Sunday 1 March 2009

Classroom / Bedroom

Too many words, too few pictures, recently. Let's put that right with some of this week's haul.

First, two more university windows. These seem to pose the question, what kind of tool is education: a ladder, or a spade, or maybe both? As I am fond of saying, "To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail" ...






Second, our bedroom on Saturday morning, with early spring light beginning to enliven the reflective surfaces. The linocut of the church, and the painting of the bowl, incidentally, are by my partner's great aunt Mary Creighton McDowall. A set of these Italian linocuts appear in the book she published with husband Arthur McDowall Peaks & Frescoes : a study of the Dolomites (Oxford University Press, 1928).




3 comments:

Mauro Thon Giudici said...

While young in the Alps I used to have breakfast in a bowl like that. The last image is very touching and really gets the sense (at least for me) of the place. Compliments to the family tree.
Looking for a copy of the book I found several used (any advice ?). Think I am going to buy one. Your book selection is always welcome. By the way I bought "Instant light" by AT and found it interesting as you said (well, maybe, except for the Chiaromonte's writings).

Mike C. said...

Thanks, Mauro. Maybe the bowl was a souvenir of the Dolomites?

I've been admiring your Sasello pictures, by the way, especially January 2009 #10.

Yes, the Instant Light book is a "grower" -- it gets more interesting the more you look at it. Funnily enough, I'm going to have a Tarkovsky night later on tonight -- Stalker, I think.

Haji baba said...

Hi, I'm researching for a book about colour woodcut and linocut artists of the twenties and thirties and came across Mary McDowall exhibiting with the Colour Woodcut Society in 1927 - 'A church in the Dolomites' of course!

If you had any more infornmation about her - dates of birth and death, where she trained and lived, anything really - I'd be very grateful. You are very lucky to own the linocut. I think her work is rare. I assume they are the originals that were reduced for the book.

I'd also like to feature her work on my blog.

Gordon Clarke