Where Do You Get Your Inspiration?

By: ornamento.blog
Art, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, inspiration, Philadelphia, , Leave a Comment on Where Do You Get Your Inspiration?

 

I was  going to write a post a few months ago about a wonderful visit I made in July 2019 to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology. But one thing led to another as it usually does. The Penn Museum post went into the drafts folder and I went on to other things. I recently returned from Southern Spain(Seville and Granada)where I was overloaded with Spanish Baroque interiors. They are beautiful, but after awhile, you feel like you’ve eaten too much birthday cake. (At least I did).

 

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Catedral de Granada, Santa Iglesia Catedral Metropolitana de la Encarnación de Granada

“Where do you get your inspiration?” is a question I sometimes hear. And while I will not be making a Spanish Baroque wedding cake any time soon, I find inspiration pretty much everywhere.  Which brings me back to the Penn Museum.  There is certainly enough to inspire anyone who spends an afternoon (or better, the whole day) there.

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Koi Pond

The Mesopotamian jewelry collection is outstanding.  Here are some pictures, but it’s better to see the collection in person.  Royal Tombs of UrUr Headdress

The Near Eastern pottery collection is also very interesting.  These pots are from Iran.

I was so taken with the pot shaped like an Erlenmeyer flask  that I decided to make my own version using the tar paper technique,   Here’s where memory and inspiration clash: I remembered the shape upside down.

3d6efd914115433b5fe2ff5655a7a570There’s a picture of the finished version in this post.  The pot was auctioned off at Clayathon  and went home with a (I hope) happy person.

But I think I love the Mexico and Central American collection best because it contains some striking Mayan artifacts as well as jewelry and pottery.

I love that turtle (I think) vessel and could see myself trying a colorful terra cotta version.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Marionette Museum Lisbon

By: ornamento.blog
Art, Le Mutt, puppetry, Travel, travel photography, , , , 2 Comments on Marionette Museum Lisbon

The Marionette Museum in Lisbon wasn’t mentioned in any of the guide books or web sites consulted before the trip.  But my friend Rachel, who had recently returned from Portugal, raved about it.  That and I have a penchant for traveling with Le Mutt who is the creation of puppeteer Francesca Hoerlein.  How could I resist?

The Lisbon Marionette Museum houses more than marionettes.  Its collection contains hand puppets, shadow puppets, masks, props and, of course marionettes from all over the world.

Greek

Puppets have been around for thousands of years.  There was a puppet theater in Greece in the 5th Century BCE.  And puppets might even be older than that.

We all remember puppet shows from our childhood.  But puppets are more than dolls used to entertain children.  Puppets tell stories, sometimes subversive stories, that live actors would not be allowed to perform.

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And puppets are are made from every material imaginable.  The Museum houses creations made of cloth, wood, class, metal and clay.  I am sure there are 3D printed puppets out there.

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Be sure to visit the Marionette Museum if you are in Lisbon.  It’s not a big museum-you can see the entire collection in a couple of hours-and you will be glad you did.  Here are some more pictures.

Jeweler’s Row

By: ornamento.blog
Art, Jewelers Row, Philadelphia, Philadelphia History, Sansom Street Philadelphia, , , , Leave a Comment on Jeweler’s Row

Jeweler’s Row is a Philadelphia treasure the future of which is being threatened by potential unbridled development.   Jeweler’s Row, located on the 700 block of Sansom Street, was not always the seat of the Philadelphia jewelry industry, having been home to the printing and engraving trades before morphing into a jewelry district around the  1880’s.   Many jewelry store proprietors from the Delaware valley and South Jersey made weekly trips to Jeweler’s Row to drop off and collect repair jobs, replenish their stock and to meet with their fellow jewelers to talk business.

A developer sold a brace of buildings to Toll Brothers Builders in 2017 and Toll Brothers got permission to tear down the buildings to erect a high-rise apartment building.  There was plenty of opposition from the neighborhood and community groups but in the end it didn’t matter.

Last week, I got to tour 708 Sansom Street which is one of the buildings slated to be demolished.  It is a cavernous four-story building with tin ceilings and ornate hardware.  As I walked from floor to floor, I could see that the tenants, the majority of whom were manufacturing jewelers,  were in the process of moving their equipment out of the building and finding new space for their businesses and studios.

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I imagine that 708 Sansom Street supported many families over the years and that its tenants were a close-knit bunch.  Now it is like a ghost town.

89101114Most of the former tenants have found new space but it has not been easy.  Many of them have had to relocate away from Sansom Street.  715

While it’s true that the only constant in life is change, and that the face of the jewelry business is changing, there is still room for places like Jeweler’s Row.  These business districts and manufacturing centers still serve a purpose.  But then again, you never really miss something until it’s gone.

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My New Polymer Clay Heroes

By: ornamento.blog
Art, Le Mutt, Polymer Clay tutorials, Travel, , , , , , 1 Comment on My New Polymer Clay Heroes

I’ve always known that I was a late bloomer.  I’d heard of Ana Belchi but never knew about her videos and free downloads until I subscribed to Studio Mojo.

I haven’t watched all Ana’s videos yet, but I’m working  on it.  I was delighted to learn that she also offers  some free templates on her web site for the projects she demonstrates in the videos.

Fiona Abel-Smith also has an incredible video where she demonstrates how to construct a 6-sided polymer box and how to cover it with a geometric cane pattern that she explains in great detail.  She has a number of other fascinating looking videos that are on my must watch list.

On another note, I recently came back from a trip to Spain and  Portugal and my head is swimming with all the beautiful tiles I saw in both countries.  I’ll post more on that later.

You never know when a stuffed animal will make you a new friend. Our traveling companion Le Mutt broke the ice when my husband and I dove into a Nepalese Restaurant near our Lisbon hotel seeking respite from the many fish and potato meals we had in Portugal (where the people are lovely but the food not so much.  This is a contentious subject.)   If you are ever in Lisbon, drop by Himchuli 

USThis is not the first time Le Mutt has  made friends in a foreign land.

Pictures from Seville and Granada

By: ornamento.blog
Art, Granada, Seville, Seville Spain, Travel, travel photography, , , , Leave a Comment on Pictures from Seville and Granada

And on the way to Lisbon . . .

More to come!