Friday’s library snapshot ….
Preparing this to be catalogued for the Cole Library this week
Museum museorum, oder Vollständige schaũ bühne aller materialien und specereyen :nebst deren natürlichen beschreibung, election, nutzen und gebrauch, aus andern material-, kunst- und naturalien-kammern, oost-und-west-indischen reiss-beschreibungen … wie auchselbsteigenen erfahrung, zum vorschub der studirenden jugend, materialisten … u.s.w. also verfasset, und mit etlich hundert sauberen kupfferstücken unter augen geleget by D. Michael Bernhard Valentini published 1714 by J.D. Zunner’s sel. erben und J.A. Jungen in Franckfurt am Mayn
… is, I understand a complete set of a scarce work. A compendium of natural and artificial curiosities including descriptions of the Collection of the Royal Society of London Botanic Gardens at Leydon, collection once owned by German princes.
The engravings are numerous and exquisite.
Weekly Photo Challenge …
As a child, Alphabet or ABC books featured large in my early development. Like every child, on every nation as we began to communicate, read and write for centuries must have used them. I have written blog posts about them and even have a small collection. Looking back at them they are were a strange bunch of books and not, I think very useful, then and even less now as the world and its languages are more readily accessible.
So the value of these works of art are limited and destined for the museum .
However, Edward Lear the master of the alphabet is deserved of a second glance.
This morning I …
Last week I attended the funeral of a dear friend and my husband last his job. Both pretty horrible but I will not dwell on either; that has been done!
However, this morning while preparing for my first morning cuppa I broke the handle off my water jug. Such a shame, but not a disaster I have plenty of jugs to use, none of which match and not perhaps so aesthetically pleasing; none would detract from the taste or effect. Yet,I feel the need to repair the little gem and extend its life a bit longer. I don’t want to chuck it in the bin. So with a blob of superglue and the right attitude it will last a bit longer.
I do understand that in Japanese culture breakages are celebrated, and repaired accordingly with gold. I believe it is called Kintsugi.
So, while I know nothing about this procedure I would like to investigate it further and would value thoughts and ideas.
While a blob of glue and a twirl of gold may not bring back my friend or conjurer up a new opportunity for my husband … repair and adjustment can be beautiful and restorative
Silent Sunday …
Its Saturday …
So the year begins, with my regular fortnightly Friday art class.. This session was called Monochrome Heads we were expected to make portraits using inks or black and white paints. I used largish brushes, water and ink., also a Bamboo pen on brown paper. We were encouraged to look at the work of Marlene Dumas, a South African artist whose inspirational portraiture was on show at Tate Modern in 2015.
I am not familiar with her work and not sure if I liked it that much, but I could see some potential and having paid in advance; it would have been foolish not to attend.
I have over the last few months I have become more comfortable in the classroom but not yet inclined to play, which is a shame because this was the very opportunity to play after a sad week.
However, it was not all bad and the results not brilliant but not all destined for the bin.
Friday’s Snapshot from the Library …
You may be aware that I began a new reclassification project at the end of last year. It is going well although the first 100 or so items were biographies, dictionaries and lexicons mostly in German and not very interesting. This week marked a change in type of books and I celebrate. With a picture or two from The naturalist’s repository : or, Miscellany of exotic natural history : exhibiting rare and beautiful specimens of foreign birds, insects, shells, quadrupeds, fishes, and marine productions : more especially such new subjects as have not hitherto been figured or correctly described : forming a compendium of the most interesting modern discoveries in zoology by E. Donovan. Needless to say I am delighted about this prettier item and I am hoping this trend will continue for a while … however it might prove a little distracting.
Thursday … tea and a tribute
This week I attended the funeral of a dear work colleague. Brian and I worked together for two or three years in the same office. Him, cataloging publisher’s archive material and me, with my rare books. There was not much time for idle chat, but we did manage to pass the time of day and discuss politics. We were both left wing and had a distaste for the government of the time; New Labour and the recent and more abhorrent; Tories. Often, we would talk about affairs in Brazil, in more ways than one there were some common issues. He was a family man who loved sport, so enjoyed hearing about my daughter’s exploits in the favela, the World Cup, Olympics and the the vibrant political situation that surrounds them all. When I moved offices down the corridor we still managed to catch up; sometimes in the bike shed; we both cycled to work and would often met as we found space; again the conversations was concerning politics and of late it was about our new and favoured Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. We also met in the kitchen during welcomed tea breaks, he was always fascinated by my tea procedures but never tempted to partake in the green tea ceremony, but knew someone who did and I assume lived to tell the tale.
I am not sure what he drank, but talking about current affairs and putting the world to right was most important, or at least seeing it as it was … not altogether bad.
RIP Brian.
Wednesday’s woman …
Wednesday, again follows a day of blog post inaction, as a result of a funeral and a medical appointment. So, in a bid to bring some normality I honour Patti Smith. For the last few weeks I have dedicated myself to reading more by default, as it has been uncomfortable and sometimes impossible to to anything else.
Also, during this time I have been thinking about writing and publishing a book; in fact this has been on my mind for a long time, yet have done nothing about it. So Patti Smith has helped in some ways and in others made think that I don’t have the ability and perhaps I should leave it to the experts or those who have so much more to say.
Today,I have been reading a one her little books of prose called Woolgathering and she says, as if in a dream that she is ‘wading in a shallow pool … her daily journal is mocking her’. Already I can relate to this daily struggle; not to write, but to write something meaningful and appropriate, rather than self pitying drivel. Then she adds the phrase ‘movement is blessing’ and she is right, sitting and thinking is OK but it is the physical effort; the getting of the pen and paper and the doing is the catalyst … Thank You Patti Smith.
Weekly photo challenge … Weight
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My regular blog post on Tuesday to the weekly photo challenge was taken over by events. What with the sudden death of David Bowie who incidentally was not my favourite rock star and a personal disruption, it nearly passed me by.
Also, as you know I usually use a recent image, but as winter creeps on so the light levels decrease and I go to work and return home in the dark; so the appropriate image and the window of light don’t come together. So this is the ‘weight’ of my reasons for this week’s lack of image … I am hoping this poor snapshot of my ancient kitchen scales will suffice … Thank you
At the weekend …
My first memories as a child are those of Christmas; which looking back didn’t amount to much, in those days still in the time of wartime rations. So while there was not much in the way of special food, Christmas day was just a day, with a few extra delights that my mother could muster, my dad returned to work on Boxing Day, when lunch really was lefts overs from the day before.
Nonetheless. it was a perfect day, me and my siblings didn’t want it to end and the next opportunity to feel that joy was in 12 months; a lifetime away; it seemed.
Even though Christmas Day day has extended to several weeks or months, when we consider the phenomenal preparations, it, in my opinion doesn’t come near to the joy I felt then.
That doesn’t mean my life is full of woe and regret for those good old days of without and stoicism. Far from it, we have plenty of opportunities to share and celebrate throughout the year without the need to prepare or over spend, to keep us going before the so called annual festivals that so often can be a let down.
I had one on those days this weekend (a happy event I mean) Saturday morning was spent doing some printmaking using Plasticine as a ‘block’ impressed with odd and bobs. It was a happy community event that went on to become an art exhibition in our new Yellow Tea Pot Cafe … this was one of those occasions that will never be repeated like the second cup of tea never matches the first draft!
In my enthusiasm I didn’t take pictures of the event but this image is the result of the morning session.
Coat Hanger Doll's House 