Tag: bones

Ringless in Rome

Rome 2024

I only take my engagement ring off for two reasons – to slather goop in my hair to stop it looking boofy, and to massage. Sitting in Gatwick Airport, Rome-bound and ringless, rather than assigning its absence to one of these ring-removal activities, I deduced it must be in my backpack and rifled through it for 3 hours. Aside from the sickening feeling of losing something precious, I feared my fella would think I intended touring Rome as a single lady. But he reassured me that my ringless vibe was more spinster than single-lady, so he wasn’t worried at all. By the time I got to Rome, he’d found my ring (in my massage room) so all is right with the world again.

I have just woken on my first day in Rome to the happy singing of birds. To right they’re happy, they’re in Rome! I arrived late last night, so haven’t seen anything yet, aside from the whizz of lights from the taxi and splendor of the building I am staying in.

This fine establishment is the British School at Rome. I am here for a 4 day research look-around for an art project I’m working on. Typically, one comes to Rome to see the Colosseum and where the Pope lives, but I’m here to look at wells and bones and eat the food (which my fella prepared me for by taking me to M&S to buy some big pants for the trip)

later…

It’s now bedtime and I am utterly exhausted after Romeing all day, so long story free of waffle:

The communal school breakfast consisted of cream filled pastries (phew for the big pants!) washed down with divine coffee and great conversation with the other students, including my lengthy descriptions of the wells I am researching (they were so fascinated, Mathew!).

I went to see a well on Tiber Island, which is about 40mins away, but took me 4 hours cause I kept stopping off at the Bassicallcas (fancy for churches) on the way, including one that has a holy well, the water of which you can drink, which I did, and got the trots, and narrowly avoided disaster.

There was also a Basilica called Nicola something, that I had to go in because I have a lovely friend called Nicola. I am very glad I did because it had underground goings-on you could visit, which included a niche with bones.

I felt a bit misty-eyed when I made it to Tiber Island. The Tiber River is beautiful, as is the bridge I crossed, which is the oldest in Rome. I did think of taking the steps down to the river and have a little wander along the toe-path, but a massage client warned me that nefarious types hang out by the river, and sure enough there was a group of scruffy-looking people hanging out down there, though whether they were nefarious or not I couldn’t say.

On the Island, I visited a Bassicallca that was built on the site of the Temple of Asclepius (the god of healing), a place where you’d go to be healed by dogs licks, chicken sacrifice, and sleeping in a snake-filled room order to dream of your cure. The Basilica houses a well that was once fed by an underground spring that was around in the time of the temple.

I then went to the old Jewish quarter and had a lunch of wine and pepper pasta, which, though delicious, I came to regret when the trot situation loomed. But I ate it all in ignorant bliss and amused myself by reading about wells.

I then visited the Great Synagogue (phenomenal!) and museum, and was going to have a leisurely walk back to school, stopping for coffee and cake along the way, but it soon became clear that wells and bones and the Great Synagogue would be the least memorable things about my first day in Rome if I didn’t get back lickety-split. Getting terribly lost added to by woes, but the 5 different strangers I asked for directions, meant I returned with my dignity intact.

Exhausted by my shenanigans, I lay down for a bit, then tarted myself up (aka put anti-boof cream in my hair) and went to a lecture the school was hosting. Oh and it was no ordinary lecture! The guest speaker was Mark Rothko’s son. It was fascinating and touching in equal measure.

Then there was a big communal dinner, with amazing food, great company, and plenty of talk about wells.

You can never have too many books about hares!

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Research Project, Week in Review

I am a fiend when it comes to buying books on subjects I love. Hares are no exception. I now have four and counting. As of this morning it would be five, as I came across a wonderful lecture about the Three Hares motif, and when I discovered that the lecturer had written a book on the subject, I thought it would be perfect for my collection. But alas, the book is now out of print and remaining copies are upwards of £140. 00. I like a hare book as much as the next lagamorphile, but that’s beyond extravagant. Thankfully there is a great website all about about the book, and even a form you can fill out if you’d like a copy of the book, so they can gage interest for a possible 2nd printing.

The Three Hares motif is very interesting and shows up in many places around the world, including a heap of churches in Devon, Synagogues in Europe, caves in China, and on various object in Iran. No one really knows what the motif means, but as with hares in general, is thought to be associated with magic, the moon, and femininity.

I am still painting hares, as well as bones and lace, and am still trying to figure out the confluence between the 3 motifs and the degree realism I want etc. Progress is slow, but I am enjoying the process.

I am also working on a painting made up of different sections, that when all put together will make one big painting. Its conception and composition is very similar to the big canvas painting I had to abandon. For some reason, painting separate sections makes it a lot easier to keep a handle on things. Also, this one is on paper, which is better than canvas for this kind of painting. Here is one of the sections I have been working on:

The life and times of Chicken-Geoff

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Painting, Research Project, Week in Review

Chicken-Geoff, my fella’s name-sake, lives at my friend’s allotment. When he was born on my birthday last April, he was going to be called Rebecca, but the tell-tale yellow spot on his head indicated he was a male, so he was named Geoff.

Chicken-Geoff soon grew big and strong, due to his fondness for mealworms and treats. However, he was a gentle sort of fellow and would get pecked-on by the other cockerels, so it was thought best to put him in with the hens, where he soon made himself at home.

Chicken-Geoff adapted so well to life with the hens, that he recently took to the nesting box and laid an egg.

Along with Chicken-Geoff’s exciting news this week, I am pleased to say I have been running every day for Run 62 Miles in March for Cancer Research UK. So far, I have raised £450.00 which is well over my target. Of course, getting out of bed at 5.30 every morning hurts a little, but I wouldn’t feel too sorry for me, because this is where I am running:

Also, my lovely fella gave me some very fancy ear-pods, so I have been running along listening to Audible. I am currently listening to a series of lectures on The Pagan World, which I am thoroughly enjoying. The lecturer has a slow, methodical way of talking that makes him very easy to follow. I highly recommend the series for anyone interested in the subject.

Before the lecture series, I listened to a wonderful book about hares, and have bored my fella silly with what I’ve learned. I even had a dream last night that I was telling someone all about hares.

Yes, I am still nutty about hares, and can’t seem to get enough of them. To my utter delight, my fella and I saw a hare the other day. It was having a snack on the side of the road, and we managed to get a really good look at it. We then noticed a few more in a nearby field. They were too far away to get a really good photo, but if you zoom in, to the wee fella on the left, you’ll see his black-tipped ears, which means its a brown hare.

I have been busy in the studio painting untold hares. I am attempting to find the right balance between the different components of the paintings – i.e., hares, lace, water, bones.

I am also trying to figure out the level of detail I want in the hares themselves, so I am trying lots of different things. I really like having see-through passages of paint.

I am currently subscribing to the more is more philosophy of aesthetics. I am aware of the criticism that too much detail in a painting can be suffocating and that breathing space is important in a composition. However, I would counter that a sense of suffocation is precisely what I want in the paintings, to convey the sense of being underwater/drowning.

I’m desperate to see a hare!

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Research Project

Spring has almost sprung, and top on my list of things to do this spring, is see a hare. My fella’s Pa saw one on the top field near our house, so I have a good chance of seeing one if I head out at dawn or dusk, keep down wind, hide behind a bush, be very quite, and don’t move. If I’m very lucky, I may even see them boxing, as it will be breeding season, and to fight off unwanted male attention, the females give the fellas a clip around the ears, quite right too!

Hares have become one of the central elements in my paintings, and the more I learn about them, the more they rightly deserve that place. There are currently 4 visual elements in the work that I am trying to weave together: Water, Bones, Lace and Hares. There are also two conceptual elements: Pain and Receptivity.

The Manx word for hare is cleaysh liauyr – which means good listener (also: slow to answer, forbearing person, long-eared). I love this meaning associated with the hare, and would like to incorporate it in my paintings somehow.

Hares are a very important animal in Manx folklore. They are associated with witches/wise women, or “they that have the charms” (as my Manx family do). Hares are also thought to be inhabited by the souls of old women. For this reason, as in other Celtic lands, hares are not to be eaten.

Here is a delightful recording of Johnny Crellin talking about Manx folklore regarding hares.