Mab of Dream

I have had such a great weekend. I think it was even better for the fact that it was unexpected and just happened. Last week, FT Kate and I spoke about when she had an evening free for me to come and collect her computer. It turned out to be Friday, so my 'popping up for an hour' lasted until Monday morning leaving for work!
But there have been so many different people and places, that it's felt like I've had a week's holiday in one weekend.

Friday evening: This was mainly Kate and I playing catch-up, then ending up in a deep discussion about belief systems. We put the whole world to rights.

Saturday: Up at 8am and Kate had to go to work, so I brought her computer back to my 'hood and put it in the shop to fix. I hadn't been in my inbox for a couple of days (usually I start with Witchgrove. If I'm particularly behind or it's very busy in there, I might not get to my inbox at all), and answered everything in there. Kate 'phoned and I met her in Wolverhampton. There was brilliant, because I got to be taken around the art gallery by someone who speaks art. There's so much more to it than I thought. I just figured that it was a good picture or a bad one, created by a good artist or a bad one; I didn't realize that there were all these tricks and symbolism etc, which explains why art critics can spend so long in front of a single picture.

The one we took most time over, as there was a bench, it was a big picture and Kate was having to start from scratch with the explaining things, was 'A Portrait of the Lee Family' by Highmore. That link will take you to some official blarb, because I don't even count as an amateur after one lesson!



This is what I learned: You can fold the portrait into four. The more people in one quarter, the less important they individually are. You can see who the most important person in the portrait is by seeing which quarter is less populated and also seeing who everyone else is looking at or framing. In here, it's the bloke on the right hand side. He's got clothes which stand out in colour; he has two sisters framing him; and there are only three people in his quarter, two of whom are looking at him. If you accidentally stop looking at him, your eyes naturally go to the sister who is holding his hand. Her hand draws you to the group, backed up by the lad behind looking in that direction. Then the line of the Mum's arm, plus the lad behind her, draws you away from the group again, via the little girl on the floor and back to the lad you should be looking at. Then there's the fact that the Dad has died, so he's in a portrait; and another child died, who's now a cherub up the top.

There was loads more, but those were the biggies, I think. This picture was massive and took over a whole wall of the art gallery. The picture I really wanted to see ('The Deluge') wasn't there, but one of the curators reckons it's in storage as they're doing some refurb.

Oh! This was another one, 'The Landing of Louis XVIII at Calais' by Edward Bird.



There was loads in this one. You look straight at Louis XVIII, but you keep being drawn away to a group of people canting on the left-hand side. Then you look at the crowd and find that half of them aren't best pleased at all.

I'm now cultured, can you tell? ;-)

Ian met us in there and we ended up having a meal in Sylvari's, down King Street, where Jim met us. Then we popped into the Moon Under Water for a drink. Wolves had just won 4-2, so Wolverhampton was in party mood. *happy dance* Before I dropped Jim off in the Lunt and, picked up Kate and Ian, now in Brierley Hill, and drove to Selly Oak. We then spent the night there, hours of deep conversations about beliefs and realities etc. They were great!

Back to Kate's on Sunday, watched a couple of History documentaries, then visited a dying lady in hospital, before having some tea and watching Derren Brown's programme 'Messiah'. Both Ian and Kate had individually said they'd like me to watch it, because they'd be interested in my take on it. It was perfect in context!

Then came to work today to find that this week's weekly discussion is by Ivy Wolfmoon and is entitled, 'Losing My Religion', about beliefs and leaving the Pagan path!

Weird timing!

yours
Mab
xxxxx