….thanks to Squirrel Chase for hosting Whatever is so Lovely https://www.thesquirrelchase.com/2022/05/24/whatsoever-is-lovely-2022-week-20/
I know this post may seem outdated in some parts of the world but spring tends to arrive later here in Toronto, Canada and in the last week many of the blossoms are still just opening up. The ornamental crabtree in my front year still hasn’t completely bloomed. It should be in full bloom in the next day or two. Clearly blossoming trees bring me joy.
….trios can be found anywhere
If you have some trios you’d like to share, just copy my link and paste it into your blog. I’ll get a ping back and will be sure to leave a comment. Have fun!
….thanks to Sue and her partner over at Weekly Prompts for hosting this challenge https://weeklyprompts.com/2022/05/25/weekly-prompts-wednesday-challenge-missing/
*WARNING* if you are offended by nudity in art or the antiquities you may not want to continue reading this post. Just saying…..
On our trip to London this year we spent a couple of hours at the British Museum. We went there primarily to see the Stonehenge Exhibition but our tickets were time sensitive so we decided to pass some time in the other galleries. The first gallery, on your right as you enter the museum, houses some of the collection donated by Hans Sloane who was directly responsible for the opening of the British Museum. He donated some 71 000 pieces from his personal collection on the premise that the museum itself would remain free of charge to the British people and anyone outside of Britain who wanted to see it. Sloane is not without his dark side and in recent years it was revealed that much of his collection and wealth were derived from slavery. In 2020 his bust was removed from the entrance and moved into the gallery next door and encased under glass with an explanation as to how slavery contributed to his wealth.
In this same gallery are many statues from ancient Greece and Rome. It is here that I found the ‘missing’ component of this post. It is not unusual to see parts of these statues with missing limbs and even heads but it seemed that every single nude male had his penis removed, not broken off but actually sliced off. I found this odd and I wondered why so I did some research.
Many scholars believe that the missing appendages fell off during an earthquake, which was quite a common occurrence in Greece and Rome but others believe that converts to Christianity back in the 5th century were offended by the exposed genitalia and the parts were consequently emasculated or were provided with a loincloth (cemented in place). In later years some believe that missionaries, dealers and some collectors had a hand in removing parts that they deemed offensive. This scant disrespect for the integrity of the items may explain the condition of the statues and sculptures that I witnessed on the day I visited.
In 1857 Queen Victoria was gifted a full scale cast of Michelangelo’s David . She was apparently so taken aback by the frontal nudity that the museum commissioned a fig leaf to conceal the offending genitalia for subsequent visits of Her Royal Majesty. On my our first trip to the V&A our son pointed out the gold plated fig leaf and explained the significance to us. We found it quite amusing.
If you want more information about how and why this happened you may find this paper by Jeremy MacClancy interesting.
Cutting and Covering Up Ethnographica: The Culture of Curatorshiphttps://www.theasa.org/publications/asaonline/articles/asaonline_0108.shtml
….after producing art pieces for my solo show at the end of June it was nice to just paint for fun
I’m currently taking a free course with Louise Fletcher called Find Your Joy. For the first assignment we had to tape off a large sheet of watercolour paper and choose three colours of paint plus black and white. I divided the paper into nine rectangles and then randomly started to add colour to the paper making sure to ignore the tape and go over it as if it were part of the painting.
The process is very intuitive, which suits me to a tee. After 30 minutes of mixing my colours and randomly laying down the paint and some black ink I stopped and carefully removed the tape. I was very happy with the results. Some of these pieces may end up in my show or not but the point was to have fun and escape from the realities of everyday life.
Thanks to Weekly Prompts for hosting this challenge: https://weeklyprompts.com/2022/05/21/weekly-prompts-weekend-challenge-escape/
…you know that summer is not far off when the sail boats at the yacht club are back in the water
I was pleasantly surprised when I walked by the yacht club earlier in the week to see that the boats had been taken out of storage and returned to the water. A couple of days later I saw a boat sailing by the park at the end of our street and a minute later I noticed a person on a paddle board making his away across the frigid waters, a little closer to shore. Brrrr…..even with the warming of the sun that day I knew that if he fell off the board into Lake Ontario it would be shockingly cold. I guess that’s why paddle boarders wear wet suits.
…..a little windy and cooler today
Despite the chilly winds, especially when the clouds pass over the sun, it was a beautiful morning for a walk and taking photos. I love the colour of the sky on mornings like this and how it reflects onto the water. Let me take you on my walk through my photos.
….now that I’m back home it’s time to pick up the pace on my walks and head back over to the beaches in my neighbourhood
….thanks to Jez for hosting I’m a fan of…..https://jezbraithwaite.blog/2022/05/16/susan-fan-of-156/
The hardest part of this challenge will be choosing which pieces of art to display here. I’ll choose art from our trip and try to limit it to one painting from each gallery we visited.
….waking up to grey skies
When I woke up the day didn’t look too promising, especially for getting out for a long walk. I quickly got dressed and headed out the door to get a few steps in before the rain started. I managed to complete a few chores in the backyard as well, like putting away the yard waste bags so they wouldn’t get drenched before garbage day, and cleaning out the wasp trap and filling the bird feeder. Here are a few photos I took on my short walk.
About mid-morning the rain started and I drove my husband to the clinic for his bi-monthly shot. On the way back we stopped at the store to replenish our milk, egg, fruit and cheese supplies. Once we got back home we made our first meal of the day.
The rain hasn’t amounted to much so far and it looks like it may have stopped for the day. I might be able to get out for another walk after all but in the meantime I have some paintings to finish. I’m starting to feel better about getting ready for my solo art show at the end of June.
….thanks Marsha for hosting Photographing Public Art Challenge https://alwayswrite.blog/2022/05/13/ppac-46-danger-in-lake-havasu-city/
After our disappointing discovery at the Curve Garden in Dalston our luck changed for the better. While looking at the scaffolding one of the curators from the garden came over to us and asked us if we were admiring the plants behind the metal barrier. We told her about our journey to find a Stik mural and how disappointed we were to finally find one that was almost completely hidden from view.
The curator’s name was Mari and she felt very badly for us. She told us the history of how the garden came to be and how much Stik supported this community project. The mural was very much visible when the garden was first built and they owned another one that was stolen after Stik became well known. She gave us a quick tour of the place and got our email address so that she could send us photos of the mural before the wall became a safety hazard.
In the second photo we see the lovely Mari who was so kind to us and next to her is Stik, the artist.
When Mari heard that we were going to the British Museum later that day she hesitantly told us that there was supposedly another Stik mural close by in the Phoenix Garden.
After seeing the Stonehenge Exhibition at the British Museum, Kevin checked google maps to see how close the Stik mural was from our location. Once again we were off on a mission. Coming from a city where all the streets run north and south and east and west we found London difficult to navigate because there are so many circles, diagonals and curvy roads. After a few missed turns we finally found ourselves on the right path and saw the sign for Phoenix Garden.
As soon as we stepped through the gates I saw what I thought could be the mural off in the distance. With his cane in hand, I swear Kevin started to run down the path towards the mural. Success…..we actually found a Stik mural.
Mama Cormier 