Lisbon legend

I'm involved in a cultural project that gave me occasion to travel to quite a few places in Europe this year, attending a lot of storytelling events.
Some stories have a strong visual content and I can actually see specific images.
Listening to the legend of Lisbon - with its hills and its springs - while actually walking through the beautiful district of Alfama was truly great. And it definitely left a trace.
So I finally sat at my desk and tried to give shape and colour to what I had in mind.

The legend tells about a place inhabited by giant snake women who didn't allow anybody to be in their land, especially men. Then one day Ulysses arrived, the queen of the snakes fell in love with him, they lived together and loved each other for long, but then the longing for another dearest land called Ulysses and....

I had fun using mixed media - inks, watercolours and golden/copper leaf - having in mind Alfama, its overwhelming white, its light, its cobblestones and the deep green of some window panes and doors - which makes me think about Arabian nights. Well, the place it's actually more colourful that this...but this is imagination..

Autumn

Autumn has definitely started with its beautiful colours and its chilly breeze. Well, at least here in Scotland...still very different issue in the Mediterranean!
Pottery classes have also started and I look forward to get my hands on clay and make new things.
Here are some items I made with the throw some time ago - plus a little tile dedicated to the pomegranate, one of the most beautiful Autumn fruits.

Chickpeas and Rosemary

I'm working on some new ideas, which I would like to develop soon, slowly but steadily. 

Playing with pottery and illustration here are some small results, dedicated to two very common plants which are also the basic ingredients of a very popular italian recipe: pasta e ceci. 

Recipe to be shared soon :-)

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Candleholder fish

Here is my first object using the pinch pot technique.

ABC Animals - X-Ray fish...Pesce cardellino

The word X-Ray fish may recall the image of some terrifying creature living in the darkness of the abysses. It's actually a tiny fellow living in the Amazon and having the characteristic of being a little bit transparent...to the point that you can see through it.
In Italian its nickname is Pesce Cardellino, as its colours recall those of the Goldfinch.

ABC Animals - Frogs and Toads

The frog prince meets the golden toad...
One is not a real frog, the other one is a real toad...but it sadly looks like it's now extinct.

We all grew up knowing that the frog prince regained its human shape after being kissed by a lovely princess. But in the original version of the story - as collected by the Grimm brothers - the frog becomes a prince after being thrown against a wall by a princess who was loathing it.

When it meets the golden toad maybe a new story could start?

ABC Animals - Complete!

This week I finally completed the animals alphabet, or at least the English side of it with its 26 letters.
I'm quite happy about it and I will keep on working on some new fellows, so that also the Italian side will be ready.
I have now scanned the originals and made the first prints, ready to be mounted on wood and soon ready for purchase on my Etsy shop.
I wish scanning and printing was a straightforward task. I found myself fighting with technology for quite a few hours...and as a result of it even a yellow kangaroo came out from the printer.

Making raku pottery

Here are my first two raku pieces. The process of raku pottery is really fascinating and the surprise element at the end of the second fire is quite strong. I'm very happy with the results and look forward to experiment more.

ABC Animals - Vicuna

When I had to think about an animal starting with letter "V" I bumped into the vicuna / vigogna.
So far my representation of vicuna was just in a form of some kind of a soft wool and I honestly never thought about the animal it came from.
It turns out it's a graceful animal with gentle eyes living in the South American Andes.

ABC Animals - Lemurs

Dedicated to Madagascar and its beautiful wildlife.

There are several types of lemurs and here is the ringtail - although it doesn't quite look like a robber as I wanted to.

Some time ago I also sketched the sifakas, it's quite funny the way they jump and it's still a mystery how they manage to live in the harsh environment of thorny plants without hurting themselves.

Ringtail lemur

Sifaka lemur

"Thorny kind of love"

Growing kale/cavolo nero

Kale / cavolo nero keeps growing in the balcony, but it's still too small to be eaten.
Meanwhile it inspires with its colours and shape.

Scottish woods in winter

It was great to take a break from the town and go the Highlands. We enjoyed some winter walks in Scotland's native forests, with their pine trees and bushes of heather. We were supposed to also spot red squirrels...but we didn't. Maybe next time.

The fellow that lives in the Scottish forests

ABC Animals - new entries

I slowly go on with drawing an illustrated alphabet in English and Italian, only based on animals.

Here are the new fellows...

First attempts at the pottery wheel

Here is my very first object realised with the pottery wheel. I accidentally cracked the bottom while it was still wet...I tried to adjust it putting a fish on it. Well the problem is still there...not for liquids.

The other attempts at the pottery wheel were more satisfying...

A French wedding in Scotland

You may discover funny things on occasion of hen parties...such as the answer to: "If he was an animal what would it be?". To my French friends for their Scottish wedding...

Drawing on pottery - singing birds

Last December I had my usual visit to the pottery studio of Raku, for decorating some tiles for their Christmas fair. All the regular size tiles were gone though - I was late! So I decided to put my four singing birds in a big one. Now all together they sing Domenico Modugno's song "Nel blu dipinto di blu" . After the first fire I wanted add a touch of green...so it would have been be very Italian overall.

New start

January can be quite grey and dull, but it can also be the month of waking up resolutions and ideas - old and new. Some may end up sleeping under the ground, but others will pop out like snowdrops.

I've been playing with quite a few creative ideas for a while and hope I'll have the determination of getting started with them, do more crafty/arty things and share what I do.

Meanwhile, it was nice to see that my friends did a great job in watering my plants while I was away. One of them is even flowering...I take it as an encouragement!

Thank you Kasia and Joana :-)