New York City Gargoyles, Part IV: Cemetery Angels of Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn

On the day I visited the Brooklyn Museum sculpture garden, I also went to Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. Built in 1838, Green-Wood Cemetery was one of America's first rural cemeteries and is now a National Historic Landmark. As soon as we picked up a map of the grounds, I knew it would be impossible to tour the whole thing (478 acres!). I only toured a small corner of the cemetery, but found several beautiful stone angels.

—Gigi

Mountain View Cemetery Angels Through the Seasons

Mountain View Cemetery is a beautiful cemetery in Oakland, California. Sharing a similar ethos to London's Abney Park Cemetery, Mountain View was created with the vision of being balanced with nature.

The cemetery park gardens were designed in the 1860s by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted (designer of New York City's Central Park), who created twisting walkways lined with trees. You can't help but feel peaceful wandering along those paths on the sloping hillside.

My favorite angel at Mountain View cemetery in autumn.

Views of the angel in spring.

--Gigi

Cemeteries of London: Stone Angels of Abney Park Cemetery Part II

While beautiful, the placement of a few of the stone angels at Abney Park Cemetery in London feels rather ominous. Maybe it was just the type of day that it was when I visited, without a soul in sight and with the clouds rolling by above. But if you're a fan of Doctor Who, you might find the photo below reminiscent of the "Blink" episode with stone angels that aren't quite what they seem.

Below, a Celtic cross and a closeup of the details on the cross.

--Gigi

Cemeteries of London: Stone Angels of Abney Park Cemetery Part I

Abney Park Cemetery in Stoke Newingon, London is one of the "Magnificent 7" 19th century London cemeteries. It's a garden cemetery that was originally combined with an arboretum, and is now a park and nature reserve that offers a number of nature programs. I didn't make it to their stone carving workshop, but enjoyed the many beautifully carved stone angels in the garden.

--Gigi

Gargoyle Girl is Back!

I hope everyone had a great summer. Mine was pretty crazy, since it kicked off with a breast cancer diagnosis. But in the midst of everything, I also had some amazing experiences this summer, all because of the wonderful people in my life. From the doctors who caught the cancer early and saved my life physically, to the dear friends who enriched my life emotionally, this month's Gargoyle Girl photos are dedicated to those real life angels.

So today I'm posting a few of my favorite stone angel photographs. I'll continue with angels through September, before switching to some creepy gargoyles leading up to Halloween in October.

The Sculpture Garden of the Brooklyn Museum. This photo was taken before the garden was remodeled, back when many of the stone sculptures (salvaged from demolished New York buildings) rested on the ground in overgrown ivy.

Brompton Cemetery, London.

Highgate Cemetery, London.

--Gigi

Cemeteries of London: Brompton Cemetery Part II

Below are different views of a some of my favorite angel statues at Brompton Cemetery: cherubic child angels.

It was an overcast day, so the sky was close to white. I was shooting with my lensbaby camera lens, allowing me to focus on different details in each image. With these detailed carvings, I like how the soft focus can almost make it seem as if the angels are about to take flight...

--Gigi

Cemeteries of London: Brompton Cemetery

Brompton Cemetery is one of the "Magnificent Seven" Cemeteries in London. It's the most central, walking distance from Earl's Court tube stop (and also the West Brompton tube stop, but I've never found myself on that line). It has a beautiful long, narrow layout with a central path lined by trees, creating the feel of a serene park. Intricately carved stone angels sit atop many of the graves.

Beatrix Potter once lived near the cemetery, and she apparently got the ideas for her character names from the gravestones at this cemetery. One of the names on an old headstone here: Peter Rabbitt.

--Gigi

Cemeteries of London: Highgate Cemetery Angels

In the spring of 2008, my mom was a visiting professor in London. The opportunity to visit was too good to pass up. This is a photo of us in front of her Islington flat.


One of the things I did on that trip was to visit London cemeteries. I'd previously been on a tour of Highgate Cemetery, but I hadn't gone further in my exploration of the city's historic cemeteries. In addition to their mystery, I love the peace and beauty of old cemeteries. So on this trip, in addition to returning to Highgate I went on walks through Brompton Cemetery, New Southgate Cemetery, and Abney Park Cemetery.

This month I'll be posting photos from my 2008 visits to these London cemeteries.

Below are angels from Highgate Cemetery. Next week I'll post other views of Highgate Cemetery along with some history.
 

--Gigi

Angels in Santa Fe

I'm home from the Left Coast Crime mystery convention in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I only brought my point-and-shoot camera, so initially I wasn't thinking I'd post any photos from Santa Fe. But then I remembered my own advice that the camera itself is much less important than what you see through the lens. And I did see some very cool things in Santa Fe.

The angel sculptures in Santa Fe weren't the typical type of angels I photograph in cemeteries, but I found them intriguing all the same. Here are a few of them below:

Angel sculptures along the waterfront of the Santa Fe River.

A sculpture in front of the St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe.

A different angle of the same angel sculpture in front of the St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe.

A depiction of heaven and hell inside the Santa Fe Folk Art Museum.

--Gigi