedral Place, a 23 storey office tower, was opened in 1992. It was built in a post modern style, the facade includes limestone, granite and blue green reflective glass. Paul Merrick headed the design team. The decorations on the exterior of the building, which  were done by Ital Decor Ltd. include replicas of the Nursing Sisters (about the 3rd storey level), gargoyles placed much higher up the building (perhaps going unnoticed by many) and beautiful relief sculpture. Highlights of the molding and placement of the decorative details can be viewed in this slideshow. In 2003, 3 more replicas of the nursing sisters statues, called the "Sisters of Mercy", were mounted on the UBC Technology Enterprise Facility III.



The Nursing Sisters, gargoyles and some of the other decorative details were used in the ink and watercolour work "Creature Comfort". I found the contrast between the noble stance of the nurses and the menacing look of the gargoyles very compelling. The Shaw Tower's roof in blue green glass is to me a modern homage to the copper roof on the Hotel Vancouver, just across Georgia Street.


ART SHOW @ Knox Fellowship Hall, May 29, 2011 from 11 am to 3 pm 

My painting friends and I will be having an art show and sale at Knox Fellowship Hall on Sunday, May 29, 2011. Knox Fellowship Hall is located beside Knox United Church at 5600 Balaclava Street,
one block east of Blenheim just north of 41st Avenue. There will be a variety of media (watercolour, acrylic, oil), subjects and sizes of original work and light refreshments will be served. Hope to see you there. Here are some of the paintings I will be showing: 

Thank you for reading this post, please feel free to leave a comment.