RAIN

I was caught in the rain today while trying to come to work (in truth, the correct term would be flood).

After seeing the images on tv of how flooded Lisbon was today, I remembered these images of rainy days days and the people stuck in their cars. They look like photos, but they are actually paintings!

who wants jam?

Life works in circles. Last year, around this time, I made some of this. This year I decided to cheer up the jars with a bit of illustration. By the way.... it tastes sooooo goood!

socks

Today someone called me Pipi Long Stocking. I thought I might as well share it.

work in progress

After the drawing comes the wall hanging. The cloth is home grown and home spun linen that is about 60 years old and the yarn is 100% rustic wool bought a couple of months back at the Retrosaria. They come in beautiful earthy colors. Actually, I'm heading off right now to buy some more. 

Home

Even though I just discovered this song today, it's a great coincidence since today I got the news that the short story I wrote last year for the A Day on the Planet project is finally published and launched in it's German version today. The English version will be out in December! Can't wait! The story is about finding home and this song is the perfect match! I think you know who I dedicate this to...

Home 
Let me come home
Home is wherever I''m with you.

We laugh until we think we'll die,
Barefoot on a summer night
Nothin' new is sweeter than with you.

public administration

Stamps are the perfect metaphor for Portuguese public administration. These are the stamps I bought last Tuesday at the flea market. They remind me public administration offices some years back were you would always here the sound of civil servants hammering down on stamps, dating and authenticating stuff. It would take you an entire day to do whatever it is you needed done and you were very thankful in the end that it didn't take you longer! I remember the finance office in Viana: a damp place with a florescent lit atmosphere and green plants in brown plastic vases to make it look more "cheerful", where very frustrated people worked around piles and piles of paper work.    

Yesterday I spent my lovely afternoon amongst public administration. Although the physical spaces are quite different and you don't hear the hammering of stamps, I waited for 2 hours and then I gave up and went home. The stamps might be gone but the metaphor remains. 

Old photos

Living in my grandparents house meant leaning over the window sill every time someone rang the doorbell. I don't know who this is in the picture, but she is very Portuguese.

clocks, buttons, glasses

Today I bought vintage rubber stamps, a faucet and cheetah print high heels.... it's for a good cause.

Swing

It feels great to draw again.

Sou do minho, sou do minho, de Viana natural....

My first trip to the flea market after hibernation and I came home with 2 more traditional scarves from Viana. I am now a proud owner of three beautiful colored scarves which I plan to wear frequently, either as a head piece or around my neck. In my grandmother's attic I found a very old red scarf, made from fine wool, very torn, but still with the vibrant red colors, woolen fringes and and patterned cornucopia that characterizes them. Originally these scarves were imported through Porto from the former Czechoslovakia and in many eastern european countries they are a part of traditional costumes as well. The ones I bought were made in the Viana region, according to their tags and are made from cotton.



Carlos Relvas. c. 1880



Old photos

Old photographs fascinate me. I've been collecting them on our frequent visits to the flea market. I still don't know what I am going to do with them. I have started to draw the one's I like most and rearrange them in old albuns. Today I decided to start sharing some my favorites... inspired by Janis, of course.

I really like this one by the way they are dressed with short skirts and white socks. 

Hopefully anyone reading this blog will discover someone they might know...  

Merrell Urban Side

After being unfairly regarded as unable, uncompetitive and out of fit, Pete was "forced" to include me in his last minute team set-up for the Merrell Urban Side since the rules stated that each team must be composed of members of both genders. Sexist considerations set aside, the truth is Pedro, Miguel, Ruben and I were PRIM, the winning team of the first edition in Lisbon of this major city scavenger hunt. Pedro had the strategic game experience and leadership, Miguel had the best knowledge of the city's layout, Ruben was our creative boyscout and I was the cultural/historical reference book. Ah!, and we can't forget Beta who was our stand-by google consultant!

The game was amazingly well set-up: we had to run, bike ride or take public transportation to different locations across the city given to us through clues, that would then takes us to other locations were, in each, we had different tasks and more clues. In the end, we summed up a winning 750 points. and someone had some apologizing to do... Next year I really hope to participate again but without gender discriminations...





lunch

My lunch today in between rain drops and sunshine.
Bought a new sketchbook and drawing pen. All I need now are my watercolours.

My grandmother's attic

My grandmother's attic is very creepy and dusty. To get to it, you must climb a skinny metal ladder from the kitchen, open a wooden trap door and make your way up. No one ever goes there, so no one really knows what is up there. Of course, attics attract me.

I have always known that up there are four old trunks, two of which contain bed spreads that my grandma wanted to hang in the sunlight. What I didn't know was that under those bed spreads were the family's heir loom: dozens of hand spun, hand woven and embroidered linen cloths! Same of which belonged to my great grandmother. In fact, my grandmother had forgotten it was up there. It is amazing how old wooden trunks preserve cloth so well, everything was still in great condition, just a bit of an old moldy smell. 

I'm back!!

130 pages later and I finished my master's thesis. Museums will never be the same again!
Now I can finally treat myself to a single reese peanut butter cup that has been waiting patiently for me in the fridge for this moment. The strange thing is is, having been in total reclusion, it feels weird to get up in the morning and not have a 5 page deadline in front of the computer.
So to start off right I made myself another list: a short term list of things that will bring me immediate pleasure, like calling friends, watching dumb TV shows, restarting embroidery and going the the photo lab (I have a year full of film to develop!).
It feels amazing to be back!