Two Early C20 Viennese Figurines

Every now and then I'm surprised by what catches my fancy. And these two early C20 Viennese figurines definitely fit into this category. Nothing hairy-chested at all about loving and buying them!

They are obviously both from the same factory. And in a (for me) appealing super-realist style.

Of ladies taking their dogs for a walk - one in a nineteen twenties mode ...





... and the other something more Edwardian ...





Ok, reactions ..... ?

Or will stunned silence be the thing!

LOL

May Gibbs and the Perils of Baking a Cake!

Can't help posting more of May Gibbs' work!

It's so endlessly charming.

From the anthropomorphised Australian bush creatures - both adorable and scary! To their beautifully realized gum nut world. And the lovely folksy rhyming couplets of the story. All complemented by the deliciously rustic gum nut twig script.









So much of life is in these seeming simple lines - generosity, the demands of tiredness, waggish teasing, danger, duty and loyalty, sweetness of temperament, co-operation ... . All with the dash of a sentiment that does not resonate too well in a cynical age - the triumph of the forces 'good' over 'bad'.

I think it's these underlying almost archetypal meanings that make May Gibbs' work so enduringly popular.

Beauties Still Lurking in the Late Summer Garden

It's late summer here in Sydney and most of the growth of spring has died back.

But there are still some natural beauties, like the epiphytes above and the bromeliads ...

The bogenvillia seem, at least in our sub-tropical climate, to be in flower most of the year!

And the flowers of one of the curry trees have turned to berries, and are now changing colour from green to red to purple - so a whole forest of new saplings is on its way again!

We're still eating fruit off the fig trees ...

... but there's only one papaya left ...

Breakfast tomorrow morning?

I think so!

May Gibbs - Visiting 'Nutcote' and Finding Banksia Men

'Nutcote' (1925) in Neutral Bay, Sydney

I did a post on 20 February 2007 - 'May Gibbs (1877-1969) - Darker and Lighter Visions'. Looking principally at her books for children.

May Gibbs at her desk at 'Nutcote' - Creating the cartoons and text for children's books

Today I visited 'Nutcote' - the home she and her husband had built in 1925 in somewhat of a collaboration with famed architect B. J. Waterhouse.

View from 'Nutcote' towards Sydney Harbour

Another View from 'Nutcote' towards Sydney Harbour

I'd expected to see and enjoy more of her artistic and literary work - and there were plenty of lovely things there in this direction.

But what really blew me away were the interiors of the house. All rooms on a small and perfect human scale, flowing one into another through double doors, with only a small space-wasting entrance hall. Solid dark wood everywhere - doors, built-in book shelves, mantle pieces - but freshened up with cream walls, and by light flooding in through ubiquitous big windows. Every room having extraordinary views of the harbour, views almost in scale with the rooms!

May Gibb's work area, with her original desk and drafting stand

The Dining Room, with Servery into the Kitchen

Wish I'd taken more sneak photos - especially of the two cosy and perfect little bedrooms. I just wanted to crawl into bed and snooze for a bit. Or forever. Cos I attempted to do a deal with one of the volunteer guides - I'd be allowed to take over the house (by force if necessary) on the understanding that it would then be divided in two - half for her half for me. She seemed to consider the idea for an unnaturally long time, given her age and seeming respectability.

After her final and crushing retreat from our takeover bid, I slinked off to the garden in search of the totally scary banksia men from May Gibbs' books ...


.. and there they were ...



... with my own ...


... just too tempting not to pillage in an act of tourist vandalism!

The Efficacy of 'Homo Soap'!

I bet many of you have traveled and had the experience of seeing things put in English - as one of those languages, along with French and a few others, that are often used for prestige purposes - no judgment on cultural imperialism here, just stating how it is! So - text that made you wonder.

I recently saw soda pop in South East Asia branded 'Sweat' - and loved the association of bodily fluids with something you drink! As some will also find with ...


Sometimes, however, the meaning is not so transparent.


All this being said, what do you think is the idea behind 'Homo Soap'? What'll it do for you? Or is it just branded in this way to target a certain section of the market?

What do you reckon?

This is a really great opportunity to let your imagination rip!

Eight Mystery Desk Objects

I was busily working away on the puter this morning (actually, emailing Alan in Florida) when I realized that many of the things on my desk were somewhat mystery objects - unless given the official guided tour.

So I'm now wondering how many of them you'd recognize - without the tour?









Using the number codes ...


... and just to confirm your intuitions and identifications, here're the annotations:

(1) a sterling silver match box, c1880 - you strike matches on the little ridges on the bottom

(2) three cast bronze antique weights, in the shapes of mythical animals - from Laos

(3) a tuppenny piece, the biggest coin I've ever seen - British, 1792

(4) silver figures of gods, sewn onto a woman's head-dress - from Dali, South West China

(5) a tiny old silver cup for drinking spirits - from Kunming, South West China

(6) antique silver buttons - from Vietnam

(7) an old wooden carving - from a window frame, Kathmandu, Nepal

(8) an early C20 silver and brass letter opener - a Japanese novelty item

How did you go?

Remember someone once said 'Honesty is the best policy' (I wonder who that was?)

Daffodils - Variation on a Theme

Daffodils are of course one of the first signs that spring is on its way. They used to pop up all over our front lawn at home - as if by some kind of magic. Breaking any rules about flowers being in garden beds.

They're also a sign that the season of increasing and sap-rising friskiness is imminent. We're just animals, after all. Well, I am - I don't know about you guys! Who may spend those same hours lost in the translation of obscure medieval Latin texts about ... whatever esoteric topic it is that you loose yourself in.

Daffodils are so amazingly and almost unbelievably fresh-looking - and with a scent the same. Nothing what-so-ever to remind you of the nasty musky odor of that leather cub's furry crack a couple of posts ago!

Now, browsing round Google Images, I was surprised to find so much variation on the theme!













Wish spring was on its way here now!

Bit sick of all the de-friskiness-making heat of the (on occasion) 45+ degree heat we've had this summer!

Lots of make sloth - and not much make 'love'!