But is it art?

It feels as if there are a lot of artists around here. There was a small art sale in the salle des fêtes in Camon last week and this included ceramics, jewellery, textiles (woven rugs and hangings, feather filled quilts and hand-made felt bags), and old rusty baking tins with comical depictions of amply proportioned, stern-looking ladies wielding rolling pins. Is this art? I pondered, or are these crafts? It wasn't a really important question as I was quite delighted with my purchase of a string of white ceramic stars made by a village lady which are now hanging from a beam in the dining room.

Ceci n'est pas un abre bleu (oh no! Its “art in nature”)

Several weeks ago I was walking around the river which skirts Camon and was startled to pass Claire with her husband and two children. Obviously this is not a hugely unusual occurrence as they live opposite us but the reason I was startled was that they were busily engaged in painting a tree blue. Naturally I had to find out why they are spending a Sunday en-famille daubing bright blue paint over a fallen tree trunk. Claire's response started with a detailed explanation of how she had ascertained who owned the tree in order to obtain their permission and ended with the assertion that the blue tree was “art in nature”. And why not? I confess I was not totally convinced by this but I am now. We had a light fall of snow last night and I happened to walk past the tree today and was thrilled to see the dappled sunlight sparkling off the remaining snow flakes. It was a truly lovely sight.

Glittering crystals of snow lying in the grooves of the blue tree today

The creative urge seems to be infectious too. Even Jeff, who is not normally noted for his artistic leanings, has been inspired to create a sculpture. This masterpiece is untitled but he is available for special commissions. We can even supply the necessary corks, corkscrew and curtain pole fixings.

Can you tell what it is yet? It's art Jim but not as we know it...

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