Add a Postcard to your best wall

postcardsHave you got ‘pictures’ on your wall? Ever fancied something different? Something meaningful? Something nobody else has?

In our Interior Display Work, we have been responsible for putting some pretty strange things on walls from twisted wire sculpt at the Café Surf, Birmingham, to Glass Painted Bavarian ‘Oompah oompah’ bands on Bier Keller reception windows. I think we caught the ‘on the wall’ habit from a great friend of ours, Glass and wood Creative John Eley, who creates some of the most wonderful stained glass and etched glass walls in the known universe.

It seems to me that ‘paint’ has cornered the ‘wall covering market’. Pictures and Photographs are running a close second for their ‘partial wall covering skills’, and in third place, thanks to Pub Designers in the UK, comes ‘paraphernalia’.

Interior Designers start rag rolling or fracturing paint to make it less boring and suppliers of pictures either blow them up full size to cover the walls like wallpaper or throw a frame around small painterly pieces to show where their picture ends and your wall begins.

One day I want to be invited to a restaurant that can change itself instantly with 360 degree seamless video walls that through back projection can create ‘whatever’ and ‘whenever’ convincingly. Until this movie wall day arrives, I am determined to make walls more interesting and worthy of close scrutiny by using them as a vehicle for private thoughts written on cards, letters and postcards. Your wall can ooze with reader pulling power whether it is in a restaurant or at home in your bedroom. Fancy having a wall of valentine cards from heavenly bodies on Feb. 14th ?

Putting ‘off the wall’ ideas ‘on the wall’ creates great fun. Boring Dental Surgeries could have walls of patient feedback saying how for example, ‘Mrs Trencham’s tongue swelling has gone down’ ….

Ideas on a postcard ……. ?

Every wall I see is starring me in the face as a show place for fun. With the added use of personal and private letters, cards and postcards, walls can attract the curious, and bridge the waiting gap of your visitors. Everyone is curious and some are just nosey so use this inquisitive habit to provide some entertainment.

Well as often happens when writing blogs like these, I start chatting away as if I was in the same virtual room as you; by the time I press ‘send’ I have enlarged the blog ten fold, and by mentioning some of the fun we’ve had on projects I have moved away from what I was originally going to mention; namely the use of themed collections of words and images to support ‘message’.

The Picture above shows a group of themed postcards collected together for display at the Alexander Theatre, Birmingham, when David Wood was there Directing his Whirligig Theatre Play, “The Selfish Shellfish”. I love the work of dramatist, David Wood – “the undisputed master of children’s shows”. As this Play tells the story of the “Great Oil Slick” and how it damages the sea environment, it was the perfect opportunity to match in the messages of the Children’s Environmental Charity, World of Water.

If you have a wall and want something other than another ‘painting’ on it this season, try letters, cards and postcards for they are personal and thus full of real history from the heart.

If you are working on Children’s projects that are connected with water and the environment, I am sure ‘World of Water’ would love to hear from you and might be able to help you in some way – always worth asking so drop me a line !

‘Off the Wall’ Waves from ~~~~~~~~~ <+))))))))>< ~~~ Grant

Harrogate Spa Water rings WoW

Spa WaterI had a fine chat with Melanie Wood at Harrogate Spa Water a while back about the way World Water Charities and Spa Water Producers could match their messages to promote the very survival of ‘clean water’, whether from a spa or from a reservoir.

Clean spa water remains well ‘protected’ as its sale produces a direct income, but all water, whether located in the seas, lakes, streams, wells, rain and rivers contribute to income – so long as the waters remain clean.

Achieving a World United front on issues can be hard, but “Clean Water” is not up for any debate as all life uses it and need it! So what criminals pollute it?

We are not alone – we share this ‘Blue’ Planet with essential lifeforms that call all waters, ‘Home’. If Humans had lived in rivers and seas all the time, would we have worked out a way of dumping our rubbish onto the land to have it washed back into our home? Would the Waters of the World be clean because they were ‘our’ home? Hmmmmmm, yes, I think so.

We’re just “dumping on our neighbour creatures” because they don’t dump back on us, and it is easier and cheaper than having responsibility for our own waste thus allowing more (short-term) profit.

NEWS:
The back wash is on one’s own doorstep and blaming our mums, dads, grandparents and great grandparents is wasting time. Those realising the need for all water to be clean need to get together NOW, otherwise our children will rightfully be able to blame us for doing nothing.

Whatever country you are in, whatever life you lead, you depend upon water being ‘fit’ for your use. Water needs to be ‘fit’ for all plant use because you need oxygen – and remember that the majority of oxygen available for breathing comes from plant life in the sea, not forests! It is great to contribute to some “Plant a Tree” campaign but as you draw your next breath, say the biggest thank-you to the billions of microscopic plants fighting for their life thus YOUR life throughout the World’s Oceans for unless they have clean water, your days are numbered lower!

Do what you can out there to keep muck production to a minimum. We all produce muck but we can process it responsibly and keep it clear of the global water supply where we can control and monitor its cleaning. Do what you can to change production methods to lower pollution and tackle the pollutants you produce by way of controlled, waste management within land-based facilities.

Dead Planets don’t make “Home Sweet Homes” so please do everything you can to fight for a healthy today and tomorrow on an un-polluted Planet, regardless of your beliefs and origins. If we muck up the environment on this one planet, no amount of fighting or peace-keeping will be of any use to anyone.

Further reading
Pixyled Publications produce a series of gazetteers on wells and springs and an excellent bibliography covering the subject. Here are the links to some of their ongoing international research into holy wells and healing springs: