So Karma suggested a photo challenge: Whimsy. (Click on the link to find her challenge.)
My heart immediately melted because I LOVE whimsy.
What, you ask, is whimsy?
Google says:
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playfully quaint or fanciful behavior or humor.“the film is an awkward blend of whimsy and moralizing”
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a whim.plural noun: whimsies; plural noun: whimseys
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a thing that is fanciful or odd.“the stone carvings and whimsies”
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Whimsy, in my whimsical opinion, wakes us up from the everyday. It claims us from the ordinary, or it takes the ordinary and subverts it into something delightful (which it already is, although we so often don’t see it). Something unexpected. Something odd, fanciful, chuck full of dreams and poetry and Aunt Elizabeth’s thimbleberry jam.
Way over there by Shot Point, somewhere betwixt and between Munising and Marquette, halfway between Au Train and Harvey, here in our fair Upper Peninsula of Michigan, lies a magical playground of Junkyard Art.
And now, some whimsical art!
Whimsy abounds.
No, whimsy plays and sings and dances in the sandy woods.
Please enjoy Lakenenland. Tom Lakenen has sculptured his way into many hearts as they travel along the Lake Superior shores.
Whimsical creature
If you’re secretly (or overtly) in love with whimsy yourself, or if you feel like playing, stop by Karma’s blog by tomorrow, June 30th, and add your own whimsical blogging entry. No one judges whimsy. We only feel its magic and divine sacred play. And we want to play along, don’t we?
Can we deny whimsy’s appeal?
Whimsical reflections– the best kind
How we split wood here in the UP
How the old timers cut wood
Watch out for that whimsical crocodile. Or alligator?
A little dancin’ in the woods, anyone?
Magical stars in the sky
Oh, look at that whismsical nest
Oh, look at that whimsical owl!
Oh, look at that whimsical fish and not-so-whimsical squirrel!
I adore this art.
Scary animals in the U.P.
Evel Knievel of the Upper Peninsula!
More whimsical logging
The mermaids of Lake Superior
The most whimsical of all
Love the herons, and that last one. How are you and the better half, Kathy?
Like you, I’m a huge fan of whimsy! And I love this post, especially the junkyard art and the man riding the bike. It’s all so fun! Hope you have a wonderfully whimsical week!
Hugs from Ecuador,
Kathy
How marvelous to have a park full of whimsical people. I love the flamingo and the last one. I think I will assemble the funny things I love..all two or three of them and post tomorrow? I am assuming Karma is a blog?
Love your whimsical park, Kathy, with its unique creatures. The mermaids, the big cat and the owl are my favorites but all sculptures are pretty whimsy. Thanks Kathy.
How fun!! And so very whimsical! That’s my favorite kind of art, the kind that makes me smile. 😀
Ohhh, what’s not to love about whimsy? Love the pictures. So fun!
Ohh I love these pictures!! Would love to have the creativity and talent to make something like this ❤ And to see them scattered in random places would capture the child in all of us ❤
Fun! Now I want to add whimsical yard art to my garden – but not just any whimsy! Has to be “artistic” like the examples you show, and calculated to make visitors LOL. 🙂
Whimsical is as necessary as the fanciful and the mystical. Perhaps they’re all one and the same? All if know is that I love looking out the window and not seeing clouds and grass and shrubs and birds, but instead, ethereal angels dancing in the purple-hued sky, singing along with the little green munchkins below.
Oh what fun!
I think it was Robert Louis Stephenson that kept a sign, “WHIM” over his front door. I think we all need remind ourselves to look for the lighter things in life: the magical, the whimsical, the fun. I know I tend to take myself far too seriously sometimes. Thanks, Kathy!
PS: I think the sculptures are wonderful, too!
I love it. Is it easy to find? Are there signs to it?I want to go there. Tonya
It’s on Highway M-28, 15 miles east of Marquette.
And the stars jumped over the moon. Yours whimsies made me smile. Love the kind of mind that created these.
What a fun little park! Thanks for sharing, it made me smile.
My goodness that was a treat. The person that created all of that is extremely talented. Loved the photots.
What wonderful art! Would love to visit this whimsical and enchanting place one day 🙂
What an amazing place! I must give more thought to the concept of “whimsy”. How great that RLS had “Whim” over his door…
What marvellous creations! Whimsy…..Oh yes!
Definitely a whimsical sense of humor this artist has. I enjoyed his story, too, how he has never been to a sculpture garden before. Love the moon and stars taking off for parts unknown. 🙂
I love it Kathy! Thank you so much for playing along. You found a wonderful collection of whimsy. Good for the heart and spirit!
These are delightful! Thanks for the Wandering Whimsical Tour.
How very fun.
So MANY whimsical creations!!! My head is spinning, Kathy. One summer I found a poor little old stuffed bunny that had probably fallen out a car window or something. I rescued him from the street and took photos of him posed in various places, under the heading “Left Behind.” Whatever happened to him? Last I recall, he was relaxing in a woven “hanging basket” chair hung from our black walnut tree, but the chair (biodegradable) eventually fell apart in the weather. Your Yooper whimsy-maker obviously keeps very, very busy! I wonder if he does his creating during the long winter months?
Oh my word! This must be the most whimsical and enchanting place I’ve ever seen! A whimsy-loving photographer’s dream! Wow….
Kathy — Like many of your readers, I’m a huge fan of whimsy as well, and love the photo captures of it that you’ve shared!
All those whimsical photos, Kathy, remind me of “The Birches” by Robert Frost – you know, the unfettered joy of childhood that is hard to find in adulthood. But the whimsy brings us back to that place. xo
Absolutely gorgeous, all of it. What a creative mind to think of those pieces and what a talent to actually do it. Thanks so much for sharing. Love that someone gave the challenge.
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What light-hearted fun! Hope summer has made a cameo appearance to you as it has to us finally?! Hoping it stays a little while (although it can take the mosquitoes back any time).
Holy crap ! You live in the midst of the mother-lode of whimsy !
“Whimsy, in my whimsical opinion, wakes us up from the everyday.”
Yes it does. Thankfully. I love your photos, they have made my day. Too fun.
Wow. I think you’ve won the whimsical competition. What a collection you have here!