The Glories of Luca Signorelli in Orvieto

So many pictures today!  These are from our first daylight look at this lovely town and include a brief look inside the Duomo.  As these will be only a fraction of the ones I took, to me the number is negligible so hold on to your hats.

Yesterday I posted the medieval (mid 1300's) clock tower in the Piazza Del Duomo (Cathedral Plaza) but neglected to explain what it was.  I'll try to explain more fully as I go along - or at least when I can.  Below is the medieval Palazzo Del Capitano Del Popolo in the Piazza Del Popolo.  Basically the mayor's official residence and place of business in the People's Plaza.  We discovered the triumphal staircase that took us up to a lovely walkway about two floors up.  From there we could look down on the market taking place in the piazza below.  This building as I discovered from the book we bought was made completely from "tufa", a volcanic stone found all over this area.  It's a gorgeous color.

Here's a view of the elaborate architecture - the Romanesque arches over the windows.  It was a magnificent building, but someone had a sense of whimsy.

Here's what I mean.  I'm not exactly sure what the function of this super dragon was, but it didn't matter to me.  I fell in love.  He's such a delight, isn't he?  Oh, by the way, if you check out the background, you'll see the tents I mentioned in the market place below.

From my new vantage point, I was able to see the tents below that covered the merchants and their wares but was also able to see the Torre Del Moro and its clock and bells beyond a gorgeous salmon tinted building and another handsomely weathered building.

Doorways and windows.  I told you they are a weakness.  Look at this window.  The arch and the simplicity of the window itself attracted me first, but as I looked through the lens of my camera, I saw the fading paintings.  It's a keeper.

On a totally different note, I couldn't resist this cat waiting for its morning latte.

Then the Duomo was finally open.  Even on the inside the black and white (white marble and travertine) was evident. The windows were like light through amber or honey, warm and delicious.  The bottom is translucent alabaster (gasp!) and the upper stained glass.

Organ pipes - very ornate housing! Suitable for one of the largest organs (over 5000 pipes) in Italy, I guess.  Only wish we could have heard it.

And now the stunning frescoes of Luca Signorelli.  Don't forget to click on the photo so you can get a larger view it.  The first one is Deeds of the Antichrist (who is in the red robes with the Devil whispering in his ears. Signorelli is the man in black on the left and Fra Angelico (the painter who started painting in the Duomo 50 years before.  It seems to me that at that time, artists were more open about acknowledging those who went before, those who opened the path to knowledge.  Signorelli was letting the world know what he owed Fra Angelico.  It's a lesson I hope I have learned.

A close-up of the above fresco.  

Signorelli's work again.  A poet? dramatist? the laurel leaves support such an idea.

Signorelli himself looking up at his work?

Two fantastical creatures.  Just beautiful, beautiful work, but I don'tknow who did the work.

Designs created by ???

The vault above the Signorelli frescoes.  This work was begun by Fra Angelico and completed by Signorelli.

There was so much more to see.  I think we'd have had to spend months in the Duomo to adequately see everything it had to offer.  Maybe I'll have to go back again.

First Hill Town - Orvieto

We left Tarquinia and arrived in the parking lot at the base of the hill on which Orvieto is perched.  From there we had to take a funicular to get to the city itself.  I wished the ride had taken longer!  But once in Orvieto itself, I was happy to have gotten there quickly.  One gets off the funicular, walks a little way and BOOM there's the stunning black and white (in horizontal stripes, no less!) Cathedral (which, because I am writing about Italy, I will usually use the term Duomo).  No time for gawking yet; we had to schlep our luggage to our Hotel which was just perfect. 

Here's the view from one of our windows - the side of the Duomo!  On top of that delight, I quickly realize I was looking at parts of the architecture that I might not really have noticed from street level. 

Just look at this delightful detail! Every little bit of this building has been deliberately decorated; nothing was considered unimportant.  While I'm not too sure what the purpose of this section is (buttress?), I find it charming.

Now, honestly I'm not sure I could see this next view from that window (I'm pretty sure I couldn't), but even if it's from the street level, it's an unusual view from the back of the facade. See what I mean about decoration all over?

But, here's the view from a second window.  I love the roof tops - all those different levels and different materials make it perfect for sketching.  There were also gardens to see, too. Now did I sketch?  I started one here - but had to stop for the dinner bell (I never did get any drawing or painting done. We were on the go every minute.  Note to self: hand-sewing next time!).

After organizing ourselves a bit, we went out for a walk around town before dinner.  If you look at the last window photo, you will see different clock tower from the one in the close-up below.  And yes, we slept through the bonging of the hours!

D is looking in a ceramics shop below.  I really wanted to purchase a piece of pottery that had a view of the "typical" Tuscan landscape.  But, as we hadn't seen any of that type of landscape just yet and our journey had really just begun, we decided to wait and add that weight to our luggage later in our trip.  It was fun looking, though!

Across from that shop was the Duomo and a lovely pattern in the pavement.  Another collectable/1  

Next we wandered down this twisty street.  Others had the same idea, but it wasn't crowded.

Walking down that street and looking back the way we came, you can make out the cathedral.  Unexpected views are such a bonus!

This short alleyway was more to my liking - photographically at any rate.  Look at the details of the first archway.  Remember that alleyways are one of the "things" I collect - photos are easier to carry than lots of souvenirs!

It was beginning to get later.  Watching the changing light while pinching myself about being in Italy added to my admiration of the sky.  And the street light perched on the side of buildings was a bonus.

Tomorrow I'll show you the photos from the Duomo itself.  Originally I wanted to cover each different location in one entry, but since then, I have realized that there is really too much to cover in one day.  Instead I will decide based on the number of photos that I want to share.  Trying to do too much in one day will be - well, foolish!

Tarquinia - Etruscan City

On our way from Rome to Orvieto, we stopped in the outskirts of Tarquinia, a major city in Etruria around the 7th century B.C.  That's before the rise of the Roman Empire.  OK, so I was awestruck in the Coliseum; here I couldn't even begin to comprehend how old the tombs we came here to see were.

Yes, we were there to visit an ancient necropolis, or city of the dead.  I have photographs, but the quality is poor.  The day was overcast, the tombs were underground, and the decorated chambers were protected against entry with heavy, usually yellowed or scratched plexiglas.  But the first thing we saw was this - our first pomegranate tree.  We would see several during our trip, but as our first, this was a thrill.

Below the tombs you see are simple and probably for people of moderate means who were cremated and buried in a hole.  Then these "structures" were placed over the remains.  In the background you can see some modern, small buildings which mark the entrance to more elaborate, underground tombs.

The names given the tombs are descriptive.  Since the names of the individuals buried here aren't known, using a description of the illustrations in the tomb as a way of identifying them makes sense.  Below is the Tomb of the Leopards.  On the right, you can see a reclining man, a banqueter who has an egg (a symbol of life) in his out-stretched hand.  (By the way, my information comes from the descriptors outside the tombs ((I take pictures of them)) and/or from a book we bought while there.) 

Notice the leopards up near the peak of the ceiling and the fish leaping out of the water below.

This is as much of the left side of the same chamber as I could get.  The party continues with another reclining man who has a bowl and a ring (the source says it's to be used in a game).

This next one is called the Hunting Pavilion, and I love the animal near the ceiling.  The panther(?), his coloration, and almost human face is intriguing.

The frieze of horses looks like Greek pottery, and you can also see that this part of the ceiling.  It's a checkerboard design.

I wish this picture were of better quality as this "feeding deer" is truly very lovely.  Since this "pavilion" is painted to simulate a tent, I guess the deer is being seen at a distance through an open flap in the tent.

And now I will let you read about this next two from the descriptor outside the tomb.  You won't be able to see everything described.  Naturally we couldn't enter the tombs so it wasn't possible to get a straight-on shot of the side walls, but I hope that by clicking on the photos to enlarge them, you'll get a sense of what we saw.

Finally, the clouds were gathering though we were in the snack area getting lunch when it rained briefly on one side of the rest area but not on the other where we were!  

You can see the path dividing and stretching on to still more tombs, but we elected to move on to our next destination since we still had a way to go before we would get to Orvieto, our next destination.

Italian Vacation

We've just come back from two weeks in Italy.  What an absolutely fabulous vacation (which, by the way, will certainly yield inspiration for several paintings) - that you will learn a lot about - if only through my photographs.  

Starting with Rome where we entered Italy:

Above is our other entry - into ancient Rome through the Coliseum.  Ask yourself how many books (fiction and nonfiction), films, paintings,and photographs you've read or seen in which this edifice figured.  All I know was all those printed words and images faded from my mind as I walked through the entryway to ancient history.  Do I sound a bit too poetic?  Probably.  I am trying to find a way to tell you how moving entering this place was for me.

Surprisingly enough, the Coliseum seemed smaller than I expected . . . until I realized the ruins of the passageways below "ground level" seemed to fill up a space I thought would be empty.  You might see what I mean in the photo below.

But that doesn't mean that it wasn't any less beautiful.  My favorite daytime photo is the one below where you can see the "modern", colorful buildings through the Coliseum's archways.  I have to remind myself all things are relative; the buildings through the archways are modern only in relation to the age of the Coliseum.

The following are just some random photos I took on our way back to our B&B for a rest and supper.

Below is a mosaic on the corner of a building near our B&B.  While religious plaques are common, this one struck me as particularly lovely.

You will discover I have a fondness for certain things like doors, windows, shadows, architectural details, well - many things.  Here's a photo that includes a couple of those things.

Oh, and I also love patterns - like the floor in the Pantheon.

And light - here's the opening in the dome of the Pantheon that lets in air and light.

This is a fun shot of everyday people in the rain going about their everyday lives - a moment captured simply because I was taking a picture of a gorgeous building.

This is just a, "Wow, look at that strange car!" picture.

And one of my very favorite photographs from Rome - the Colliseum at night.

Never thought I'd see that!

A Tale of Binding

Oh, I just have to laugh!  Today I took on my least favorite quilting task - that of binding.  I need to explain why I dislike doing something that others love because, for them, it represents the completion of a project.  For me, it represents a barrier between one project and the siren song of a new one.  Friends say they love the soothing nature of the hand-sewing that is part of this task, and they are surprised that I, who love hand sewing, dislike this.  My response is that I practice hand sewing as a part of the creative process not as a tedious, "required" non-creative part - like writing footnotes.  By the way, as another note of explanation, I like to have quilts finished; I just don't enjoy the finishing

Well, anyway, I was determined to make and attach a hanging sleeve and bind a very small wall hanging.  It's one I really like and would be happy to have it finished so it could be displayed.  The fabric for the binding was the same as the background material, and there wasn't much left.  In order to stretch the amount of fabric, I planned to include as part of the binding two strips of 13" each.  They are composed of small pieces of the various other fabrics that make up the focal elements in the wall hanging.  In order to use those two strips, they had to be sandwiched between two pieces of the background fabric. That was easy enough to do.

The difficulty arose when I realized that the colorful strips had to wind up on the right side of the quilt!  Sound easy?  It isn't!  Quilters will understand.  Binding consists of fabric that is two and a quarter inches wide which is then folded in half.  It is sewed on to the quilt by machine with right sides together.  In short, the colorful bit of the shouldn't show when the binding is attached to the wall hanging.  

Okay.  In order to do all that and do it correctly, I had to take my brain out, dust it off, turn it up-side down, and backwards before returning it to my empty head.  Clearly, I didn't do that correctly because not only did I not get it right the first time, I didn't get it right the second time I tried.  And if that weren't enough, I didn't get it right the third time either!  Finally, because of the way I sewed the binding, I had to sew it on the back of the quilt.  That's a no no.  

Too bad.  That's the only way it'll work on this wall hanging.  It also means that the hand sewing part of the binding will be on the front so I darn well better do a really, really good job of it!

Improvisation #1: Texture in White

Talking with colleagues (who also happen to be friends) can be enlightening to say the least.  A work that one thinks is within heartbeats of being finished becomes a "Well . . . . hmmm . . .  maybe  . . . if you? . . . perhaps . . . (cough, cough, eyes tearing, nose blowing)."  

Sound awful?  Well, if you're really lucky and these friends are experienced art quilters, kind, and good at giving constructive criticism, you wind up feeling liberated, full of ideas and enthusiasm, and fully charged to get back to work.

Here is the piece I thought was close to being complete:

Okay, it's a photograph taken on my phone with the flash on (how did that happen?  I know better!  Flash can make a decent photo awful, okay, maybe just not as good as it could be). The buttons and brown coiled tulle aren't sewn in place because they'd get in the way of the quilting.  All of the sewing has been done by hand so the quilting will be done by hand, too - which I'm looking forward to.  

After hearing a lot of silence (you know the phrase "the silence was palpable"?), my friends finally admitted that the brown tulle was a major hurdle. What I thought was the money maker, the element that raised this piece above the pedestrian, becomes the money drain, that which makes people wince.  Ha!  That was the biggy, but there were several other minor issues - problems of both commission and of omission.  

Here's the good part.  Those same people plunged right in, explained, and suggested until I could see my way through to some possible solutions.  By the end of our meeting, I was happily working on one easy fix after having decided how to salvage the tulle element in a way that will really pull the piece together.

How painful was all this?  Not one bit!  With a supportive group that is. This kind of group is a gift.  Spending time with such intelligent, kind, and knowledgeable women is such fun and so rewarding that criticism is truly constructive instead of painful. And now I have the joy of re-imagining this piece in the same way I approach a water color study.  I feel I have solid plans as well as at least some of  the skills to bring it closer to a successful finish. 

And I will show you when it gets to that point!

New Table Runner

What a weekend!  Saturday I took a quilting class from Linda Fieldhouse offered by JQ, and it was fabulous.  First of all, this was the first time ME and I had met this teacher let alone taken a class from her so we had no idea what to expect, but we both really liked the table runner we would be making.  Second, it was a class that required the use of a new ruler, and oh, I do like rulers that are worth collecting!

Here is a photo of just a little bit of Linda's table runner:

I like these fabrics and the combination of colors so much that I chose the same for mine.  Of course, I did change the border and added some different fabrics within the pattern, but essentially it will be the same runner.  The ruler was a great help, but no where near as wonderful as Linda.  She walked us through the pattern and the use of the ruler like a pro.  Both made the construction a pleasure.  

Have I finished it?  No, but I will be able to of that I am confident!  My sewing time today was spent cutting more pieces so I can make my version larger, and in a day or two, I will be back to stitching.

Thanks to Linda!

1913 Farm for the Last Time

Today I had lunch with a very good friend from our teaching days, but before that I was able to spend an hour working on the watercolor study.  Then off to lunch for memories and laughter.  Back to another hour on the 1913 Farm and then an hour on quilting.

Here's the 1913 Farm from Tuesday:

And here it is from today:

Now, what do I think? More than ever I am wondering if this scene is worth a full blown finished piece, and right now, my answer is no.  It is a scene I love and look forward to seeing every year on our vacation.  BUT . . .  having spent time painting it, I realize that my emotional attachment is one thing, and the artistic merit is something altogether different.

This is probably the first time I've really explored this dichotomy - something I love isn't worth painting.  Wow!  It's like looking at a photo  of a beloved grandchild only to realize that he/she isn't especially photogenic.  Not an easy realization but necessary.  

You may not see any more studies of this particular landscape; like many a grandparent, I have to come to terms with what I love isn't of interest to anyone else.

Open Letter to E

A week ago, I received an email from E to which I did not respond.  E, this entry is for you:

Dear E,

You sent me an email about the two hours I spent painting almost every morning while we were on vacation.  In looking back on your email, I feel ashamed.  I am ashamed that I've allowed you to think that I do this as a matter of course in my "at home" life.  That is not what happens.

As an example, today D had to leave early for an appointment.  He wasn't here for most of the morning so there was no one to distract me from painting for two hours without interruption.  He didn't need to be here as I did a great job of distracting myself.  First there was a shower followed by cleaning two bathrooms' showers and a tub.  Laundry came next. Tidying the studio took a great deal of time because I've been working on several projects, and the morning was gone.

You see, E, I haven't continued working as I did on vacation.  Like you used to do, I've developed a habit of scheduling appointments for the first thing in the morning and have a habit of doing chores before doing anything else because I worry that the chores won't be done if I wait until afternoon.  

Now I say, "So what if they don't get done?"  Grab a small piece of E's courage and change my self-imposed schedule.  It was easy to do on vacation - it wasn't my house!  But since I spent only 2 hours painting, if I did that here, like you I would still have time to "take care of business".

Thank you for that letter.  I didn't deserve it, but you have made me think about why I don't and what I can do about it.

Love,

N

Let's see if I have something to show tomorrow!

1913 Farm - Water Color Study #1

Last week I wrote about the two sketches I did of this subject. Tonight I have the first watercolor study.  There's not a great deal to say about it, but it is very, very light - not unusual for such a study.  However, it does make it difficult to see:

Very little detail work has been done yet, but I did include the windows in the farm house so one could both identify it and find it.  The reddish roof is a nearby out-building.  The orientation of the house isn't accurate, but it doesn't worry me in this first pass.  

The colors I used for the distant mountains are not as I'd like nor as well applied as I'd wish.  The farthest range was originally so light I could hardly see it even when it was wet so I changed the color.  That one looks almost grainy and spotty.  The middle and the closest mountains are too close in color to make out the difference between them.

While the trees are all right, I didn't do very much to distinguish them.  My plan was to go back in after the paint dried and add definition, but there wasn't enough time.  The same is true of the field.  

Oddly enough, I think this study has elements of both sketches even though that was not a conscious decision this morning.  Right now I am using generic pieces of paper I had prepared (cut from a larger sheet and taped to my foam board) after I finished working on the studies for the Mews.  I did that so I wouldn't have to face that chore when I'd really rather paint, but now I feel compelled to use them correct proportion or not.  

Before I go on, I'll tear and mount sheets proportionally correct even though they might be smaller than the final painting.  All and all, I am enjoying this exercise, but I don't think it is a terribly exciting composition.

Haste Makes Waste

Last night I held up the quilt I had - almost - finished at Quilt Camp and discovered the mistake I made when hurrying to complete it.  It was Sunday, and we leave Quilt Camp by 4:00 so I buckled down to work as soon as we got there in the morning.  First I sewed the blocks into rows, and by lunch I had sewed the first four rows together into a unit and the final three rows into another unit.  Then I took a break and ate lunch.

After lunch thinking the end was within my grasp, I quickly sewed the two units together and turned my attention to preparing the two borders.  Even though I got distracted for a while, I did make good headway and managed to cut and sew on three sides of the first border.  By the time we headed for home, the knowledge I hadn't completed the entire project had stopped stinging.  It was so close to completion I reasoned that I could safely expect to get it all ready by next weekend.  That's when I have class at the same quilt shop and would therefor be able to turn over the quilt to the machine quilter.

BUT, last night I found that I had sewed the second unit (of the bottom three rows) to the first upside down!  Now I have to take the borders off, un-sew the two units, re-sew them the correct way, re-sew the first border, prepare the second border, and sew it on after checking that everything is oriented correctly.

That's why haste is such a waste of time!

A Pitcture is Worth . . . ?

After spending three days at a Quilt Camp, I am happy but tired. Instead of trying to write an entry worth reading, I post a photograph of the vegetables we purchased at a local farm stand recently.

Such beautiful colors - maybe I'll have to paint them some day.  Until then I'll relax and write more tomorrow.