Theme Day ~ Creative Artisan

 

Above: Artist at work

Walking to the St. Kilda Esplanade Market one Sunday afternoon, I was fortunate to see some of our wonderful street artists practising their craft. I love the colours and motion of this artwork and on asking the artist permission to take a photo, he answered, "Yes, but not my face" to which I dutifully complied.

Street art (or graffiti) is art, but specifically visual art - it is not something you go to a museum or gallery to look at, it just is. It is for the joy of the passerby, the flaneur taking a constitutional, for anyone and everybody. It makes you think about what you are seeing, what the artist is saying, in short, street art is an Art in itself and should be encouraged by councils and governments alike.

To see other theme day photos click here.


Today's quote: "Graffiti is one of the few tools you have if you have almost nothing. And even if you don’t come up with a picture to cure world poverty you can make someone smile while they’re having a p-ss." ~ Banksy

Luna Park

 

Above: The Entrance
Luna Park is one of the places children always wanted to go. It is an amusement park - the first built in Australia and opened to the public on 13 December 1912. There were rides, fun and hot chips and cream waffles. The biggest (and scariest) ride when I was a child was the Big Dipper - a train ride with ups and downs in a hilly, tortuous heart-stopping ride of a lifetime. You'd scream with terror as the train car rested ever so slightly at the top of a "hill" before it went crashing down at furious speed to the bottom. Then it started all over again. Sadly, the Big Dipper was demolished in 1989 in anticipation of a new large roller coaster which never eventuated.
Inside this was the Scenic Railway, similar to its big brother (the Big Dipper) but it wasn't as scary as the ups and downs were gentler. My mum would only go on this, but dad took me on the big one.

The Giggle Palace was another favourite which unfortunately was destroyed in a fire in 1982. I always loved going to Luna Park and enjoyed the River Caves, the Ghost Train, and the Rotor.

 

Today's quote: Life is like a roller coaster, it has its ups and downs...

Two Little Boys

These two little boys were having fun down at St. Kilda beach one Sunday afternoon. With their socks and sneakers off and their pants rolled up to their knees, the cold wintry day didn't affect their fun. I watched as they gaily splashed in the water, track pants sodden their feet and legs covered in sand.

I am reminded of the song "Two Little Boys"