The ruins in the York Museum Gardens are all that remains of one of the wealthiest and most powerful Benedictine monasteries in England. First built in 1088, the abbey estate occupied the entire site of the Museum Gardens and the abbot was one of the most powerful clergymen of his day, on a par with the Archbishop of York. The stone walls that surrounded the abbey were built in the 1260s and they remain the most complete set of abbey walls in the country.
With his elephant head and human body, Ganesha (or Ganesh) is one of the most beloved and popular of all the Hindu gods. This is because he brings good fortune while destroying all obstacles.
Ganesh is depicted as an art form in colorful statues and stone carvings.
Various stone sculptures of Ganesha were decorated daily at our resort in Gujarat, India,
Ganesha, a much-beloved and worshiped deity, is the son of Lord Shiva and Parvati. He is also known as the God of wisdom, prosperity, and auspiciousness. A Ganesha statue can be hand-carved in many postures and forms, typically with four or eight arms, holding various symbolic objects.
Greenery of nature helps to soften the harshness of a stone wall
The receding tide of the ocean creates nature’s design on a beach utilizing sand and stones, almost like an abstract painting
In celebration of Spring, our theme this week is flowers. Colorful blooms after winter are a joy to behold. Here is an image of a “gardenscape” with lush greenery contrasted by colorful flowers midst stonework.
This stone wall is softened by snow creating an order of lines, forms, textures, and patterns in a design photography composition
A natural stone and wooden bench, against a backdrop of wild flowers, in the gardens at The Highlands Biological Station, Nature Center, and Botanical Gardens, North Carolina
Wayah Bald has a vantage point of 5,342 ft. in elevation in the Nantahala National Forest, near Franklin, North Carolina. On a clear day, you can see north to the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and south into the rolling hills of Georgia. Here are images of an old stone fire tower, built in 1937 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, to witness panoramic views of the southern Appalachian mountain chain.
A stone engraving at the New Castle Historic Society building, New Castle, Delaware, depicting a hawk and a canyon, possibly signifying strength during war
Trinity Episcopal Church, Wilmington, Delaware was built in the 1880s. It is a traditional English Gothic structure that features beautiful stained glass windows. The exterior walls are made of rough, dressed Avondale stone, and the church has a high, steeped roof. The church’s tower and spire were added in 1925. Twelve bronze bells in the tower chime the hour.
Most bridges are made of steel or stones, but here is a bridge in rural North Carolina made of wood
The Stone Arch Bridge is a former railroad bridge crossing the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the only arched bridge made of stone on the entire Mississippi River.
The stone for the BAPS Temple in Atlanta, Georgia was shipped piece by piece from India, where craftsmen had sculptured it into more than 500 designs including rosettes, leaves, feathers and lacy geometric patterns. The thousands of sections, ranging from five ounces to five tons, each with its own bar code, have been assembled like a giant jigsaw puzzle based on instructions for religious buildings written into scripture thousands of years old.
Staircase to the Temple
Open to one and all, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, in Atlanta, Georgia) was inaugurated in August of 2007 after only 17 months of construction time utilizing 1.3 million volunteer hours. The Mandir is comprised of three types of stone (Turkish Limestone, Italian marble, and Indian pink sandstone). More than 34,000 individual pieces were carved by hand in India, shipped to the USA and assembled like a giant 3-D puzzle.
BAPS Temple Atlanta Panorama
Remnants of art in stone in India …..
Art in Stone
A head of an elephant sculpted out of stone at Darbargadh Poshina
Elephant in Stone
Due to my interest in elephant pieces, I look for unusual items during my travels. Darbargadh Poshina didn’t disappoint with several unique elephants in stone.
Elephants Carved in Stone
Darbargadh Poshina has interesting artifacts from the past including this hand operated stone flour mill. Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. Millstones come in pairs – the runner stone spins above the stationary bedstone creating the “scissoring” or grinding action of the stones.
An Essential Item from the Past
An artist has used stone as a canvas for a painting a dancer and Indian musical instruments at Shilparamam, Hyderabad
Painted on Stone