“Run from what’s comfortable. Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be notorious. I have tried prudent planning long enough. From now on I’ll be mad.”
For a long time I was well into the Art Nouveau stuff. I even bought and sold it in my shop.
The pic above is Beardsley drawing Oscar Wilde’s One Act Tragedy Salome.
Which reminds me of Sunset Boulevard. Norma Desmond has written a screenplay about Salome which she “knows” will re-activate her film career via Mr. Cecil. B. Demented.
I’m ready for my close-up.
P.S. Never liked Rod. Fake Scot. Though I love his Handbags and Gladrags song as sung by Stereophonics.
I spent over an hour in my local fabric shop with a new friend called Lulu.
Long story – a new 1800’s gown in the prep stage. Colour chosen (finally) deep wine red cotton.
Anyhoo and by the by. Through a different source I was recommended a book to read called Elephant’s Breath and London Smoke.
I knew immediately that this was about colour. My youngest and I painted his bedroom Elephant’s Breath.
WAY back in 2009 I wrote a post about 17th century fabric colours.
17th Century Textile Colours
One of my first ever research projects was on 17th century costume. I got a beautiful old, old costume book from the library and much to my disgust – I can’t remember the name of it.
Anyway – from that book I made a note of the names used for textile colours in that era. They are so evocative and always set the imagination running.
PANSY FLOWERING; RAYFLAX BLUE; SUMMER BLUE; ROYAL BLUE; TURQUOISE; WATER COLOUR; PALE BLUE; BEAN BLUE; PASTEL;
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DAWN; CORAL; PEACH BLOSSOM; PALE YELLOW; GOLDEN YELLOW; CANARY; SULPHUR ;
I love the idea of SICK SPANIARD – a yellowy olive.
JUDAS COLOUR- Silver.
TEMPS PERDU- I see this as a pale violet.
ANGRY MONKEY- Is red brown too obvious?
APE’S LAUGH- Again, a reddy colour. But only if they were always being pedantic
RESURRECTION – Oh Gawd! A blue-grey????
KISS ME DARLING – Pale pink, maybe.
MORAL SIN – Love this. A deep, vibrant, singing red.
TRISTAMI – Sorry, can only think of pepparami here. Oops.
SCRATCH FACE – Purpley (if there’s such a word)
SMOKED OX HAM COLOUR – Pinky, purpley (if it’s not a word, it should be!)
LOVE LONGINGS – Help!
CHIMNEY SWEEP – Too obvious????
FADING FLOWER – Mmmn. Pastel. Maybe like ashes of roses.
DYING MONKEY – Black, brown….ish
MERRY WIDOW – Deep Purple – nearly black but not quite.
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This new recommendation looks wonderful.
Have you ever read about a Victorian dress, and wondered: “What color, exactly, is heliotrope?”Did you ever read an Elizabethan novel and say: “Did anyone really wear Puke?”When Chaucer wrote: “his eyen bright citrin” – did you wonder about what color is citrin?This book will tell you about color in history – the names of colors, when they were used, how they were used, what they looked like, and where they came from. There are dye recipes, paint ingredients, poetic language and general commentary – all in the words of period writers. Along with the glossary of color names, you will learn about mourning colors, the effects of artificial light on color, advice on what colors to wear, the colors found in cosmetics and theatrical make-up, and the names of the colors of horses. You can read about symbolism in colors, heraldic colors, and complaints about the names of colors. I have studied fashion magazines, books of dye recipes, art books, painter’s manuals, mineralogy guides, tomes on color theory, metaphysical texts, poetry and fiction, but especially period dictionaries and encyclopedias. Any resource that might give a hint on what a color looked like or how it may have been used was examined, from Chaucer to Chemistry Journals. Most of the entries were printed in English, American, Canadian and Australian publications from around 1380 to 1922. Because, French was the language of fashion, many of the English terms are French words. I have tried to explain those colors, too.This dictionary endeavors to define color names in the words of the English speaking people who used those colors. It is especially aimed at women’s fashion, but artists will also find it useful. Now in its second edition, “Elephant’s Breath and London Smoke” has more than 600 new and updated entries. If you are curious about color, you will want this book.
BTW. It’s coloUr. Too many letters in the word ? ? ?
I’ve been lucky enough to find a company in the UK that sells Dead Stock.
THIS dead stock is fabric. When a company does a run of material for the public market, and not all of that run sells, it’s bought up by others for re-sale. At much lower prices.
I have a fantasy costume that I’m dreaming of making. I have the pattern. Now with access to much cheaper luxury materials (velvets/silks/brocades)… I’ll save up and challenge myself to make an historically accurate Safavid outfit.
Hard to explain but it’s an outer robe, an inner robe and a pair of trousers – as worn by 16th century Safavid women.
The video below is BS MS history about the Safavid Empire.
Jeebs. They were Turkish and Islamic and Byzantine but the “greatest” enemies of the Ottomans. Who were Turkish. Islamic. Byzantine.
Apparently the Sunni S’hia split has always been there. Yeh. OK. Whatever.
I did this debunk (see pic above) about 3 years ago but still the they insist on making a mystery of it.
Shrug.
A little ol’ Southern Lady can show y’all how it’s done.
Have a blessed day :o)
P.S. A true Renaissance artist would refine the technique but a bit of Portland Cee-may’nt, sand and water and some fine, fine material is all it takes.
but…But…BUTT…I’m not the person in year 3/4 still demanding a MEELYON$ from a certain yt channel.
What he’s done to bring that on him is not my business. But something WAS done that PROVOKED a blackmail.
If you don’t do xyz, I WILL DO ZYX.
Nowt to do with me. I’m a giver not a taker. And I’ve NEVER BLACKMAILED anyone in my life.
Some have tried it on me. I came back with the good old – PROVE IT.
And they Ran AWAY. Like a flock of seagulls denied a free meal
:o)
We have Love-Joy-Midas-Music-Seagulls-COWARDS here.
Jim Leonard, Lovejoy’s old mentor, asks for his help in a plot to sting greedy Dutch art dealer Hans Koopman, who once cheated Jim’s wife’s Judy’s late father. At a weekend house party where Tinker poses as a lord and Eric as a gentleman farmer, they persuade Koopman to buy a fake Klimt painting in exchange for a parcel of diamonds, but on Monday morning Lovejoy discovers that Koopman is not the only person whom the Leonards have deceived.
Look & learn. Or not. YOUR CHOICE, mes not-so-braves.
I-RAN. Our Iranian friends are back in touch. The father and the daughter. Constant comms. FACT!
Another day of boring chores but my mind has been elsewhere.
In audiobooks and the gold I’ve found therein.
I’m such a lover of Agatha Christie stories but my knowledge has proved to be extremely limited. Do you all know about Mr. Quin and Mr Satterthwaite?
Apparently they were two of Agatha’s fave characters…and she even dedicated her book of short stories – The Mysterious Mr Quin – as shown in the title above.
I’m on only my second story with these two and a thought just struck me. POW!
Harley Quin (Mr Quin) IS the aged Mr Satterthwaite’s subconscious mind.
Harlequin the Invisible appears and disappears at strange times in the old man’s life. And propels Satterthwaite in deep and mysterious adventures.
Every Night & every Morn Some to Misery are Born Every Morn and every Night Some are Born to sweet delight Some are Born to sweet delight Some are Born to Endless Night
When we lived in Gib I took watercolour lessons in Bleak House. Our tutor was a huge fan of Betty Edwards.
I learned about Negative Space.
I’m still learning :o)
Bleak House? Have I made that up? Nope. We lived at Europa Point and the big mansion called Bleak House was home to the local library – where my boys and I would spend many a happy hour – and also night school classrooms. And much more.
I’m not a fan of Dickens but I understand his place in the History of Literature.
I talked about Tove a while back. She was a writer and artist and is best known for The Moomins.
Excellently confortable ‘tablier’ style pull over dress, inspired by an painter’s apron which Tove Jansson (1914-2001,author of The Moomins, in Finland) wore in her portrait. You can also make it without collar to have traditional ‘tablier’. The large size pocket is also useful for any type of works. The pattern for the sleeves also contains both of half length and three quarter length.
After a bit of to&fro via email with Japan, I have bought this paper pattern.
Yay. Sexy as eff.
Or perfectly practical for a person like me.
Only thing is : Japanese peeps are teeny tiny.
My eldest son left us when he was 17…for a three week stay in Japan. He and his mate were well over 6 feet tall and the photos are hilarious. TinyTinyTinyTinyHUGETinyTinyTinyHUGE. Both blonde and standing well above the crowds.
Oh. And I have to cut the EXTRA LARGE version. Which is slightly insulting to a person with body issues.
I was asked the other day why only mad women do these Historical Clothing videos and I answered….Urm!
Also : Well – Men are actually some of the best tailors. I’ll look to see if I can find one.
Voila.
Edwardian Tailor.
I’ve heard of Mennonites before but know very little about them. So I did some research and wow! No wonder I felt good about this video. Their clothes are based on traditional Swiss/German Peasant Wear. Natural materials with simple lines. Not dissimilar to what I’m doing right now.
It all started with a collection of stunning sewing patterns by a Japanese woman who based them on Tove’s clothes. I fell in love and had to dive deep into the woman who’d inspired these amazing garments.
Tove Jansson.
Who? said I
First stop was The Moomins. Aaaah. We all know The Moomins. A sweet children’s cartoon series. But Tove Who? When? How?
We were having a discussion last weekend about childhood bedrooms. I’ve always let my boys decorate as and what they want…..EXCEPT when youngest wanted to paint his ceiling black. Then I got all forbidding and How Dare You!
My parents did this for us too. I painted my bedroom light purple. Had a dark purple bedspread and my Dad helped me paint all the furniture white.
I’m teaching my self Eco-Printing on paper. The results are amazing and beautiful so – thought I – as I have some spare calico cotton left, how about seeing if it can be done on fabric.
Yes. It can.
Yay.
But I also saw something else here. Too bizarre NOT to share.
All the materials used have to be natural. Plants, paper, alum, fibres. And part of the process is the boiling in water for a while.
You then end up with a negative image on the cloth………..
I’ve had a lovely couple of hours (apart from the snarky side chat about mad women on yt!) with Bernadette.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve watched her. I hadn’t realised that she’d moved from NYC to London.
Having been supremely organised (or maybe feeling lazy) I’m getting reacquainted with Historical Costumes and their construction.
Once upon a time, I made two 1920’s Opera Coats from silk – all hand-stitched – that were used in a local AmDram production of Thoroughly Modern Millie. True as…!
I’m just a self-taught amateur enthusiast. Ms. Banner is an expert.
I wrote recently about Sir Philip Sidney. For whom I have great admiration. And a bit of a girly crush (ssssh)
Historical Timeline Stuff can go by the wayside when he’s around :o)
I first began to really appreciate him when researching my novel. It was his link to Penelope Rich, the mother of Henry Rich … who was the lover of Marie de Rohan and by whom she had a daughter – born in London.
Sheesh. The Stuff that went on in that Tudor Court would put Hollywood to shame :o)
According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, its publication was “an important stimulus to the flowering of experimental research on imagery and memory.”[1]
Modern Library included The Art of Memory on its list of 100 best nonfiction books.[2]
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Most of us “moderns” will know this system via Tony Buzan or Sherlock.
In antiquity, the cloisonné technique was mostly used for jewellery and small fittings for clothes, weapons or similar small objects decorated with geometric or schematic designs, with thick cloison walls. In the Byzantine Empire techniques using thinner wires were developed to allow more pictorial images to be produced, mostly used for religious images and jewellery, and by then always using enamel. This was used in Europe, especially in Carolingian and Ottonian art. By the 14th century this enamel technique had been replaced in Europe by champlevé, but had then spread to China, where it was soon used for much larger vessels such as bowls and vases; the technique remains common in China to the present day, and cloisonné enamel objects using Chinese-derived styles were produced in the West from the 18th century.
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I’m lucky enough to own a couple of small but beautiful Cloisonné ashtrays that BFF bought me, when we were teenagers, from the Portobello Road Market in London.
If you ever get a chance to go there…Do it. It’s an experience and then some :o)
Apart from my Mum’s sister, Maureen, my brothers, my cousins and I are now the Older Generation of our blood family.
I was the one entrusted with a cardboard box full of old black and white photos of both my parents and their parents and multiple keepsakes from past generations.
To date I’ve kept this box in the attics. All contents jumbled up and uncatalogued. But not for much longer.
I’ve been watching many videos about Junk Journaling… made by incredibly talented crafters. BUT : they spend lots of money on digitised versions of old photos and that gave me a thought.
Why not make something beautiful and informative for the future generations?
My boys, my nieces and nephews etc are all of the digital age. They rarely write with pen and paper and all photographs are uploaded or downloaded on something that has to be plugged in first. They are the keepers of memories that are hostage to outside forces beyond their control.
I can make something that will be filled with Greigs and Hills, wrapped in acid-free tissue paper and stored for the next person who wants to know who and where they come from.
OKeyDokey – I have some small expertise in both these arenas too!
I was taught to knit – aged 6 – at Inverbrothock School in Arbroath. In fact, the whole class was taught. Girls and Boys.
Which is right and proper because many ancestral Scottish knitters were men. Like fishermen. Who’d need warm clothes and had plenty of time to knit as their boats sailed out to fishing grounds.
I also bought and sold “Vintage” clothes which I’d deconstruct and reconstruct via books on that specific time period that were available.
As your girl says below – Historical Accuracy in Costume Design is not exactly ACCURATE. Much like our history.
My favourite knits are the more complicated Arans/Cables/Guernseys. They have a mathematical pattern that is repeated throughout. Along with all increases and decreases. Much like life (?)
Of all the Pre-Raphaelite artists, Burne-Jones speaks to me most.
I adore his Briar Rose Cycle. A place to get lost in.
I often mistake a Briar Rose for a Dog Rose (which has seeded and grown in my garden these past two years…Yay!)
They are both wild and RAMPANT in hedgerows. And VERY thorny.
P.S. Lennox and Stewart mean something else to me…
MARGARET DOUGLAS
In 1544, Lady Margaret married a Scottish exile, Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox (1516–1571), who later became regent of Scotland in 1570–1571. In total the couple had eight or nine children,[17][18] four boys: Henry, Henry, Philip and Charles, and four unnamed daughters, though only two sons—Henry Stuart (1546–1567), born in 1546 at Temple Newsam; and Charles Stuart (1555–1576), who later married Elizabeth Cavendish in 1574—survived to manhood; one of their other siblings was called Philip, presumably after the Spanish king and husband of Margaret’s cousin, Mary I. Elizabeth Cavendish, wife of Charles, Earl of Lennox, was the daughter of Sir William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick.[citation needed]
I have had this novel on my shelves for more years than I am willing to admit.
I know more about Umberto Eco than this book. I’ve read several of his non-fiction works.
OK. I may be old enough now to handle this :o)
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The name of the central character, William of Baskerville, alludes both to the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes (compare The Hound of the Baskervilles – also, Adso’s description of William in the beginning of the book resembles, almost word for word, Dr. Watson’s description of Sherlock Holmes when he first makes his acquaintance in A Study in Scarlet) and to William of Ockham (see the next section). The name of the narrator, his apprentice Adso of Melk is among other things a pun on Simplicio from Galileo Galilei‘s Dialogue; Adso deriving from “ad Simplicio” (“to Simplicio”). Adso’s putative place of origin, Melk, is the site of a famous medieval library, at Melk Abbey. And his name echoes the narrator of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Watson (omitting the first and last letters, with “t” and “d” being phonetically similar).[16]
The blind librarian Jorge of Burgos is a nod to Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges, a major influence on Eco. Borges was blind during his later years and was also director of Argentina’s national library; his short story “The Library of Babel” is an inspiration for the secret library in Eco’s book.[17] Another of Borges’s stories, “The Secret Miracle“, features a blind librarian. In addition, a number of other themes drawn from various of Borges’s works are used throughout The Name of the Rose: labyrinths, mirrors, sects and obscure manuscripts and books.
The ending also owes a debt to Borges’ short story “Death and the Compass“, in which a detective proposes a theory for the behaviour of a murderer. The murderer learns of the theory and uses it to trap the detective. In The Name of the Rose, the librarian Jorge uses William’s belief that the murders are based on the Revelation to John to misdirect William, though in Eco’s tale, the detective succeeds in solving the crime.
The “poisoned page” motif may have been inspired by Alexandre Dumas‘ novel La Reine Margot (1845). It was also used in the film Il giovedì (1963) by Italian director Dino Risi.[18] A similar story is associated with the Chinese erotic novel Jin Ping Mei, translated as The Golden Lotus or The Plum in the Golden Vase.
Eco seems also to have been aware of Rudyard Kipling‘s short story “The Eye of Allah“, which touches on many of the same themes, like optics, manuscript illumination, music, medicine, priestly authority and the Church’s attitude to scientific discovery and independent thought, and which also includes a character named John of Burgos.
Eco was also inspired by the 19th century Italian novelist Alessandro Manzoni, citing The Betrothed as an example of the specific type of historical novel he purposed to create, in which some of the characters may be made up, but their motivations and actions remain authentic to the period and render history more comprehensible.[19]
Throughout the book, there are Latin quotes, authentic and apocryphal. There are also discussions of the philosophy of Aristotle and of a variety of millenarist heresies, especially those associated with the fraticelli. Numerous other philosophers are referenced throughout the book, often anachronistically, including Wittgenstein.
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I’ve also chosen not to watch the film until I’d read the book.
When I had my shop, I bought about 10-15 copies of ORIGINAL L’Illustration magazines from the 1930’s.
Why? Because I loved the style.
They are still in the original shipping package and I’ve been humming/hawing about cutting them up to craft with because they contain some drop-dead gorgeous gilded colour pictures.
The Mummy or Rameses the Damned is my all time favourite Anne Rice book.
I’m also very fond of the original 1999 film The Mummy…those clothes, that era.
Then we have my new fave crafter, Eva. She, too, is a fan of The Mummy film. Eva is Czech but I believe she lives in England now. I just adore her passion and her accent. Bohemian Crafting is her yt channel.
I also have The War of Art….somewhere in the house (?)
Steven Pressfield – whose fiction works I’ve never read.
It’s a “clever” book.
Think of The War of Art as tough love…for yourself.
Since 2002, The War of Art has inspired people around the world to defeat “resistance”; to recognize and knock down dream-blocking barriers and to silence the naysayers within us. Resistance kicks everyone’s butt, and the desire to defeat it is equally as universal. The War of Art identifies the enemy that every one of us must face, outlines a battle plan to conquer this internal foe, then pinpoints just how to achieve the greatest success.
Though it was written for writers, it has been embraced by business entrepreneurs, actors, dancers, painters, photographers, filmmakers, military service members, and thousands of others around the world.
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OK. I have NO SHAME in admitting that I have NO IDEA what a Rogan is.
Forget chronology and timelines and who did what, when. This is amazing.
From the get go my “enemies” have been increasingly predictable. What started as a plan to dishonour and destroy ME has turned into something totally different.
YES. I’ve made mistakes. TONS of them. BUT – eventually I learned to just sit back and watch. To THINK.
What was once used to shame me is now a perfect opportunity to shame the original shamers.
Hey – What You Give IS What You Get.
All it took was time and patience and an eye for DETAILS…Repetitions…Patterns…Copycatting…Syntax and the use of certain words…the Rhythms…the Knowledge of exactly WHEN TO HOLD THEM & WHEN TO FOLD THEM.
I might’ve made a Grand Chess Player if I’d had a childhood Chess Mentor (?)
2 days off for the …well. We had a nice time apart from the Case of the Missing Salmon!
Back to work, thought I and rallied the troops with a list of stuff and things and whatnots.
But none of us could be bothered really. What a lazy bunch!
I’ve been the worst of all. Working with my watercolours, vintage papers, old cereal boxes, lots of glue, big, little and medium size scissors, more glue, scraps of scrappy stuff, staying away from the glue that sticks one’s fingers together and such like.
I keep getting told off for creeping all over the sofa, floor & the other sofa. Eventually he banned me to the cold and lonely kitchen table with all my crap. I just got settled and the phone rang.
Emergency somewhere, get your PPE on, mate.
I didn’t smile….OK. I did. As I transported everything back to the room with the wood burner.
I’m in love with Marina. She’s Polish but her English is better than mine :o)
