Inspiration part 23 - Graffiti

Welcome back,

This article will feature photographs taken earlier this year, and focus on a form of urban art known as graffiti. I discovered this location while out travelling some local trails.

**Please note, that certain areas can be dangerous and one should not travel there alone, or if the area is private property, then permission or supervision may be required. These photos were taken during the day and while in company of friends.**

Graffiti are writing or drawings that have been scribbled, scratched, or painted on a wall or other surface, and range from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. Spray paint and marker pens have become the most commonly used graffiti materials in modern times. A whole genre of artistic expression is based upon spray paint graffiti styles; it is a rapidly developing art form with many different types and styles.

Graffiti can be used to express underlying social and political messages, or to mark territory of gang-related activities, which is why they are often in plain view of the public. Controversies that surround graffiti continue to create disagreement amongst city officials, law enforcement, and writers who wish to display and appreciate work in public locations. In most countries, marking or painting property without the property owner's permission is considered defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime.

Which brings me to the first aspect of graffiti: location. The graffiti in the photos below were taken just off a bike path that passed under a bridge. The bridge itself is a simple urban location, but in these images, you can see how simply adding graffiti completely changes the atmosphere. Keep this in mind when adding this detail in a setting.

    Then we take a look at the graffiti itself. There are virtually hundreds of different styles when it comes to this form of street art; from abstract to photorealistic, from serious to satire. The images below show a lot of abstract art, but is mainly tagging, which is the act of writing one’s pseudonym or ‘’key word’’ used only by the artists, or in some cases, the artists affiliates (i.e. gangs).

Besides their political aspect, graffiti can be inspiration for writing as well. They can the perfect detail in a setting for a variety of stories. Perhaps you are writing an urban fiction (a.k.a. Street lit) that contains a street gang tagging their territory, or graffiti could be a background detail at a murder scene in a mystery, or maybe you could write a story about a troubled youth that expresses themselves through art. Graffiti can be very versatile in writing, and can been used in many different genres.

Hope you enjoyed today’s exploration. I had a great time, and maybe these images will come in handy for your next story. Remember to always exercise caution while exploring.  

Now get out there and get inspired!

Cheers!

Patrick Osborne

Inspiration Part 22 - Factories

Welcome back!

This inspiration article features photos from several of my urban explorations. Given that they were similar in appearance and feel, I felt merging this material into a single document would avoid repetitiveness in future posts.

The main theme of this article will be factories. The source of the photographs come from two different exploration trips; a concrete plant and a storage yard.

**Please note, that these locations can be dangerous and one should not travel there without permission or supervision. These photos were taken from a safe distance.**

A concrete plant is a site with equipment that combines various ingredients (water, sand, gravel, etc.) to form concrete, either in the Dry mix or Wet mix variety. The heart of the concrete plant is the mixer, which come in many different types; Tilt Drum, Pan, Planetary, Single Shaft and Twin shaft mixer. Conveyors are used to carry aggregate from the ground hopper to the aggregate bin, as well as from the aggregate batcher to the charge chute.

Storage yards are outdoor areas used in conjunction with a warehouse, sheds or other structures and may be public or private. They are used to store vehicles, equipment, merchandise, raw materials, or other items for an indefinite period until needed.

The following pictures are of a concrete plant from different angles. We can see the variety of parts and accessories needed in the making of concrete: cement batchers, aggregate batchers, conveyors, radial stackers, aggregate bins, cement bins, heaters, chillers, cement silos, batch plant controls, and dust collectors. Close inspection of these various elements can give us a good idea of how to describe machinery and how they work in fiction.

Making our way to the front of the plant, we can see several different vehicles; concrete mixers for transport of cement while keeping it in a wet state, and a front loader for shoveling raw materials. These heavy machines can make nice additions to urban settings when writing.

If we keep going around the building, we see the plant has piles of raw materials for making future batches of concrete. They even recycle old, torn up asphalt by breaking it down, grinding it into gravel and reusing it as concrete.

Next we have pictures taken from storage yards, where we can see various large scale items being kept. In these example, we have semi-trailers for tractor trucks, wood pallets for transporting merchandise and cement blocks. We also have a tool shed, where the owners keep various tools and maintenance equipment.

Locations like these can serve as inspiration for a few different story types. They could be a dumping ground for a mystery novel, or a setting for a superhero fight scene. Maybe a hideout for a group of survivors in a zombie apocalypse. Perhaps your protagonist is a construction worker, and he needs to know how to operate a front loader.

Hope you enjoyed today’s exploration. I had a great time, and maybe these images will come in handy for your next story. Until then, get out there and get inspired!

Cheers!

Patrick Osborne

Inspiration part 19 - the circus

Welcome back,

           Inspired by April's Fools, the theme for this month's inspirational post will be about something that has brought many people both joy and dread. It is not many subjects that can inspire such diverse reactions from people, but after reading this article, I am sure you will understand why.

I am speaking of course of the time honored tradition that is the circus. The idea came to me at work, as I was clearing copyright for old school circus posters for an online exhibition project. I learned quite a bit of the history of circuses in North America since the late 1800’s, and thought this would be a great subject for April’s inspiration article.

Circus parade around tents, in lithograph by Gibson & Co., 1874

           The circus has been entertaining spectators, young and old, for several generations now, with it’s attractions, games, performers and animals. With so many different features, it comes as no surprise that the circus can be a such great source of inspiration for writers. Let us take a look at some of the circuses most prominent aspects.

Common circus acts include acrobatics, gymnastics, aerial acts, juggling and a variety of other routines. These also include Daredevil stunts such as the human cannonball, fire eating/breathing/dancing, knife throwing, or sword swallowing. These routines are meant to be breathtaking and exciting, and describing them in narrative can be very useful for action oriented storytelling.

Speaking of circus performers, another mainstay to the big top are clowns. Clowns are common to most circuses and are typically skilled so that they can accompany any of the other performances. Clowns can be a great tool for someone trying to write a comedy.

Though they have been around for decades, these flamboyant comedians have a received mixed feeling from the public. Many will find their antics hilarious, while some find them creepy and off putting. For this reason, the fear of clowns, or coulrophobia, can be useful for authors writing horror or thriller stories.

Joseph Grimaldi as Clown

Ferenczy Clown 1910

1870 photo of British duo the Payne brothers as Clown and Harlequin

Polack Bros. Circus 1965 clowns

Standard clown

Horrific clown

Animal acts have been part of the circus going as far back as the early eighteenth century. Many different types of animals have been used; from big cats, elephants, horses, birds, sea lions, bears, and even domestic animals such as cats and dogs. The earliest involvement of animals in the circus was just as a display of exotic creatures, but it eventually moved on to live performance such as equestrian acts or lion tamers. It should be noted that in the past few years, the inclusion of animals in circuses has been highly scrutinized, as cases of animals being mistreated or forced into poor living conditions had been reported.

Sideshows are also part of some circus activities, and may include chapeaugraphy, magic acts, the strongman or the infamous ‘’freak show’’. Below are some genuine color posters from the Coney Island Sideshow dating back to the 1930’s/40’s (Source: The Library of Congress). Though meant to entertain, it is obvious that some of these attractions were meant to shock or scare patrons. From a writer's perspective, some of these could be very useful for horror or paranormal mysteries.

 

 

 

The final element is mostly in regards to how a circus can help add color to the setting. Some circuses were known to be accompanied by carnival rides, such as ferris wheels, pendulum rides, drop towers or funny/haunted houses. A carnival can be a great setting for a romantic story, or an abandoned amusement park can be a great hiding place for a villainous character.

As you can see, a trip to the circus can be especially beneficial for a writer looking for inspiration. Maybe you need references for a character working as a full-time clown, various rides for a theme park setting or maybe ideas for a creepy urban story. Bottom line: go visit one, you'll be surprised at what you will find.

           I hope you enjoyed this month's inspiration post and that I encouraged you to go out there and experience it for yourself.

Until next time.

Cheers,

Patrick Osborne

**Please note that most of the photos below were taken from free stock images sites such as StockSnap.com, or were found doing a public domain search via Google.**