Out & About: Reflections on the not-so-mean-streets of New York

Reflections on buildings are a very popular subject matter for textile artists and it is easy to see why.  The grid structures; the gradations in colour; the relation to quilt blocks and so on.  Plus they are fun to photograph.  I haven’t made any work using reflections yet (at least I don’t think I have), but I do love to photograph them. 

So when I arrived in New York, tired and at the end of a long day of travel a few weeks ago, I determined that I was going to make the most of my time there and headed out with my camera.  It was a lovely evening and the sun was beginning to set casting the most beautiful, quick changing reflections – something I don’t get to see living in a low rise Scottish village (although we do get the most amazing sunsets). 

New York felt very different from the last time I visited, sometime last century – it had a relaxed sense, perhaps because it was a Sunday evening and no one was rushing in a normal workday manner.  The streets were busy, but everyone seemed to be out enjoying the spectacle – maybe we were all tourists together!

Hopefully one of these photos can inspire you to make some new work this week.