Apollinaire’s Eiffel Tower
A calligram is a written phrase disguised as an image. It is an idea that goes in multiple directions.
In between here and there, today I am a calligram.
Bluesky
BEBINA BUNNY free download here
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Calligrammes
Posted in Drawings & Paintings
Tagged calligram poems, Guillaume Apollinaire, visual poetry
3 Comments
Wishing for a scent necklace
While reading a book about the senses, I came across the term “cassoleto” in reference to a kind of pendant filled with camphor and aromatic herbs. In France of the past, such a pendant was given to young women of marital age as a form of protection. Unfortunately, I was unable to find more information on internet.
The idea of an aromatherapy necklace has interested me for quite some time. I would like to make one with different herbs and spices that, when needed, I could hold up to my nose. For example, sniffing rosemary helps boost the memory whereas lemon oil uplifts and relaxes. Lemongrass helps circulation, lavender fights insomnia and cinnamon animates the brain.
Even Marie Antoinette understood the benefits of smell. On her walk to the guillotine, she carried 3 vials of Houbigant perfume to give herself some courage.
I would like to make a necklace using sterling tea balls filled with herbs instead of tea. Unfortunately, I can’t afford them so will have to content myself with mesh instead!
Repousse Sterling Tea Ball
Antique sterling silver tea ball infuser
Gorham Sterling Tea Ball
Teapot-Shaped Tea Ball
Gorham Sterling Tea Ball
Staying focused
Muy Marcottage huipil detail
It’s sometimes difficult for me to stay focused. My studio is like a wonderland of provocations. There are so many projects that I would like to work on simultaneously. But I have committed myself to being a One Project At A Time woman.
At present I am working on a “graphic essay” about transformation. It involves researching, writing and drawing. And learning.
My little blog, subjected now to some neglect, is, however, present in my thoughts.
bête noire
Bête noire
Bête noire means “black beast” in French. The term is often used in reference to something or someone representing a source of torment. Years ago, the bête noire was a leitmotif in my drawings and paintings that gradually disappeared.
The beast is still there but he’s now in disguise.
The Yucca
yucca and aloe at Los Ojos
Respecting the 2015 Resolutions List means making the rounds for health check ups. Which means hanging out in waiting rooms. Eduardo Galeano’s “Espejos” (“Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone”) makes for great waiting room literature as it is a mosaic of easy reading vignettes. “Mirrors” takes a look at history by storytelling the lives of gods, artists, writers and anyone else who gets in the way. Galeano, like a pointillist painter, blots in information to create a historical panorama. It’s up to the reader to connect the dots.
One of the dots to connect is entitled “Origin of Social Class”. Apparently the Sun and the god Pachacamac were very competitive. One day the Sun impregnated a woman working in the fields The birth of this baby so angered Pachacamac that he took the child and ripped him into shreds scattering the remains. But this destructive rage backfired as from these remains plants began to grow—corn from the teeth, yams from the flesh and yucca from the bones.
In one of my studio windows, I have a tall yucca that’s produced several “off-springs” which need to be pruned. But, since construction is going on across the street, they’re going to stay as they give solace to the eyes by hiding some of the chaos.
The yucca grows well in Rome. Too well in that its roots eventually outgrow the pot. Maybe next year I’ll have to replant my yucca which will give me the chance to use its tuberous roots. Apparently, these roots have several medicinal properties that have anti-arthritic and anti-inflammatory effects.
So it’s yucca tea for me!
Related links: yucca sandals + Yucca Fiber Skirt + ORANGE ZEST YUCCA FRIES + edible plant project
photo by Chiara Pilar
The Narrative Within 