On Saturday three weeks ago, O.K. and I went for a walk in the palace grounds without knowing the sculptures were there until we came across them.
The part of the park we enter first is one of my favourites and has often featured on this blog. Here is what it looked like on the 13th of July:
A few more impressions:
Exhibitions in the greenhouse change a few times a year. In July, the topic was water lilies - another repeat, as I have showed you pictures of these beautiful flowers already two years ago in this post.
One part of the park is supposed to look a bit as if it were in Tuscany, and I think it's not doing a bad job at that:
An unusual type of decorative cabbage - not meant to be eaten, but rather attractive:
Summer flowers and shrubs around another pond:
And then the sand sculptures! They had only just started to set everything up and create the sculptures, which is why we could look at some work in progress and the tools the artists use. I found this particularly interesting, as I like finding out how things are made and how they work.
This year's topic is Fairytales, namely the most famous ones brought to us by the Grimm brothers. I wonder whether you can guess at them all!
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| Not sure about this one - maybe it isn't meant to represent a specific tale. |
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| Same here - I don't know any tale that matches this sculpture. |
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| Note the artist's equipment still around - he/she wasn't yet finished. |
Kneepads are probably rather useful when part of the work requires long kneeling in the sand, such as for the creation of this sponsor's logo:
I was fascinated when I discovered the tiny person in the entrance to the magic castle:
Not sure about this one; to be honest, I find the facial expression of the man in that situation a little... odd, to say the least. But the sculpture was as well done as the others, and I liked the idea of the books making up the armchair for the man and the reading girl.
We've had quite a bit of rain since the start of the Sculpture Festival, and I wonder whether they have suffered much. I know they are sprayed with a mix of liquid glue to keep them from eroding too fast, but I doubt they can withstand heavy rain or hail for long. Anyway, we saw them, and now you may guess which was my favourite of the lot!
Amazing!!! What absolute marvels those sand sculptures are. My favorite is the hand with...Tom Thumb?...I think the mermaid might be your favorite.
ReplyDeleteIt's not the mermaid, but I'll wait for a few other answers before revealing my favourite :-)
DeleteI am always blown away by what these sand sculptors are able to create. Truly, it is amazing. And I have no idea of your favorite...I looked through them all searching for a fox or vixen which I did not find....So I will be quite interested in your answer!
ReplyDeleteGood idea to look for a fox, but my favourite is not an animal, although puss in boots comes a close second.
DeletePeter piper pumpkin eater had a wife and couldn’t keep her.
ReplyDeleteIs that what the dwarf on top of the pumpkin could be?
DeleteThese are mind-blowing in their detail. I love them all, but favor Puss 'N Boots.
ReplyDeleteHe is my second, Jill.
DeleteI was puzzled by the top one, which looks like the Little Mermaid, but that is Hans Andersen. I can't identify them all either but they're very well done, and it's rather interesting to see them as "work in progress". Anything outside of natural materials is a bit vulnerable despite precautions - I remember an ice sculpture festival in London (a bit daft because some years it does not even freeze in central London) and they were dotted all over a park, and the organisers were having an awful job stopping them melting, even with freezing apparatus of some kind!
ReplyDeleteI believe the first sculpture is meant to be the Little Mermaid; the organisers have probably not looked too closely at who wrote which tale ;-)
DeleteThat ice sculpture festival does indeed sound like a bit of a daft idea - so much energy is needed for cooling!
The Hansel and Gretel is fun. The one with a woman shaking out her quilt and it seems to be sand which covers the town does not bring any stories to my mind. I would really like to know what that is all about.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Hansel and Gretel is good, isn't it! The one with the woman shaking her quilt is Frau Holle, and it is supposed to be snowing over the world when she does that.
DeleteI looked up Frau Holle on wiki. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frau_Holle. There is so much information and I had never known any of it. And it is not very definite about the origins of this figure, but it is interesting.
DeleteNice that you looked it up, Kristi! I am sure Ingmar knows Frau Holle, too.
DeleteMy favourite of the lot is the wicked stepmother from Snowwhite. Her facial expression is just so incredibly well done!
ReplyDeleteWow, they're all really good... So much creative skill put into works of art that won't last very long! I can't say I know all the tales collected by the Brothers Grimm (or where they got them from) but I'd say that another one that surely is not "theirs" is Pinocchio. - I like the dragon, even if I'm not sure what tale it comes from! :)
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Pinocchio was written by Carlo Collodi (or Coloddi - not sure about the spelling without looking it up).
DeleteI can only work out a few of them although I know my Grimm’s Fairy Tales really well. They are all exquisitely molded and it would be fun to stand and guess their origins. So which is your favourite?
ReplyDeleteThey are not all Grimm's - I have just checked the website, and it simply says that this year's exhibition is "all about the special magic of fairy tales".
DeleteFor my favourite, see my comment three above yours :-)
I am amazed at people who put so much time into something that won't last. I guess it is a bit like cooking a meal and having it finished and gone, but this is way more work. I feel the same way about people who make gorgeous cakes, especially for children!
ReplyDeleteTrue - only that a cake or meal lasts even less long than the sand sculptures :-)
DeleteI have seen a documentary on TV about an artist in Yorkshire, a young woman who creates huge mandala-like patterns on the beach and then takes photographs of how it gradually disappears as the tide comes in.
I guess your favourite sand sculpture was the one where a prince is kneeling in front of a princess. Perhaps he is asking for her hand in marriage and maybe it makes you think about your relationship with Herr OK!
ReplyDeleteThat would be a valid enough reason for choosing this as my favourite, but it is not mine - see one of my above comments for my actual favourite.
DeleteI never cease to be amazed by the skill of anyone who sculpts in any medium but these really are outstanding. I'm sad to say that I know virtually nothing about the Grimm Brothers' tales in detail. If I'm hones fairytales isn't my strong subject either.
ReplyDeleteI used to love fairytales as a child and rediscovered that love in my early twenties when working at the library. Nowadays, I rarely read anything fairytale or fantasy-like, but can still relate to how much I enjoyed them once upon a time.
DeleteThe grounds are beautiful and the sand sculptures magnificent!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Spare Parts and Pics! I believe this is your first comment here - welcome to my blog!
DeleteI read the comments so I already know your favorite is the wicked stepmother! She's scary! I like the Gingerbread house with the witch at the door and the bread crumbs at the door step! Scary that she wanted to fatten the kids up to eat them, but I still liked that story as a child anyway! The sand sculptures are all amazing.
ReplyDeleteThe face of the wicked stepmother is just so incredibly well done, isn't it!
DeleteI also like the Gingerbread house. Hänsel and Gretel is, like most fairytales, a rather scary story, but I believe children love them because they all end well for the Good and bad for the Bad.