Of course they were all lantern sculptures really- wire and fabric twisted and stretched into fabulous shapes and then lit from within- but these are less easily classified into particular themes, so I have posted them as sculptures and added any pics I have left to show you.
Heads in profile (that made me feel they should be part of a board game or maybe an illustration in a psychology magazine).
A plant of some kind
And several fantastical, Alice-in Wonderland-type toadstools... boy I want to make those (though obviously no to that scale)!
Next blog is definitely the last of the lanterns... but I can't leave them without showing you the lantern children in a giant bowl of noodles.
I think these may be nearly the last of the Lantern pics.
Here, as promised a few days ago, are the Cute little Girl doll lanterns (although some have attitude and one may be a man/ demon??).
In the tent where you could buy souvenirs, they sold a plastic doll figure with a hood, dressed in similar outfit to these and, when you lowered the hood and raised it again, it had changed its face to one of these, like the many mask changes the performer does in the Chinese State Circus.
That reminds me, I must show you what I bought as souvenirs sometime... one of which I intend to cut up and craft with but I'm not quite sure how yet.
Some of the lanterns in the Chiswick Festival depicted scenes that were religious or spiritual in nature and these are some of those
And there was the magnificent gateway into the Chinese New Year -
Each archway richly lit so that together they formed a kind of stage as you approached them, but a tunnel as you passed through them.
And in their midst, the Year of the Cockerel!
At the end of the archway there was a big heavy brick building (totally British-institution-like) and the whole of the gateway was reflected in its ancient glass windows, distorted and timey-wimey...
Next time... the totally cutesie little girl dolls.
Here are some of the light animals at the festival - some made from wire and fabric like the other lanterns and some made with rope lights.
These are still made of fabric, even though they look convincingly metal.
Lovely snooty camels...
A fleet of camels (based on one being a ship of the desert).
A rather grand elephant on a podium
And some crystal swans
Lastly a grand parade.
Next time... some religious pics from the festival.
These are some of the cute and quirky characters in the Lantern Festival (see previous few blogs for details).
Giant peaceful pandas... (see silhouettes of people for a sense of scale)
To Tai Chi pandas and those in ancient Chinese hats.
Then there was a street scene with village life including board games, calligraphy, and a lovely old grandpa
And a cute ladybug reading a book.
Next time... an animal parade.
As promised yesterday... Lanterns and the water.
Some of the huge metal and cloth lantern shapes at the Chinese New Year Festival in Chiswick Park were placed on the opposite riverbank, so that you couldn't get near to them but you could enjoy their doubled image in the rippling black water.
If I knew how to upload a video so that it actually played, I would... but its never worked so far, so I haven't.
Next time... the quirky characters!
Here are the fairy tale models from Chiswick Park's lantern festival.
These are from Aladdin and tales of the Arabian Nights.
And a Cinderella type castle with horse and carriage, with a definite Chinese style.
Next time... lanterns and the water.
