Public Art in Wells

Yesterday was the swan launch for the Swans of Wells public art project. 20 of the 60 swans were flown in and they settled down on the Cathedral Green while us artists and passers-by mingled and wilted in the heat of the late morning sun. Photographers and TV reporters came and went and after a couple of hours of this my skin scorched and my throat dry from dehydration and too much talking, we were refreshed with a “light lunch” in the Swan Hotel. My swan wasn’t in the flock, but I was assured that it was on it’s way to being installed in the market square.

Today was another busy day as I set out to the Bishops Palace moat walk to do a little “conservation” work on the Worminster Dragon Mosaic. The Dragon Mosaic  was made with 6 schools and community groups and installed in 2002. It had a few tiles come astray either through wear and tear or vandalism. It also needed a good clean-up and fresh grout applied to areas where the rain had eaten away the concrete.

Now it looks good again…

I sent Ian off into town to see if my swan, Odile, had been installed. It had and he took this shot of it.

There’s another photo on his flickr page with a joke caption here

I was left with my “quick snaps” camera , I usually use Ian’s camera for higher quality shots, but he won’t let me have it any more because I keep forgetting to change the settings back … he says “never lend an artist anything”  (does this sound familiar?)

So I got some “not quite so good” photos…

I was annoyed with that white van because I wanted  a clear shot with the cathedral in the background! I’ll have to try another day.

What I like about Odile is that she is quite subtle, from a distance she almost fades away into the background, quite different from my lion last year!

The Swans of Wells will be on the streets until September before being auctioned. Net profits from the event will be donated to local Wells charities. Come see them if you are near or far!

More details about the project: www.swansofwells.com

🙂