In the Oxford dictionary the word 'muse' has two definitions. One refers to 'The Muses – nine goddesses, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, inspirers of poetry, music, drama, etc.' From this comes the word we use to describe an artist or poet's source of inspiration. The other definition tells us that 'muse' means to 'Ponder, reflect (on, upon); gaze meditatively (on)... '
For me, the items featured here have a foot in both camps.
This museum and cultural centre was designed by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. It combines an old abandoned electrical station with newly constructed floors encased with oxidized cast-iron. On the house next to it, there is a green wall designed by French botanist Patrick Blanc. The combination of these diverse but beautifully constructed elements more than makes its mark in a city that has no shortage of distinguished buildings.
In the town of Pézenas in southern France I came across a street of houses identified with cast metal numbers such as the one shown here. The combination of a few simple design elements and the use of appropriate materials add enormous style to an everyday artefact.
A girl in the student flat that I was in at college had a copy of this book and I was impressed. It managed to be at once not only exotic but also practical and I knew I had to have one. It is by far the most thumbed cookery book I own – on its last legs really – but I can't quite bring myself to replace this copy.
I discovered this bench while walking round the mediaeval city of Segovia in central Spain. I was attracted as much by the incongruity of its location as the stylishness of the design.
Antoni Gaudi and Barcelona are inextricably linked and the Park Güell which overlooks the city is one of the most exuberant expressions of his artistic genius. The mosaics which decorate the walls seem to have been created from random pieces of broken pottery but at the same time there is a powerful unity to the whole creation.
A certain type of civic pride is required to turn something as prosaic as the cover for a water hydrant into a thing of beauty.
In addition to the charm of this hand painted sign I love the dichotomy between the method of manufacture (handmade, improvised) and the supposed official nature of the message (authorised parking).