Textures of Lyme

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Rachael

Lyme Regis, on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, is one of my favourite towns. One morning in August last year I left my family enjoying the sandy beach and went hunting for images. I have shared some of my larger compositions in earlier posts, but I also snapped up some details, trying to capture some of the textures of the harbour.

Can you see a face?

The distinctive S shape of Lyme’s famous seawall, The Cobb, has become a symbol for the town.

The harbour is used by pleasure boats and fishing boats, and there are plenty of interesting textures in the paraphernalia of the trade.

Old wooden hulls contrast with modern plastic fenders.

Colours of rust show up against black doors.

There are plenty of interesting signs as well, some with a sense of humour.

This last shot is more about people than textures, although I suppose the town’s people are part of its texture on a larger scale. Appropriate to its strong maritime flavour, Lyme Regis has a Boat Building Academy. I snapped some youngsters taking a break from their craft.

Artist of the Week at The Shed

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Rachael

This will be a slightly different week on Focused Moments as I am honoured to be Artist of the Week at The Shed Gallery. I first came across this gallery when I stumbled upon their summer exhibtion at The Malthouse in Lyme Regis. Entitled Albion, the exhibition featured art celebrating this island nation of ours. It was a topical exhibition for 2012, a year when we have celebrated being British more than any other.

The Cobb at Lyme Regis

Although largely an on-line community, The Shed differs from other internet photographic and art communities in that it has a permanent real gallery space in Barcelona plus seasonal exhibitions in its second home, Lyme. Furthermore, next February, Albion will be coming to London, to the Cock ‘n’ Bull gallery at Shoreditch. I hope they will include something of mine!

Inside La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

The Shed is only in its second year, and relatively expensive compared with other sites, but I like it that it is still small; one feels more part of a real community than one does on the impersonal mega-sites. Direct contact between individual artists and the Shed Team is as frequent as the artist requires and hopefully there will be an opportunity to meet many of the other artists at the London exhibition.

Detail from Gaudi’s beautiful church, La Sagrada Familia

As Artist of the Week, I am writing some posts for the Shed’s Blog. The first one is an introduction to me and my photography and the images will be familiar to anyone who has been following along here for a while. But I would be hugely chuffed if you had time to pop over and say ‘hi’.

Summer evening, Lyme Regis

Lovers on the Cobb

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Rachael

Kissing couple on the Cobb at Lyme Regis

I wonder if he has just proposed?

A couple kiss on the Cobb, Lyme Regis’s iconic harbour wall. Many writers have been inspired by this landmark, including Jane Austen who featured it in Persuasion and John Fowles in The French Lieutenant’s Woman. The scene where the heroine (played by Meryl Streep in the film) walks to the end of the Cobb during a storm has made its way into movie legend. Perhaps this couple are fans.

A quiet Lyme evening

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Rachael

I am blogging from my iPhone tonight with an image taken by my iPhone. I think we have seen Lyme Regis in all moods this week. Today we have endured high winds and driving rain. This image, of Lyme in gentler mood, is from last week.

White

Posted on August 18, 2012 by Rachael

I really like this sort of decor. This is a wall of the holiday cottage we are presently renting. It was once a nineteenth century workshop in which fishermen mended their nets and crab pots. I am mobile blogging for the next several days.

The Cobb

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Rachael

Our summer holiday this year will be spent at Lyme Regis, a lovely little town on the coast of Dorset. It is steeped in history and features in Jane Austen’s Persuasion:

the principal street almost hurrying into the water, the Walk to the Cobb, skirting round the pleasant little bay, which, in the season, is animated with bathing machines and company…are what the stranger’s eye will seek

The Cobb is Lyme Regis’s famous harbour wall. In Persuasion, one of the characters takes a tumble off the Cobb. In a later novel, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, John Fowles immortalised “quite simply the most beautiful sea rampart on the south coast of England”.

Lyme Regis is on The Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site for its wealth of fossils from the Jurassic period. It was here that Mary Anning (1799-1847) discovered, at the tender age of twelve, the first complete ichthyosaur. She went on to become a renowned palaeontologist when the science was in its infancy. Lyme Regis Museum, a fascinating place to visit in its own right, is built on the site of Mary’s home.

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