Wednesday, October 3, 2018

More Scope For The Imagination

Today I am beginning a new series on MosaiCanada, which happened here last year for Canada 150 and has been repeated this year for a second and final year. It goes until October 15th, for those of you in the area, I highly recommend making a visit. I stopped in this past Sunday on an overcast day.

The event takes place in Jacques Cartier Park over on the Gatineau shore of the Ottawa River, and features a series of topiary sculptures, living art. Some of them were here last year, while others are new. The first one is done in the shape of a train station, welcoming you to the exhibit. Plants are grown into the walls, and a bed is placed out front with the city's name spelled out in flowers.


The station house is very much like one you'd have found in small towns in the latter 19th century, with home for a station keeper's family incorporated with the working side of the structure. The track would run along this side, and in fact does as you'll see below. One of the topiaries can be seen reflected in the window.


A number of panels here examines the amount of work that goes into designing and carrying out a topiary sculpture, in this case one influenced by Canadian Frederic Back, first for an exhibition in Japan several years ago, and presently this piece is incorporated into this year's edition. Back has an extensive history in broadcasting, art, and film, and that topiary is drawn from an animated film he did adapting a short story, one that won him an Oscar in 1987. I'll show it to you down the line.


The train stands across a bed of flowers from the station- yet another topiary. Here are two angles on it. I'll have more of it from the visit, including tomorrow.


Turning back around gives us another view of the station.


More Scope For The Imagination is the title of this returning sculpture. It is, of course, the famous heroine of Canadian children's literature, the incorrigible Anne Shirley of Green Gables.

34 comments:

  1. That looks nice ! I especially like the flower lady sitting there with her purse, lol !

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  2. I'm not completely clear about the topiary train station. Is it a real building with topiary added to the facade, or is the whole building just decorative and not really functioning? What does the inside look like?

    Janis
    GDP

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  3. Trabalhos fantásticos e de grande beleza meu amigo.
    Um abraço e continuação de uma boa semana.

    Andarilhar
    Dedais de Francisco e Idalisa
    O prazer dos livros

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  4. ...elevating horticulture to an art form. You Canadians do it so well.

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  5. What a beautiful Anne! Thank you for sharing!

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  6. @Gattina: it perfectly fits the character, both in the miniseries and in sketches from the book, just sitting there waiting for Matthew Cuthbert.

    @Janis: it's purely decorative. You walk through a walkway set into the structure, but there's no real inside as you would get with a real depot.

    @Marianne: they are!

    @Francisco: thanks!

    @Tom: this is quite the event.

    @Marie: you're welcome!

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  7. What a great rendering of Anne of Green Gables, one of my favorite characters! :-)

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  8. How wonderful the station house and train are wonderful, as is Anne sitting on her luggage:)

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  9. yep, this is on our travel list. so awesome!! love it. i love anne. what fun!! ( ;

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  10. Lovely photos. I think old wooden train stations are some of the most beautiful buildings in the world.

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  11. Hello, the station house is wonderful. I love the topiary, the Anne sculpture is amazing. Have a happy day!

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  12. It's amazing what they do with this type of sculpture.

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  13. I especially like that second one.

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  14. Oh boy, would I love roaming around there.

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  15. @DJan: it's very well done. And she's quite big!

    @Rosie: Anne certainly does evoke the character.

    @Beth: unfortunately this'll be the last year for the event, but I was glad to have gotten out to see it again.

    @Maywyn: this topiary certainly does evoke the architecture of those old depots.

    @Eileen: thank you!

    @Red: it really is art.

    @Norma: so do I.

    @Sharon: I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. I'd have preferred a sunny day, but one can't always get what they want.

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  16. These are great and I love Anne of Green Gables.

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  17. Yes, William! I remember this. Good on you folks for running it again - and you for sharing it so nicely <3

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  18. The last photo is my favorite. I love Anne!

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  19. That is a fine Anne! They should do one in PEI!

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  20. The flower works are pretty impressive.

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  21. @Denise: I'm glad that I came back to see this before it's done.

    @Cloudia: it was a treat to see it, particularly given that there were some additions along the way.

    @Lois: Anne is quite a character!

    @RedPat: I wonder what will become of some of these topiaries. It would be nice if some, associated with the provinces they belong to, wind up there.

    @Bill: they definitely are!

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  22. Wow! Talk about "green" architecture. :-)

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  23. Beautiful topiary art and great post and photos ~ hope you are receiving my comments ~ having trouble still with google!

    Happy Day to you,
    A ShutterBug Explores

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  24. I remember being awed by this last year. It looks like it's great this year, too. The train station is gorgeous.

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  25. Too bad it was such a dark weather, but it looks nice with some wonderful sculptures.
    I'm looking forward for the rest.

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  26. I would love to visit this …
    Really enjoyed seeing your photographs William, thank you.

    All the best Jan

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  27. Green, green, green. It's wonderful.

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  28. @Revrunner: very green!

    @Carol: I am, yes.

    @Catalyst: definitely.

    @Kay: it was stunning.

    @Eve: so do I.

    @Tammie: definitely.

    @Jan: I thoroughly enjoyed my visit.

    @Jenn: very much so.

    @Jennifer: indeed!

    @Jan: you're welcome.

    @Klara: it is, yes.

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