Sunday, January 29, 2012

Antique Graffiti


Here in our Virginia hotbed of Revolutionary and Civil War vestiges we often read about new archaeological finds. One restoration that caught my eye in view of my fascination with graffiti turns out to be called "Graffiti House" near Culpeper Virginia.

Someone's home was used as a field hospital for the Confederacy, later becoming a headquarters for Federal forces. Soldiers from both sides wrote and drew on the walls, creating a collection of over 200 individual pieces that covers the upstairs rooms from floor to ceiling.


Restorers are attempting to remove the paint and whitewash that subsequent owners used to try to cover up the markings. They also need to stabilize fragile plaster on the walls to preserve the installation of caricatures, messages, autographs and inside jokes.

More antique graffiti: did you know that 18th and 19th century boors messed up the Temple of Dendur?  You can visit it at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. photo via Thiago Santos
Gladiator graffiti from the Colosseum in Rome. Sorry about the photo quality, it was very difficult to capture these images due to the low light in this area. Taken by my husband, as I was most probably overwhelmed with the energy lingering within the Colosseum walls, where so many humans and exotic animals lost their lives, all in the name of entertainment. At least the masses were fed with the spoils--rhinoceros, elephant and giraffe steaks were the order of the day.

To see more Roman graffiti, go here

Seal petroglyph near Sooke on Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Dragon Energy

On January 23, 2012 the Year of the Water Dragon will begin.  A symbol of good fortune and a sign of intense power, in China the dragon is regarded as divine. It's the one animal in the Chinese Zodiac that exists only in mythology.

photo by chooyutshing
The color associated with the Year of the Dragon is golden and the energy sounds ferocious. This seems to me like it's going to be a creatively charged, high energy period. I read that it's lucky to eat Napa cabbage or similar greens. My decluttering will be finished too, so I can invite in the highest quality chi. I'm even toying with a major studio clear out. Instead of trying to organize my assemblage odds and ends so that I don't feel like a bag lady in there, I've decided that out they will go if they don't get incorporated into something by late spring. There!


And just so you don't think I'm too boringly virtuous, here's something delicious and decadent, so much butter and too much sugar, Cinnabon cinnamon rolls. Luckily my son is getting really good at whipping these up and eating most of them (the outer layer was eaten just as I was grabbing my camera).