Seventy days of Sculpture

RHS Harlow Carr has a sculpture exhibition to celebrate the Garden's 70th birthday. Most of them left me cold, I have to say. I think I'm getting very picky in my old age! There were some rather heavy-handed chainsaw carvings, some resin things that looked like twisted veins and a few smaller pieces that, whilst not unpleasant, didn't seem very exciting. The one I liked best was the hen (above) standing on a garden fork handle, made by Mark Irwin from twisted wire. It had some character and would fit quite nicely into a domestic garden, I think. There were some representations, by David Watkinson, of leaves and seeds that were kinetic, gyrating in the breeze. They seemed quite fun and attractive, though I would imagine those bright metal 'leaves' might soon dull and spoil.

There was also a variety of leaves and plants, like foxgloves and ferns, made from metal by James Wilkinson, an artist blacksmith. They were cleverly done, though I would really rather have the plants themselves in my garden. Despite the fact I wasn't personally that keen on some of the exhibits, nevertheless I think it's a great idea for the RHS to showcase the work of artists and they do that very faithfully at Harlow Carr. There is always some kind of exhibition going on and they have a small art and craft gallery shop in the Old Bath House too.