Creative Solutions..

 Like many people I dislike when my photos are taken - as soon as a camera points at me, I tensed up and just want it to be over. Sometimes though at home I play around with self portraits, mainly when I want to see how certain item of clothing looks on me.

 During those moments - I tend to simply have fun. In some instances  happy accidents come into play and the results inspire me to play around with the photos. Laying on my yoga mat I tried to capture the reflections of the early morning sun above me. Without turning the camera around apparently! 

The result was an accidental but interesting self portrait. Below are the fruits of my early morning creativity.. Same photo, two frames -  different feel.

"If I were the Queen of Spades."

Early morning hours.

Il Solleone

 The weather forecast promises high + 31 C and even at nine in the morning the sun is blazingly hot. It is certainly better than last weekend when the temperature hovered between + 34 C and + 36 C. 

Italians say that it isn't normal for June, it is usually at the end of July when it is getting so hot. While listening to the complains about weather , "C'è troppo caldo/ Fa caldo, si soffoca" - "Too hot/So hot, it's hard to breath" - I discovered two wonderful expressions:

"C'è un caldo da morire" - Loosely, "I can die from such heat"

And, the most magnificent, "Il Solleone". 

The word describes the scorching sun of the hottest time of the year. "I giorni del Solleone sono arrivati presto quest'anno./The hottest (the days of the Lion Sun) days came early this summer." It is one of the portmanteau words which combine two or more roots together, in this case Sole + Leone = Solleone/ Sun + Lion = Lion Sun 

Behold...                                                        "Il Solleone" 

 

Language Wonders

The quotes are often find their way to people without any effort on our part. They just appear in our line of vision and grab our attention. Consider this..

 Our young waitress in a restaurant was standing with her back to us, her hands folded behind her back - the words "Omnia mea mecum porto" were running along the forearm. They did caught my attention - it was Latin, which probably should not have been a big surprise considering that we are in Italy, but the meaning! The meaning was so good, "All that is mine, I carry with me". Considering my "nomadic" life style and upcoming departure from the city I had a privilege to call home for the past three years - I took it as a sign that all will be well. 

I searched for an appropriate translation to my native language and realized that I knew the phrase all  the way from childhood, "Все своё ношу с собой." It made me smile and think how wonderfully strange the life is. I recognized the familiar proverb only by reading it in Latin, and translating it in my head English...
 

Some quotes are just priceless

  "The first step doesn't bring you where you want to be, it takes you from where you are." Alejandro Jodorowsky *

*Alejandro Jodorowsky  - Chilean-born  French filmmaker and  writer

Small finds

Swing

A swing comes high
And then goes low
A perfect moment
To fly

I dreamt../ И вот мне приснилось

 For several weeks now four lines from the  Russian poem come into my mind without any particular reason again and again. Not the whole poem, though it is lovely as most everything written by Nikolai Gumilev (1886-1921), but just four lines. So, to let that stanza travel to some other destination I felt compelled to do a very liberal translation along with an illustration... 

... И вот мне приснилось, что сердце моё не болитб Оно - колокольчик фарфоровый в желтом Китае На пагоде пестрой... висит и приветно звенит, В эмалевом небе дразня журавлинные стаи.

…I dreamt that my heart is a porcelain bell, It hangs, light and free, on a pagoda in faraway China. The whisper of wind makes it sing, And that song pulls attention of cranes, Passing by in the enameled heavens…

 

Copernicus was wrong

 A bit of healthy cynicism to start the day on a right note...

"Copernico si sbagliava: il mondo gira attorno ai soldi"

Copernicus was wrong: the world revolves around money.

Amore and an excercise in translation.

 

When the moon hits your eye as a big pizza pie, That’s amore When the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine That’s amore…

Quando la luna ti colpisce gli occhi Come una grossa pizza Questo è amore Quando il mondo sembra brillare Come se avessi bevuto troppo vino Questo è amore

  Never ever before have  I lived in the country when the word “amore”so freely spills in the everyday life. Mai prima d'ora ho vissuto in un paese dove la parola "amore" si riversa così liberamente nella vita qutidiana.

Here is a father talking to his toddler, "Dimmi, amore, cosa vuoi?"  There is a woman on a phone, “Cio, amore, a dopo”. A bit further a young man in the café asks his girlfriend, “Ma perche ti preoccupi, amore?” Ecco un padre che parla con il suo bambino, °Dimmi, amore, cosa vuoi?° C'è una donna al telefono, “Ciao, amore, a dopo”. Poco più  avanti un giovane al caffè chiede alla fidanzata: “Ma perche ti preoccupi, amore?

 The little word jumps from street to street, bounces from the walls of the buildings, and soars into the air, creating a bit of an extra sparkle in its wake. La parolina salta di strada in strada, rimbalza dai muri degli edifici e si libra in aria, creando un po' di scintillio in più nella sua scia.

Of course “love “is used in English language in much similar manner, but one doesn’t hear it  being employed with such frequency and generosity. Naturalmente "love" è usato in lingua inglese in modo molto simile, ma non lo si sente impiegato con tale frequenza e generosità.

And in Russian? I am not sure that “love” is used in such liberal way in Russian language – it has a bit more private and serious connotation. E in russo? Non sono sicuro che "amore" sia usato in modo così liberale in lingua russa - ha una connotazione un po' più privata e seria.

Whether we use "amore" often or not, may we always give and receive it with kindness and gratitude. Sia che usiamo "amore" spesso o meno, possiamo sempre darlo e riceverlo con gentilezza e gratitudine.

When I get low...

On Sunday before the start of our lockdown a woman in the store had a rant after realizing that I was a foreigner. Nothing too terrible or incredibly personal, just general frustration spilling out.  It is  understandable - people are stressed these days. I understood where she was coming from but it did weighted on my mind. The memory was sitting there like a little needle, and spoiling the otherwise nice day. Until!  Until I listened to  Hot Sardines and their wonderful rendition of "When I get low, I get high." And so it is, a new version of tried and true "Accentuate the positive" was born, with a delightful double entendre if you wish....

 

Another March, Another Lockdown

Exactly one year ago almost to the day Rome entered its first lockdown, and from today we are in our second one. By now it is painfully obvious that everyone should have a lockdown kit - something that brings comfort and joy. Mine - is below:

• Silk lounge pants for a touch of luxury;
• Simple bangles for soothing sounds;
• A purple ring to remind me to keep my spirit up. 

 

Apples and Kisses

 There is a common proverb, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away", which in Italian will sound exactly the same, "Una mela al giorno leva il medico di torno" But, leave it to passionate Italians to come up with "Un bacio al giorno toglie il dentisto di torno" ("A kiss a day keeps the dentist away."

 Do you know that there is a Moon Bunny? He lives on the Moon, hence the name, and helps Chang'e, the Moon Goddess, to brew the elixir of Immortality. It is quite a story, the myth of the Moon Goddess! It has everything - love, deception, greed, addiction, punishment, and it is told remarkably well here Chang'e

The  Moon Bunny officially  is referred to as  Moon Rabbit. The problem is that when I say Moon Rabbit, I think about White Rabbit, which leads me to Alice in Wonderland, and in turn to Jefferson Airplane, and creativity in general, and then it stops being about the Full Moon, and morphs into everything else.

Say hi to the Moon Bunny, after all it is  the Full Moon  today. 

Little imperfections..

The clover in the courtyard of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere has little brown spots on each leaf. One can see the early signs of decay or an unusual pattern. May all of us "live in clover" 

 

Timeless Images

 Rome is one of the cities where the art of centuries ago surrounds you, one just simply exists with it day in and day out. It can be a sign on the wall, showing the level of a flood,  a statue around the corner, that you come upon to without looking for it,  a small water spout for which you will be grateful in the summer heat. And of course there are paintings...

 I marvel how timeless some of the images are - you look at the face of a woman that lived 200 years ago and notice that the way she  arranged her hair is the way that numerous women wear it now, including myself. Serene gaze is harder to come by, but this is just the trapping of the modern living.

Rafael, Head of a Muse, 1510-1511

Raffaello, Testa di Musa

A gift from beyond

There was a string of sad news in the past few weeks. Two of my good acquaintances lost people dear to them, my very good friend lost her mother and is awashed with grief and guilt of not spending enough time with her, listening to her , talking to her. I remember those intense feelings of regret when my mom passed away - intensified by realization that so many questions were left unanswered. Often when we finally are wise enough to know what questions to ask, the people who can answer them are already gone. All that left are our memories and our interpretations of the events.

My mother, like the mother of my friend, passed away close to my birthday. For several years after that I couldn't master enough joy  to celebrate it. With time I came to  think that there is a beautiful symmetry in such close proximity of those events - through our birth we are forever tied to our parents, and thus when we are loosing them close to our special day, it serves as a reminder to celebrate and thank them for our existence.

Somewhere during these weeks an interesting event occur. I was sitting with my Tarot  cards creating stories, looking for inspiration when my husband came in. "Oh you and your tarots", he said.  He  paused for a moment and then added with a hint of surprise, "You know I think I have an ancient Tarot deck in my boxes. It was given to me by my grandmother when she was still alive. Not sure why I kept it for all that time." He went into his office to check and shortly returned with an old Rider Waite  deck wrapped in a silk scarf.

So, here it is - an unexpected gift from beyond - from Grandma Johnson through my husband, who is very suspect of all  things New Agey - to me.

New Moon and Summer Solstice

The New Moon is nowhere to be found in the sky,

It is preparing to get out of the darkness

And be filled with light

The Summer Solstice marked

The longest day of the year

But the night is getting ready to reclaim its rights.

Both days started the New Cycle.

Full Moon Above Rome

Full Moon filled with light

Glows in the sky.

It is June already.

On Fish and Art

Walking along the Tiber a few weeks ago I noticed the swirls of activity in the water - the fish were swimming alongside each other, playfully rising to the surface and then diving deeper - when I realized that I was witnessing the mating games of the fishes, I couldn't help but break into smile - there was such life affirming,joyful ring to that sight. An older gentleman stopped by, and asked, "Quie pesci?" "Si, sono innamorati," was my, probably a bit odd, answer. As I was going away I saw him still standing there, filming.

 Walking along the Tiber yesterday I saw a lot of fish floating belly up. It was so strange and such a contrast to the greenery of leaves, the chatter of seagulls, the movement of people jogging. The memories of the silvery dance that I enjoyed watching so much not long ago, and the picture of the lifeless bodies - didn't want to align.
Later my husband reminded me that some species of fish travel a long way to their breeding grounds, don't eat during their migration and simply die of exhaustion after mating. Quite literally from “la petite mort" to " le sommeil éternel.

Fish and its natural habitat always have certain fascination for me. Watching water and, if lucky, fish swimming in it, always has been  a very calming and relaxing activity for me. (I dearly miss my long walks along the ocean that was part of my routine while living in the Bahamas).

A lot of cultures view fish as an auspicious symbol of happiness, freedom, fertility and abundance. I remember that orange carps, the fish sacred in the Oriental cultures, were prominent features in Beijing where they swam in the ponds in the parks and also in water basins near the entrances to the shops or private homes.

It is said that if a woman sees a fish in her dream - she is to expect a child, and if a man sees a fish – something equally fortunate comes his way. There are fairy tales about fish granting wishes - most famous ones are by Brothers Grimm "The Fisherman and his Wife" and by A. Pushkin "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish"/"Сказка о рыбаке и рыбке"

A lot of written and pictorial sources show that from the earliest times of Christianity the fish was a symbol of Christ. The Greek word for fish “ichthys”/ ΙΧΘΥΣ is considered  an acronym for the words "Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ"/ Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter/Jesus Christ Saviour Son of God”

Since the water baptism was practiced by immersion, it established a parallel between fish and converts, and  the early Church Fathers often called their faithful "pisciculi" /little fish (" piscina" = lat. for fish) In fact, the Latin word for the vases in which water for baptism was stored is piscina, literally a fish pond, the same word as the swimming pool in modern Italian language.

And let’s not forget that fish has been a food staple for centuries and centuries. No wonder that fish are being widely depicted in art, and is also a popular motif for various household items. In religious paintings it usually closely connected with Christ and often appears on the table alongside wine and bread, and in genre paintings  are simply celebrating fish as a food and one of nature's creations.

Seven Fish Carpet fragment

The Fishmonger Vincenzo Campi, ca.1580

Still Life with Cat and Fish Jean-Simeon Chardin, 1728

Christ in the House of Simon, Dirck Bouts, 1445-50

Tavern Scene, Diego Velazquez, 1618

Young Tobias and the Angel, Francesco Botticini, 1470

There is a painting by Rafael that is called Madonna Del Pesce/Madonna with Fish, which he created around 1514.

Madonna Del Pesce,
Rafael, 1514

What is interesting in this particular painting aside from its beauty that it clearly shows the use of the attributes as a way of recognition who is who in the painting. It was customary in religious paintings to show the participants wearing certain colours, having a certain object in his/her hands, being accompanied by the certain animal. Those features were connected either with their life, or deeds, or martyrdom, and acted as name tags. Here Madonna can be easily recognized by her central position and the blue of her dress, the child on her knee doesn't need an introduction. The bearded man reading a book is St. Jerome whom the viewer can identify by the tamed lion at his feet, (The Golden Legend says that St. Jerome removed the thorn from the lion's paw while living in the monastery and the animal remained with him) On the other side of the throne is Archangel Rafael and a young boy holding a fish in his hands. The same young boy is on the painting above and there he is also carrying a fish.  The fish in his hand is a part of his story - he caught it with archangels' Rafael help and use its entrails to cure his father's blindness.

And so, from the sights of the morning walk to yet another  Madonna - one track mind, what can I say...

The Word of Images

Perhaps, you are familiar with the famous "The Treachery of Pictures" by Rene Magritte. The one that states under the image of a pipe, that is not a pipe. One can't really argue here because it is indeed not a pipe but a painting of a pipe. Would we think of this if the words wouldn't be there, and what would be the impression if there would be just words without the image? What Magritte's paintings tend to do for me and hopefully for many others is renewing the link between the ordinary objects, semantics and our expectations.

The Treachery of Pictures, 1929
Rene Magritte

 In the similar vein the lowly reading glasses, akin to those displayed below can be seen as a helpful instrument, the sign of aging,  promotion of reading, a display of personal aesthetics and quite a lot of other things. 

But let's take a leap roughly 500 years back and see what the image of glasses represented there. We will take a look at the  "Death of the Virgin", the painting of Hans Holbein the Elder, done in 1491. He was the leading painter of the rich merchant city of Augsburg at that time, and specialized in portraits and altarpieces. The subject of the painting was common for 15th century and its representation followed the certain rules derived from the stories of Mary's death.It was said that after the Crucifixion of the Christ his mother lived with the Apostle John. She did revisited many of the places associated with the life of her son, but was getting increasingly lonely. Finally, she prayed to be delivered from life and was visited by an angel who promised that within three days she should enter Paradise where her son awaits her. The angel presented her with a palm branch sent from Heaven as assurance of victory over the corruption of death. Mary requested the presence of all the apostles at the time of her death. And that is what we see looking at the painting - all the apostles are gathered around Mary and participating at the sacrament of Last Rite.

Death of the Virgin, 1491
Hans Holbein the Elder

Despite the fact that Mary is shown as a middle class woman from Augsburg (even her halo is discreetly hidden behind the bonnet) she is impossible to miss - all the gestures and glances direct our eyes towards her. The scene of her death most always would contain the palm branch mentioned above, which usually will be in the hand of St. John (according to the legend Mary gives it to him), there would be a candle (here St. John gives it to the Virgin Mary) which symbolizes the heavenly light coming to her, there would be the scene of the Assumption painted somewhere in the painting ( we see it here above the bed), there would be an apostle with holy water, and an apostle with incense, some of the apostles would be praying and some - reading scriptures. Here though at the foot of the bed there is an interesting figure - an apostle wearing a pair of spectacles. He is the only one, aside from Mary, who is facing the viewer; he is also the closest to a picture frame, sort of a bridge between the painting with its religious subject and a real world. In fact his image looks like a painting in its own right - a portrait of a young man. (It surely showcased Holbein's skills as a portraitist). But why the only apostle who wears glasses positioned in such a manner?

Apparently, during the last quarter of the 14th century and first quarter of the 16th century, a lot of paintings of the Dormition of the Virgin from Northern Europe had an apostle holding or wearing glasses. Why?
 If we think of the main function of the glasses, it is of course to enlarge, to amplify or - using a less familiar word - to magnify something.It is said that the Canticle Hymn of Mary was sung at the time of her death. The other name of that hymn the Magnificat (My soul magnify) echoes the most famous line of it, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, ” And thus those spectacles is a reference to the Magnificat and a reminder of an archaic meaning of the word "magnify" - to praise, to exalt or to extol. At the same time the glasses with their primary function of "making something to appear larger" emphasizing  the metamorphoses of Mary’s role - from an ordinary woman she became  the Mother of God, and from the Mother of God with her death - she is becoming the Queen of Heaven.

 So, slightly paraphrasing  the famous line of Rene Magritte - those glasses aren't just glasses...

Little Madonnas

Every day in the morning when I get out on my balcony with a cup of coffee I am greeted with a serene smile of Madonna. Here she is in direct line of my sight on the corner of a busy street in an oval frame, and a little roof above that is protecting her from excessive sun or rain. Despite of that protection the colors of the painting darkened with time but she didn’t become the mere background, I see people pausing in front of her now and then.

Shot straight from the balcony.

Much better image from Le Madonnelle di Roma

This Madonna is not the only one in our busy neighborhood – almost every street or a square around our house has its own small painting of Madonna. Those images are called Madonelle (Little Madonnas, in reference to their small size) and are meant to be  the silent protectors of Rome. Some of Madonelle are dating back to 17th century, some – to the 1950s; some - became present but invisible feature of the streets and some - are well taken care of. It is immensely touching that it is the image of a Mother that graces so many places here. It is in tune with Italian culture and with a human nature overall. In a way Mary is the most accessible and relatable character of the divine force. The arch of her life resonates with the lives of many women; a daughter, a maiden, a wife, a mother, a woman of a certain age. I love how her stories are told in visual images – the birth, the marriage, the death.

Birth of the Virgin 
Pietro Cavallini late 1290s
 Sta.Maria in Trastavere, Rome

  Marriage of the Virgin,
Rafael, 1504

Death of the Virgin,
Bartolomeo Vivarini, 1485

 Of course, there are two uncommon events that firmly place her into the realm of divine - the Annunciation which led to her becoming the Mother of God and the Assumption/Coronation that transformed her into the Queen of Heaven. Between those two miraculous events though she endured the most cruel of fates – the loss of her child – and it will always connect her with the suffering of humans. Did she ever tell her son, how so many mothers, “What are you doing with all that preaching? Are you crazy? It is dangerous, you get yourself killed!” It is easy to  imagine, isn't it? This unity of divine and humanity often reflects in the color of her clothing, she usually depicted wearing blue and red. She carries numerous titles, most of them emphasize her Status as the Mother of God and the Queen of Heaven, but some are more lyrical and closer to earth: Our Lady of Sorrow, Madonna of Humility, Madonna del Latte, Madonna del Roses. There is one title though that always spoke to me - Stella Maris / Our Lady, the Star of the Sea, first used in the 9th century. The title underlines her role as a sign of hope and as a guiding light of mankind, and the star on her clothing serves as a visual reminder.

 In the 12th century Saint Bernard of Clairvaux wrote:

If the winds of temptation arise, if you are driven upon the rocks of tribulation

Look to the Star, Call on Mary;

If you are tossed upon the waves of pride, of ambition, of envy, of rivalry,

Look to the Star, Call on Mary

Much later Paul McCartney echoed his words with:

When I find myself in times of trouble

Mother Mary come to me

Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

He wrote it about his mother Mary, who once, long after her death, appeared in his dream and brought him the words of comfort when he needed it, but the image of Madonna brought to our minds nevertheless. (It is said that John Lennon really disliked the Biblical overtones of this song).

Whether one believes or not in the protection of Madonnelle  I keep wondering about all the  events that they have witnessed over the years.