Sally Wakelin – Studies in Creativity
Paintings, drawings, sculpture and writing
Straight railings casting their shadows on a rough stone wall.
Accidentally having the camera on the wrong setting caused camera shake during the long exposure but made an even more interesting image from this quilted copper-lined elevator in the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.
And these over-sized wooden blinds were marvellous, maybe I’m addicted to parallel lines.
I am attracted by juxtapositions of colour – thay can make all the difference to how you see something.
A cliché perhaps but lovely none the less, the first red leaves of Autumn in the lakes north of Toronto.
These vibrant colours were an unexpected delight contrasting against the black polished marble of a downtown Toronto office building, snatched from the car whilst at a stop light.
Four lanes of traffic waiting to set off from the lights on a dull day – the colours really saurated. I wish I’d had time to compose the shot better and include more of the orange sign pointing across the road. Each vehicle, engine revving, almost perfectly lined up to lead the eye, has its own colour point, linking up with the coloured flags on the facia of the building and then the verdigris on the roof.
The Toronto taxi colours seem to be designed to match the surroundings, the Autumn leaves and the red brick and verdigris copper roof of one of the few Victorian bulidings left in the downtown area, all set against the tall grey skyscrapers behind..
I have collected lamps of various types for a while – Art Deco, 50’s and modern, here are a few of them, mostly working, some sadly not.
The wooden post of this lamp was badly worm-eaten, now repaired, re-painted and the chromed steel shades polished, it is my favourite lamp. I assume it dates from the ArtDeco period but there are no clues in terms of maker’s labels or stamps.
I bought this lamp in the 80’s as new but its required transformer was missing, I got it wired up with a new one but then blew it by using too high a bulb rating. It looks very pretty when lit, I must get it repaired. The bulbs, one each side of the shade, are low voltage halogen and the current runs through the arms.
I was lucky enough to buy a pair of these lamps, a very dark green almost black painted metal shade and base, made by Phillips I think in the 70’s, rather nasty plastic switches which don’t always work, it would be good to replace those.
The lobby of the Royal York Hotel in Toronto – the most glorious lamps
Wandering around London with a friend, not looking for anything in particular, lessons learned in checking camera settings before you start and remembering to switch between AV and TV to get the best of static and moving subjects.
I do like faces – I think most people do, “people watching” is instinctive. I have made attempts at recording interesting faces photographically and in paint. I recently participated in a portraiture and street photography day in London and found the courage to ask people if I might take their photograph, sometimes I didn’t ask! I was so pleased to find most people to be kind and generous – and falttered!
Sally Wakelin - Studies in Creativity 
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