Tag: sculpture

Aulden Farm – another Yellow Book garden

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date September 28, 2015
1 Comment on Aulden Farm – another Yellow Book garden

We open our garden under the auspices of the National Garden Scheme and love to see our garden in its famous Yellow Book. But we also love to visit other gardens from the Yellow Book.

We recently visited Aulden Farm which is in Herefordshire, our neighbouring county and we were particularly keen to wander around this garden as it has a similar description to our own in their Yellow Book entry although it is much larger! “Informal country garden surrounding old farmhouse, three acres planted with wildlife in mind. Emphasis on structure and form, with a hint of quirkiness, a garden to explore with eclectic planting.”

We had a lovely drive through beautiful countryside before parking on the grass verge and wandering up the gravel drive leading to Aulden Farm’s garden. A gravel area surrounded by interesting planting was a great place to enjoy tea and homemade cakes.

Alongside the tea courtyard was a gravel garden in front of a beautiful barn close to tumbling down. Verbena bonariensis was the star in this garden and the afternoon lit it up dramatically. Butterflies were attracted to it as much as me and my camera. This was an area full of texture and interest too good for any photographer to miss.

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We eventually left behind our tea, cakes, verbenas and butterflies and wandered, suitably refreshed, through the shade garden where the low rays of the sun created pools of light and shade. from here we could choose different routes through the garden described in its own leaflet as “very relaxed, tranquil and some even say romantic, but that is for you to decide”. So we couldn’t wait to find out for ourselves.

Now come for a walk with us around this beautiful garden by enjoying my gallery. Please click on the first photo and navigate with the arrows.

I hope you enjoyed this photographic journey around this wonderful garden. Is it romantic? Yes, definitely so! This is a garden with atmosphere.

We left with an invitation to return whenever we wanted – bliss.

In my next couple of posts about Aulden Farm gardens I will share my images of two special families of plants that caught the beautiful light that day and my imagination, Persicarias and Rudbeckias and also a look at some of the wide ranging sculpture we enjoyed there.

arboreta colours garden buildings garden design garden photography gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials light light quality ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture sculpture trees

Harold Hillier in Hampshire – Part 2

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date September 15, 2015
1 Comment on Harold Hillier in Hampshire – Part 2

So here we are back in Hampshire and still wandering around the miles of paths along which we explored the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens.

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The Acer Grove was full of colour when the sun hit the foliage after the dullness of the rains.

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The Pinetum was a wonderful place to explore the many shapes of the trees and the texture and colour of their needles. Cones added even more interest. Not a great lover of conifers I felt myself enjoying being among their rich variety.

But the broadleaved trees were my stars of the gardens with their colourful bark, flowers and the leaves.

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Jude was easily distracted by this wonderfully sculptural swing!

We continued to discover a huge variety of sculptural pieces along every path and around every corner.

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But there was so much more than trees and sculpture to enjoy at these amazing gardens – we found so many interesting colourful flowering plants too.

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I will finish part two of our visit to the Harold Hillier Gardens with these photos of an amazing archway over a path and a beautifully coloured and shaped pot.

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Tags flower colours, garden sculpture, gardens open to the public, Hampshire, Harold Hillier, outdoor sculpture, sculpture, The Harold Hillier Garden, trees

arboreta garden design garden photography gardens gardens open to the public ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture sculpture trees

Harold Hillier in Hampshire

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date September 12, 2015
2 Comments on Harold Hillier in Hampshire

We have had the Harold Hillier Gardens in Hampshire on our bucket list of places to visit for a few years now so we decided that the summer of 2015 was the time to go. We had great expectations! But did it live up to them?

We arrived in heavy rain so made straight for the cafe and dawdled for even longer than usual over coffees and cake while keeping an eye, a “weather eye”, on what the rain was up to through the windows. We gave up waiting for a lull in the rain so donned waterproofs and wandered into the garden clutching the garden plan that was to get soggier and soggier as the day wore on.

The garden was simply brilliant so took our minds off the weather. When you wait so long to visit a place you feel set for disappointment but no such things here at the Hillier Gardens.

As we expected the trees were the stars. We wandered through the Winter Garden and on through the Acer Dell and stopped frequently to enjoy close up views of the huge range of trees. Within the trees though splashes of herbaceous colours shone through the gloom of the overcast and very wet morning.

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We seem to have the knack of visiting gardens when there are sculpture exhibitions on and it happened to us again here. Sculpture always looks so good against trees and flowers. There was a huge variety of subject, material and style in the selection.

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Spot the metal sculpture of a Little Owl among matching metallic leaved conifers.

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The rain gave way to clouds mixed with sunny periods and we enjoyed the sight of raindrops on foliage. In part two we will continue our wanderings.

Tags arboretum, garden sculpture, garden trees, Hampshire, Harold Hillier, outdoor sculpture, sculpture, The Harold Hillier Garden

fruit and veg garden design garden photography garden ponds garden pools gardens gardens open to the public irises kitchen gardens lakes meadows National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture sculpture The National Trust water in the garden

A Week in the Lake District – Part One – Sizergh

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 10, 2015
1 Comment on A Week in the Lake District – Part One – Sizergh

We decided that it was about time we re-visited one of our favourite family holiday destinations from when our children were youngsters, the Lake District. So a week in early June saw us journeying northwards to re-find some old haunts.

The first place we visited was the National Trust property, Sizergh Castle, right at the southern end of the lakes, in an area described as the “gateway to the Lakes”. The National Trust is very much in evidence in this area owning many properties as well as lakes, hillsides, fells and farms. The Lake district was central to the Trust’s early development.

Sizergh Castle is a Medieval house with gardens, orchards, limestone pasture and semi-natural woodland. The garden features fern collections, a kitchen garden, a pond, lake and its main feature a massive rock garden.

We soon realised that this was going to be a place full of interesting plants which also looked after its wildlife.

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The little wooden sign clearly showed us the way!

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We followed the little wooden sign on a stone wall directing us to the garden and made our way towards the kitchen garden. On the way we stumbled across the “stumpery” where the garden’s fern collections are being re-homed. The variety of ferns was vast and we spotted many we had never seen before.

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The walls in the fernery and walled garden were home to so many different tiny plants as well as just ferns. We were soon to discover that this was a feature of the walls throughout the gardens.

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The kitchen garden was on a gentle slope and based on a strange shape somewhat like a long bent rectangle! The old wooden cold frames were still fully in use. We were fascinated by the raised hot beds where plants grew in soil covering heaped manure. This gave heat and later as it broke down fertility and structure to the soil.

Within the kitchen garden we found a small patch of multi-coloured Forget-me-Nots. We found lots more throughout the gardens.

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From the kitchen garden we wandered into the orchard with its bee hives, buzzing with activity. Beyond the orchard we came across a small lake. In the borders on the lake side were beautifully sculptural pollarded willows. They looked like a group of people meeting up for a chat.

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Wide open expanses of lawn opened up in front of us as we walked away from the lake. These afforded us views of the castle buildings themselves.

Where there was a change of level the grass banks were sown as narrow wild flower meadows. They were full of life.

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Behind the main buildings we found the “Great Barn”, an agricultural building of a type we had never seen before. The barn was raised up on a bank to create two levels. In the lower level the animals were housed while carts loaded with cereals drove up the grass covered gradients to the upper level.

One of the most famous sections of the gardens was the vast rock garden. Acers gave this area colour and texture and provided great views back to the castle itself. Tiny streams wound their way through the rocky outcrops ans areas of planting.

We found these appealing little carvings while we wandered around. The first was a yard high snail carved in wood while the second was a sculpture created by Mother Nature and again we thought it resembled a snail. The final piece was a wise old owl carved from wood.

Our first day in the Lake District was most enjoyable and we hoped our other days would be equally as inspiring.

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Tags acers., Cumbria, ferns, garden sculpture, kitchen gardens, meadows, NT, orchards, outdoor sculpture, rock gardens, rockeries, sculpture, Sizergh Castle, The Lake District, The Lakes, The National Trust, water gardens, water in the garden, wildflower meadows

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Walking the Shrewsbury Battlefield – Part 2

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 15, 2015

Back at the site of the Battle of Shrewsbury we return to look more closely at the church and the sculptural tree. First though it might be a good idea to say a little about the battle itself. The Battle of Shrewsbury took place in 1403 just north of the town. Here two armies met in what was to be a ferocious and bloody battle. The rebel army of Sir Henry Percy, locally known as Harry Hotspur, met the Royal army of Henry IV on the land of the medieval Manor of Albright Hussey. There is now no sign of the village but there is a building known as the Albright Hussey which was built over a century after the battle in 1524. So many lives were lost during the battle that a memorial chapel was built in 1406 in their memory.

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This church is now known as St Mary Magdalene’s Church. Below is my photographic record of our visit to the church. We loved the detailing around the door knocker with its design based on a crown, and all the different gargoyles around the top of the building from which would originally have spouted rainwater.

Inside the church we soon found its famous stained glass windows, but we were also drawn to the reed lamp holders and the oak carved figures on the ends of the pews.

The ancient lych gate is looking worse for wear but its intricate carved detailing is still here to be enjoyed and appreciated, but I wonder for how much longer.

Over 5000 men died in this battle and their remains lie in an unmarked mass grave below the churchyard. Some of the headstones found in the churchyard here are very simple and others show very stylised carving.

When we finished looking around the church and its surroundings we made our way back along the footpaths around the site of the Battle Field. Half way back we spotted a pool in the middle of a field which still showed signs of medieval ridge and furrow farming patterns. Close to the hedge we saw a wonderfully sculptural old tree. The tree must have fallen years ago and has now lost its bark so was smooth in texture. This is Mother Nature at her most creative. Please enjoy looking at my photos of this natural piece of sculpture.

Tags Battle of Shrewsbury, church architecture, churches, natural sculpture, outdoor sculpture, sculpture, Shrewsbury

colours garden design garden photography garden seating gardening gardens grasses hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture photography Yellow Book Gardens

Aiming for an all year round garden – our garden in December.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 18, 2014
6 Comments on Aiming for an all year round garden – our garden in December.

The final chapter! December. We have followed the journey through the months of 2014 looking at our garden trying to decide whether we have succeeded in our aim of creating a garden with interest in every month of the year.

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So here we are on our final wander of 2014 to see how the garden is looking in December. Next year we open our garden for charity throughout the spring and summer so we hope we have succeeded in our aim for creating an all year garden. The day I decided to go for my wander with camera in hand coincided with the day of the first proper frost. But it didn’t last long and had little affect on the plants. The grapes are now well past their sell by date, but the chickens and the local Blackbird population seem to enjoy them anyway. Frost brings out the texture in leaves and seed heads.

The Blackbirds and Mistle Thrushes are enjoying the variety of berries we grow for them, but once the winter migrant thrushes arrive they have more competition.

As the frost melts away it has a translucent look where it sits on the leaves of this Hypericum.

Garden ornaments and furniture both play a more important role as the plant life dies down over the winter months.

Our Hellebores are coming into flower far too early this winter. We usually enjoy them in February and March. But the Prunus subhirtella autumnalis can blossom anytime from November to March, so to see it this good in December is no surprise.

Our trees show off their wonderful silhouettes now they are bereft of leaves. The bark texture shows up sharply in winter light.

Some of our Japanese Acers are hanging onto their leaves still so give us plenty of colour to admire.

As trees are now largely leafless and much of the perennial growth has died down other features of the garden gain prominence. Just look at the curled up Birch bark in one of our insect hotels and the hanging glass globe.

The poppy seed heads have shed their seeds long ago and are now very delicate but extremely beautiful.

We have a few flowers alone and out of season, the last Sweet Peaand a single Calendula struggling to stand upright in the cold, but other flowers coming out now seemingly enjoy the cold and poor light. Violas with cheerful faces welcome visitors. It seems that the perennial Wallflower and the Welsh Poppy can send out an odd flower in any month of the year but in the depths of winter they seem to glow more than a any other time.

Hebe “Great Orme” is still flowering well after many months and shows no sign of giving up. The last seedhead of our many Crocosmias still glows a russet-ginger in the low light. The viburnum is just beginning its long display of honey scented blossom.

The last few leaves of the Ricinus in sheltered spots retain their glossy texture like well-polished shoe leather. Some curl at the edges and glow orange. Veins deepen to the darkest blood red.

So that is it. Another year in the life of our quarter acre plot here at Avocet. We have had a great gardening year with plants performing outstandingly, our first open day and the first magazine article featuring our garden. Next year looks set to be just as busy!

I am going to begin a new series in January – my garden journal – featuring words, paintings, drawings, photos and I hope some i-pad art too.

Below is a further small selection of shots taken in mid-December on a day the sun shone. They celebrate the year in our garden and give promises for the year to come.

Tags December, foliage, garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, grasses, NGS, outdoor sculpture, sculpture, the garden in December, the gardening year, winter, winter gardens

architecture buildings colours garden design garden designers garden photography garden ponds garden pools garden seating gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials light light quality meadows ornamental grasses outdoor sculpture Piet Oudolf reflections sculpture Tom Stuart-Smith water garden water in the garden

Post 500 – Part Two – a further visit to the “Oudolf Field”

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 15, 2014
2 Comments on Post 500 – Part Two – a further visit to the “Oudolf Field”

As promised I am returning to the beautiful county of Somerset where Jude and I spent a day exploring the exciting new “Oudolf Field” and the gallery buildings at the Hauser and Wirth’s Durslade Farm.

We left off as we were looking at the pool and giant clock. This is the first time we have seen any water designed into an Oudolf designed garden and indeed the first one to include a giant clock. The pool afforded clear reflections of the trees surrounding the site and was only planted around the margin closest to the buildings to give the maximum area of reflecting water.

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The tall clock towers over the pool and its white face stands out against the brightness of the blue sky. I would imagine it would look great against black clouds too! It casts a beautiful lollipop shadow across the golden gravel. Its face looks like a big circular disc but it is in reality asymmetric in design, which causes the minute hand to move out into clear air as it moves into the narrow side.

Although the planting is lower than in his previous gardens Piet Oudolf still uses many of his favourite plants such as Sanguisorbas, Echinaceas, Verbenas and Heleniums.

We had a break for coffee and to look around the galleries before wandering the gardens again as the sun dropped slowly in the sky and the light gave the meadows a fresh look.

We were enthralled by a gallery where a display of Oudolf’s garden designs helps reveal how this garden designer’s mind works. We loved the designs and working drawings and “idea jottings” of this garden here in Somerset as well as those from the New York High Line and the Wisley Garden.

Moving from gallery to gallery each courtyard space is softened by more of Oudolf’s plantings, featuring trees underplanted with grasses and perennials. The sculptural pieces sit comfortably among the old farm buildings with their richly textured surfaces.

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Enjoy the gallery of photos taken in the sparkling late afternoon light. It is amazing how different plantings can look as the light changes within just a few hours at this time of year.

The next post in my 500 Celebration series will find us over in Hertfordshire where Tom Stuart-Smith lives. We had the privilege of visiting his own garden and the one he designed for his sister.

garden design garden photography garden pools gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials Italian style gardens meadows National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs roses sculpture The National Trust trees water garden water in the garden woodland woodlands

Cliveden – the house and garden of Nancy Astor

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date September 6, 2014
1 Comment on Cliveden – the house and garden of Nancy Astor

While holidaying around Cambridge earlier in the year we stopped off on our travels to have a wander around the gardens at Cliveden, the one time home of Nancy Astor. She was an English MP even though American born. Her second marriage was to Waldorf Astor who inherited to a peerage and entered the House of Lords. Nancy was the first ever woman to be a member of the House of Commons, but also gained notoriety as a Nazi supporter.

Her garden turned out to be a garden planted in a style we do not actually like but definitely “of its time”. We are definitely not fans of formal gardens or bedding schemes and here we found both but viewed from an historic perspective they were interesting. Classical figures, topiary and “grand fountains” are also not my style but Jude the Undergardener, being more of a history buff doesn’t mind them.

Interestingly close up the bedding proved to be of orange gazanias rather than the begonias or pelargoniums we expected.

But bordering the bedding scheme central feature was a long mixed border, much more to my liking.

Things were looking up soon however as we passed through an opening in the yew hedging and discovered a tree unknown to me in the woodland.

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Little areas of meadow lined the pathway down through the woodlands. Gnarled branches of old shrubs curled around on the grass near the paths.

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The old rose garden has been revamped recently with newer more disease resistant varieties, so inevitably most are from David Austin. The colours of the blooms have been chosen to represent sunrise and sunset.

The buildings clustered in the centre of the grounds were rambling and sat beautifully within its setting. In particular it had interesting chimneys and towers which look good against the clear blue sky. Towers even featured in the walled garden.

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The walled garden, with its patterned brickwork, featured beautifully planted herbaceous borders around a highly manicured lawn. The plants were mainly recent cultivars and chosen for their richness of colour.

From the courtyard as we leaned on its stone ballustrade we could see the Italianate parterre placed within more manicured lawns. They seemed to sit rather awkwardly there.

We finished our Cliveden wanderings in the Water Gardens where formal fountains and oriental buildings sit among informal pools and soft planting.

Tags classical sculpture, Cliveden, garden photography, garden sculpture, gardening, Nancy Astor, National Trust, ornamental trees, outdoor sculpture, sculpture, topiary., trees

colours garden design garden photography garden wildlife gardening gardens hardy perennials ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture sculpture Shropshire shrubs succulents village gardens

Aiming for a year round garden – our garden in August.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date August 22, 2014
2 Comments on Aiming for a year round garden – our garden in August.

This series aims to check out if we have been successful in creating a garden for all seasons with interest throughout the year. In this post we look at our Avocet garden here in Plealey in the first week in August, a time when summer is going off a bit and autumn is trying to sneak in by the back door. The wild carrot below is beginning to set its seeds in our wildlife strip behind the lavender hedge alongside the lane.

We have one more garden group yet to visit us which happens in about a fortnight so this post as well as checking on how well we are achieving our aim of a year round garden will also be a way of checking out how it will look to our next visitors.

The” Beth Chatto Garden” still has plenty of interest but sadly the strange weather this year has meant that we have already had to cut down the Eophorbia griffithii Dixter which normally we can rely on for colourful winter stems of the brightest ruby red.

The other front garden borders still have patches of colour with the Perovskia’s pale blue flower spires looking good in a patch dominated by the white barked silver birches and purple leaves of Cercis Forest Pansy, Sambucus nigra Black Lace and Physocarpus Diablo.

Our new sculptural piece is looking good starring with the flowers of Leucanthemum “Shaggy”, several Asters (sorry but I can’t yet accept their new botanical names!), Salvia uliginosa, Gaura linheimeri and various annuals that Jude the Undergardener grows from seed.

The photos below show two very different looking plants which are in fact both Lobelias, the one on the left a cardinalis and the one on the right Lobelia tupa.

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It is good to see the wildlife busy on the blooms every time the sun shines.

The ferns border developed earlier this year is looking better as the ferns get more established. From there you can look back along the Shade Garden through the archway towards the Hot Garden.

The Dahlias in the vintage galvanised containers along the house wall are still flowering but having a bit of a rest before hopefully producing more flower buds to delight the eye in a few weeks time.

Opposite them the” Freda Border” is looking cheerful with oranges and yellows and the odd white highlight of this honey-scented Buddleja.

The Tulbaghias continue to produce their delicate pale lilac flowers on their wiry stems. Close by the insect hotel snuggles within the” Pollinator Border”. Here the brightest flower of all must be the annual Leonotis leonora, which has become a real favourite in the garden this year. Opposite the heavy cropping grape vine continues to produce “water shoots” which need regular pruning to let the sun access the fruit to ripen it. The harvest is looking hopeful!

The pathway I take to feed the hens is full of plants that stop me on my way. Eryngium Miss Wilmott’s Ghost is turning from silver to biscuit and Geranium “Rosanne” clambers through any close plant. A real star of this pathway is the Bergena ciliata, a hairy leaved Bergenia with bronze colouring to the reverse of each leaf. I turn a leaf over each time I pass. It has big arching sprays of pale pink flowers in spring too! A great plant but rarely grown.

On the other side of this path we have the” Spring Garden” where the palmate leaves of the Acer japonica and Tetrapanax papyfer “Rex” sit close to each other. The Acer partners a couple of purple-leaved Lysimachia “Firecracker” and the deep green leaves of our thornless blackberry. The Tetrapanax is thowing up new leaves which are glossy but turn matt with the passing of time.

The Tropical Garden which was one of this year’s projects is looking particularly good at the moment. It is so full of contrasts. Contrasts in flower colour, leaf shapes, textures and colour.

The pale blue fish continue to swim through the Seaside Garden. Behind the chimenia a bright yellow flowered crocosmia seems to glow beneath the standard holly.

The Shed Bed has bright splashes of colour provided by Ricinus, Verbascum and Crocosmia.

In the Rill Garden the Aeoniums are all doing well showing great leaf colour but best of all must be Aeonium arboreum” Schwarzkopf” which is tree like in form with the blackest glossiest leaves possible.

If we move further into back garden now we can look through the arches down the central path. Off this path to the left are the “Crescent Bed”, “L Bed” and the “Long Border”.

If we cross the grass path at the far end of this patch we enter the” Japanese Garden” with the” Prairie Garden” to the right, which features two of our sculptures, the Copper Leaves made by our daughter Jo and the dancing figure of “Amber” created by a local artist.

And finally across the central path again to the” Chicken Garden” and the” Secret Garden” which are still looking very colourful. The first photo is of our everlasting sweetpea which although perennial so easier to grow than the annuals it is sadly without scent. The red poker shaped flowers in the second photo are Persicaria amplexicaulis “Firetail” which is so long flowering and attractive to wildlife as a bonus.

So that is the study of our garden in August, hopefully still confirming that it is an all season garden. Next month we will probably be seeing the first signs of autumn colour and seedheads beginning to take on more importance.

Tags August, foliage, garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, grasses, insects, ornamental trees, outdoor sculpture, sculpture

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A Week of Culture – Part 4 – The Hepworth Wakefield Gallery

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 13, 2014

Part Four of our culture week sees us visiting the new Hepworth Wakefield Gallery within the city of Wakefield in Yorkshire. Wakefield has been graced with a new gallery partly dedicated to the work of Barbara Hepworth as it was the city of her birth.

We had seen photographs of this newly constructed gallery and had wanteded to visit since its opening. The building itself is an imposing grey structure based on slightly irregular cubes and cuboids. A long dramatic walkway over the canal took us over moored barges with their wood fires adding the aroma of burning wood to the misty damp atmosphere.

From the walkway we spied this character hanging from a crane in the metal reclamation yard alongside the canal. He is made up of all sorts of scrap materials and from a distance he looks as if he is made of huge sweets – liquorice allsorts.

As we got close to the entrance we realised just how vast this gallery is with its grey slabbed sides rising up above us.

Inside, the building is equally dramatic with deeper greys and black being the dominant colours in the spaces outside the gallery rooms themselves, which as expected are all of a stark white. The outside surfaces are matt in sharp contrast with the shining interiors.

With all these straight lines and monochrome surfaces that constitute the fabric of the buiding the art work on show would need to be good and well displayed to brighten the visitors’ experience along with some comfortable seating on which to sit and appreciate the art works. People also make a difference and we received a warm welcome from the smiling face behind the reception desk.

The first gallery contained a couple of pieces by British sculptor Henry Moore – Reclining Figures. They looked good with plenty of space around them and with bright even lighting. But our warm welcome from the receptionist was somewhat negated by the steward in this room who called across at me “You are not allowed to touch them!” when I was pointing out a particularly nice curved line. Sadly because of this we didn’t stay so I failed to photograph Moore’s work. We put it down to bad training and moved on quickly to the next gallery where a delightful surprise awaited us.

We were taken aback as we were confronted by a crazily overcrowded room set. This was the collection of William Alfred Ismay. At first it looked a jumble of worthless pieces of junk thrown together in what is often put forward by some artists as sculpture. We once saw a garden shed in a gallery full of old dusty tools looking as if it had been lifted from a vegetable patch and dropped in the gallery – it even had a radio playing. The gallery presented it as an important installation and went on to propound its value as a work of art. We didn’t buy into that and we had a feeling we might be in for a similar experience here. But no! Here was a collection accumulated over decades by a local Wakefield librarian who became an obsessive collector of quality ceramics. His home became filled to the brim with them covering every surface even the table at which he ate his meals, leaving a little gap just big enough for his plate! A close look among the jumble of items led us to discover pieces from potters whose work we recognised. Most of the well-known 20th century potters and ceramists were in fact represented. Wandering around the room set became a voyage of discovery picking out beautiful pieces from amongt the cheap white goods of his era. The pieces were displayed on pieces of Ismay’s furniture and the whole set up was like looking into his house with the walls stripped away.

In the gallery where Ismays collection was displayed we were again made to feel uncomfortable. A black line surrounded the display and a sign asked visitors not to step over it. Sadly as we walked around the young room stewards followed our every move keeping a close eye on our feet. This must again reflect their training because when we engaged them in conversation they were very pleasant, knowledgeable and enthusiastic.

The third gallery we entered was spotlighting the work of American artist Dana Schutz. This is the New York based painter’s first UK exhibition. Her large extremely colourful work did not appeal to either myself or Jude as we found them disturbing in an unpleasant way. This gallery though did give them the space needed to appreciate them coupled with excellent lighting. If you were a Schulz fan you would have appreciated how good they looked in this setting. You can see the hard surface of the bench here. It didn’t invite you to sit and peruse the paintings and did nothing to soften the hard lines of the building and whiteness of the room. Comfortable benches which invite the visitor to sit and consider a piece in more depth are sadly lacking throughout the gallery.

We moved through galleries displaying the work of Albert Wainwright whose work varied a great deal, from simple book and magazine illustrations to landscapes of Northern England and the occasional poster. Photography was not permitted in this room.

We moved on to Galleries 4,5 and 6 where the work of Barbara Hepworth was on show. Her work suited the style of gallery with their huge walls of glass which let the light stream in. The views out of these windows were out over the river towards the city.

We were pleased to see a full sized prototype of the well known piece “Winged Figure” which was designed to grace the John Lewis store in Oxford Street. We think of Hepworth as being just a sculptor so it was interesting to see some of her 2-D graphic works. It was a great privilege to get really close to this iconic piece and see the variety of textured surfaces.

It was strange to see some of her work in glass cases but I can appreciate that these particular pieces are delicate.

Enjoy this set of photos showing the variety of Hepworth’s work.

If we look at the following set of 5 photos we can see they feature a similar simple circle. The first photo is a close up of the last piece in the set of photos above, then we have a photo of the whole of a different piece of work followed by a close up of it. The final shot looks as if it fits with them but all it is is a shot I took accidentally as I walked through the gallery. I was carrying the phone set on camera mode facing down and inadvertently took a photo of the floor with a circle of an electric socket cover. Strangely in keeping!

We finished our visit by going back outside to look at the rest of the building itself and a few pieces displayed on the grassed areas alongside, including more of the Barbara Hepworth “Family of Man” pieces some of which we had already enjoyed at the sculpture park.

We were also able to view the old mill building, The Calder, which will hold exhibitions in conjunction with the Hepworth Wakefield. These old warehouses present a stark contrast to the modern geometric architecture of the new gallery close by.

So that is two parts of the Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle visited which just leaves the venues in Leeds, The Henry Moore Institute and the Leeds Art Gallery, to discover sometime in the future.