Salvador Rosa or the art of getting lost in art.

I was thinking of talking about Salvador Rosa, an Italian painter.  I discovered him in Gothic Four Hundred Years of Excess, Horror, Evil and Ruin (https://www.amazon.com/Gothic-Hundred-Years-Excess-Horror/dp/0865475903/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?crid=2NA7K1ZVB9Y09&keywords=gothic+four+hundred+years+of+excess&qid=1553461096&s=gateway&sprefix=gothic+four+h%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-1-fkmrnull).  In the book, Salvador Rosa is presented as an indirect influence on the origin of the British Goth movement.  Well, it is what I understood.
With painting like his Landscape with Cave (https://goo.gl/images/DkWqVf), I thought it was a deal done: that Salvador Rosa had a penchant for decadence.

Thing got more confusing when I started to search more about that painter.  I saw him linked with baroque in other sources like the Encyclopaedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/).  I feel a bit at a loss but I also wonder what is baroque.  I look at the definition in artcyclopedia (http://www.artcyclopedia.com/).  There they say that baroque is a reaction against mannerism.  Ok, it is there where I think I don't know enough.  Both are not as known as impressionism or other popular art movement.  As I looked up about mannerism, I understood it is about beauty and harmony.  Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  So, it is subjective.  I don't feel I grasp mannerism and baroque yet.

What I get out of all this?  Well, I think I will stick to the paintings.  The rest is helping to understand the context of the picture.   I just don't understand the various art movement yet.  Maybe I would need the art movement and a concrete and classical example.  I will enjoy the art of Salvador Rosa because I like it.  For the rest, the understanding of the rest will come as I will be ready to receive the information.

Having a peak, exploring a new environment

I am still exploring the new place I am going in saturday morning.  There are rooms for therapy and there are observation rooms:

The rooms for therapy had been used by some parents during saturday mornings.  Me, personnally, I am tempted by the observation room, if I have to use it for quiet time.  The smallness of the observations rooms doesn't permit to get all over the place.  Concentration on the most important piece of paper in front of me, it is what is the most important.  Nothing to break concentration either except the observation window.  It is nice to have a small place to work sometimes.

Huge toys room plus workdesk

Where I spend my saturday morning, there is a huge toys room that is used for speech and physical therapy:

I find it huge!  I only show a small part.  They do have a lot of toys!  The storage is neat too.  What I like the most is the two desks hardly seeable from the entrance.  Here they are in  a close up:

I would like to work in a look alike place.  It seems to be quiet too!  Well, it is when I am there.  There is a lot of light and we can see outside.

I think I like making stars!

I think the title is self explanatory:

One star is different from the others, well, it is a shooting star after all:

It is smaller but the star itself is more delicate.  Maybe some variant will be done in the future!

Interesting storage

I found a interesting storage.  The above picture show part of it.  It is really big and can contain many boots and similar items.  It is well build and solid.  It is very long but there are lot of storage.  It is really fun to use.  It is made of wood.  Of course, if I had one like that, it would be another colour.  It may be square but many objects can fit in and that one is kind of deep.  Some valuable can be hidden behind less attractive object.  I guess it was hand made, for the place.  I do not know how long it had been in use but I don't see it having tear or that the colour fade away.  Maybe it is painted back on a regular basis or that the paint is ultra resistant.

My new saturday place

It is the new place I passe part of my saturday.  Above is the waiting room.
The corridors are narrower:

Strangely, there are sink at the end of the corridor:

So, this was the new place where I will go for a few hours.  I miss the old place because of the charm it had.  I will have to build a connection with this new place.

Perler no ironing and knitting a bag

Got more of the Perler beads without ironing kit.  I like doing those.  I would be able to do more if there was more base.   the beads are readily available.  H2O beads are great too even if I have not taken any photo of those products.

It had been one kind of project week.  Well, it is time to get into other projects.  I decided to knit too and retarted another project: a cable bag:

NOw, instead of closing and doing round knitting, I didn't closed the ends together.  So, it is flat and still use a round knitting needles.  I am running toward the end, so, it is start to feel a bit heavy.  I will do the strap with straight needles.  For closing, I hope it will go well to follow instruction.

A Perler gadget

I have tried a gadget for the Perler beads.  It is a bead dispenser.  I tried it.  Getting opened the filling compartment is easy.  For putting the beads into the dispensers, I haven't tried all option.  I only put some by hands, just to try it.

First impressions?  Well, I had to get used to it.  I started using those beads with a tweezers.  So, got used to put them with the tweezers.  This dispenser need to get used to.  I was not as precise as I wanted.  I can't deny it work.  I will try again, to get a better second impression.  At the same time, I will put more beads in the dispenser.  Having a few is not ideal.  I also think it is better to use one colour at a time or have very limited colours.   Chossing the colours or a particuliar bead is not into the option yet.

For those who like gadget and haven't used the tweezers yet, it is perfect for you.  For those using tweezers, you can stay with the tweezer and be fine.

It is a fail!

I seems to be in a period where things don't go as expected.  This above project was a perler beads in the shape of Wonder Woman.  It all got well until the ironing.  It is usually my main problem and I know exactly why: I didn't left the iron got warm enough.  By chance, I have another kit and make it again and it will end up right.  Putting all the beads is what takes the most time.  It is consuming but fun.  I just felt rushed to iron it, so it is why the iron wasn't hot enough.  At least, I know where the problem it and I know what to do to get it right on the second time.

It is almost a shame to put so much time to do the set up  and ending up rushing it at the end.  It is a huge fail for me.  It was the last step that ruined everything.  I could have waited a bit and not rush that much.  I hope not do that error again.

Learning about new words and activities

I was reading some local and free newspaper and I found this:
https://fikasfest.com/en/about/ In English
https://fikasfest.com/a-propos/  In French
There is some variations for the workshops but it it the section I liked the most.  I have pretty much missed it this year.  I would be interested in the knitting and embroidery.  I wonder what is so particuliar in the Scandinavian embroidery.  I am curious about this difference.  What I find very fashionably in this festival is the Scandinavian Cocktail Classes.  Cocktail is very popular but having it in a festival, it is quite a good idea, especially if we can make them ourselves.  I would be ready to try that.

They also have a music part, some conversations and a visual art & design activities.  The photo taken to represent Swedish dads is kind of cute, even if the dad on it look coming out from the 70ties.  I do not know if some popular music group (I think of NIghtwish) could come during the fikasfest.  I don't evdn know if there is a compatibility between the two.  I think that there is many groups that comes from the Scandinavian countries.

Fica mean break time.  I liked learning that.  It is also a good idea to take that word for the name of the festival.  It is an original way to name a festival, I think.  It sound so cool!  I don't know if I will have time to go to the activities that interest me.  Well, if I can't this year, I will try for next year.  People that are doing this festival must have good connections.  I don't know if I could do the same.  Well, fun to learn something new.

Hephaistos

Got my copy of Hephaistos God of Fire recently (https://www.amazon.ca/Olympians-Hephaistos-Fire-George-OConnor/dp/1626725284/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?crid=1MIFNKFG1V1M&keywords=olympians+hephaistos+god+of+fire&qid=1551709765&s=gateway&sprefix=hephai%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-1-fkmrnull).  I like that serie on the Olympians.  It is simple and a good introduction of the Greek gods and goddesses.  I guess that being in a graphic novel form, it help to have a good narrative.  In addition, it concentrate on one main god/esse (like Hephaistos in this case) or an story arc (like Hades, Persephone and Demeter).

I never got attracted to Hephaistos before.  I knew he was a craftman.  Maybe because being mainly a metalurgist is not that attractive at first glance.  Being in a forge is not as important now than what it was before, in ancient times.  I knew pretty much all that happen in the graphic novel too.  I didn't learned much while reading this.  There is a but.  What happened is a connection with him.  This one bring another layer to the character.  The god become more like a person.  I never thought before that Hephaistos was a good guy, at his core.  It was also interesting how he deal with his problems.  He have a little bit of cunning in him.  He also put his own twist to his conning: he use his craft habilities to get his point across.  For that, I admire him.

I think I needed a trigger to appreciate this guy.  He have merits and he is more fleshed out for me.  The author of the serie should have more praise for the work he is doing.  It makes Greek mythology more accessible and fun.  The situation where Hera is stuck in her throne is serious but at the same time, there are remarks that are just hilarious.  I enjoyed reading this one.  The sad part: the serie is almost done.  I think that Dionysos will be the last one.  I wonder if the last book will have more cameo of Hestia.  I expected to see some appearance of her in the one of Hephaistos because both are liked with fire.   Now, I will have to wait for the next one of the serie!

Another lack of motivation

I think I have a problem with motivation on some kits I recently purchased.  It is curious that, in store, I thought it would be interesting but in home, motivation is no longer there.  First, after trying kumihimo, there is no interest in the end.  Now, it is the two faced lacing kit.  I got figured out the project I want to try.  I found the wire that would be best suited.  I also made the form:

As I thought, not perfect.  Now, I have to do the next stesp and I feel stuck.  Not in a hurry to do it either.  I feel I feel a lack to do it.  No motivation.  There also the problem that I want this project to be already finish and perfect.  Wthi this start, it won't be purfect.  Too harsh on myself?   Maybe,  It is my first try to do a form with wire and it show.  In it self, it is not really motivating to continue.  I hope this streak won't become a trend!  It may also be a sign for me to take a stop in trying new things and concentrate on the projects I already have under way.