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Category Archives: art

High Pressure, A Puzzle and A Poem

Another hot day with high pressure and our ship’s barometer is overflowing which usually means a storm is on its way  – and just as I started to write, lightning flashed outside.

The following turned up when I uploaded today’s photos and I have no idea what I was trying to capture but I love the colours in  it. It’s a piece of art!!

Here’s a poem for you tonight, another by a favourite poet, Imtiaz Dharker. The opening verse is how it has felt here for the last few days, needing ‘space, light, empty air.”as the heat feels so oppressive and all the curtains are drawn to keep the house cool. But this is indeed the time to ‘be alive” and to feel all the “excitement.”

 

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Window, Book and Green Tunnel

We had a delightful breakfast with friends this morning, chatting, laughing and of course eating a delicious meal over more than two hours. On the way out I noticed the bistro window and was very taken with the illustration so carefully painted there.

My best book buddy lent me a book on Saturday and I have read it in two sittings. As it says on the back, “This is a gentle and welcome reminder that no matter what your age, there are always fresh discoveries ahead and pleasures to be enjoyed every day.”  That’s what this blog is all about, of course, and I thoroughly enjoyed this read. I have already read Margareta Magnusson’s The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, a practical and wise guide to clearing out the clutter so that your family don’t have to do it later.

Walking home from a film showing this evening, we came up Church Lane and loved the tunnel of greenery that we walked through.

 

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Peony, Bee and Pottery

A precious bud indeed, the only one to survive the wild rain and wind.

It’s so pleasing to see the pollinators at our flowers..

We have a lovely pottery in town where there are pots to buy and lessons to be had,  I’m tempted.

 

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Our Town Was Buzzing Today

Two celebrations in Redruth today – Murdoch Day ( a celebration honouring the legacy of William Murdoch, the pioneer behind the use of coal gas in lighting) and Redruth Pride and the town has been buzzing with the parade, activities, live music on various stages and lots of market stalls.   The sun shone too which is such a bonus. Enjoy the gallery and click on any photo for the caption and more detail.

Wonderful display outside our greengrocery/ butchery and deli shop

 

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Craftivism to Build a Better World Together

Over the years I have knitted, crocheted and sewn for all sorts of causes / charities.  The following is taken from the Craftivism Manifesto which you can see in full at the end.
“Your craft is your voice. Craftivism is about raising consciousness, creating a better world stitch by stitch, and things made by hand, by a person. Craftivism is about creating wider conversations about uncomfortable social issues. A craftivist is anyone who uses their craft to help the greater good or in resistance to a greater societal ill. A single individual crafting can make a difference. Or they can craft together and benefit from the fellowship of other crafters.”

At the moment I am knitting 5″ squares in red, green and white for Fariha whose words follow:

“We are looking for people to sew, crochet, knit or embroider squares for a project called Stolen lives, Stolen Futures. Gaza’s children remembered. Each square represents 10 children murdered by Israel. We are looking for 5” squares in black, red, white, green or a combination of these colours. Each square is precious like the children it represents. Please DM for details of where to post squares.

Fariha has kindly given me permission to share her photo and words. If you would like to make a square, I can pass you the address.

My squares so far

 

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Solar Energy, Cake and New Sculpture

 It’s Redruth Market tomorrow and I’ve baked a cake as usual but today, we used no power from the grid but just power from the sun!
Sue-next-door, her brother Pete and their friend Hal, have just installed Twigmaid (a smaller, travelling Mudmaid) into the courtyard behind St Martins-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, for the Lost Oasis. This Heligan-in-the-City is a beautiful green retreat in the heart of London with a bar, guest chefs, music and events.  If you, Dear Reader, if you are anywhere near, do go and visit.  Ute, maybe?

Isn’t she beautiful?       Made by Sue Hill and Pete Hill

Here is the original Mud Maid to be found in The Lost Gardens of Heligan here in Cornwall.

 

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Rijks Museum and Goodbye Amsterdam

The Night Watch by Rembrandt being cleaned, love the t-shirts

Miniature kitchen in one of the dolls’ houses

I Love this jacket!

Taken from the Eurostar on the way home after a brilliant holiday with our very good friends.

 

 

Stedelijk Museum and Blossombs

The Stedelijk Museum was fascinating, I’d been looking forward to seeing the Karel Appel works,

We later found a wonderful painting bursting with joy, Bal Tabarin by Jan Sluijters.

and discovered a room full of protest art work.

 

When in the gift shop, I found the perfect gift for Sue-next-door who looked after our place while we were away. I bought us a miniature egg box full of seed bombs too. Today, I have followed instructions and ‘planted’ them. We’ll look forward to seeing what comes up!

 

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Quirky Bits in Amsterdam

There were shops all over Amsterdam selling plastic ducks. After passing several , I went in to one to ask ‘Why?” It seems they are simply a retail opportunity to attract tourists!

One of the Duck shops

Information re ducks

I loved the decoration outside a shop selling children’s clothes, the decoration comprising of painted bicycle parts and enormous knitted strawberries!

On the corner of the street near our hotel, Roemers Hotel, was a house beautifully decorated with blue and white tiles near the top of the building. Lower down was a plaque to Maria Tesselschade Roemers Visscher. She is described by her friends mentioned below as  “attractive, musically talented, and a skilled translator and commentator from French and Italian.They also praised her skill at singing, painting, carving, glass engraving and tapestry work.” From Wikipedia.  

Here’s a translation for you:

If Tesselschade is unfamiliar to you, then you may know
That she was a friend of Roemer Visscher,

That she sat in the circle of singers
And with her stylus wrote wittily on the glass
And if you wish to find more merit and gifts
Speak to Huygens, Hooft and Vondel, her friends

PIETER HUISINGA BAKKER
Maria Tesselschade Roemers Visscher 1594 – 1649 poet

 

Street Art, Sculptures and Statues

We came across lots of interesting structures around Amsterdam.

Against the Tide by Rini Hurkmans  is a memorial sculpture honouring murdered Dutch journalist Peter R. de Vries who was shot on July 6, 2021, and died on July 15, 2021.

 

It’s worth reading this, if a bit of a struggle.

Gerardus Vossius and Caspar Barlaeus were pioneering Dutch scholars and the founding fathers of the University of Amsterdam. In 1632, they opened the Athenaeum Illustre, a city-sponsored academy that challenged Leiden’s academic monopoly and eventually evolved into the modern university I found this in a hidded garden off the book alley I told you about a couple of days ago.

We went to Amsterdam with our friends A&K and just had to find A’s Great Grandfather, Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis, 31 December 1846 – 18 November 1919) who was a Dutch socialist politician and later a social anarchist and anti-militarist.  Just learned that we share a birthday!

A translation of the plaque:  Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis  sculpture represents the rise of the labor movement in the 19th century. Prometheus is depicted in the relief. This Greek hero stole fire from heaven and gave it to mankind. In earlier designs, Polet had placed the Greek myth at the center, with a subordinate position for Domela. Only in a third design did Polet allow himself to be guided by the form of a statue on a pedestal. In his time, Polet was an important exponent of Expressionism within Dutch sculpture. Artist Johan Polet 1931

 

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