Drawing Fast-Paced Faces

One of my cake recipes - Moroccanized!

25/7/2018

Many of you purchased my slim, hand-bound cookbook "Morning Tea at Sonja's Studio"
before I left Australia.

I've continued baking the cakes, puddings, slices and biscuits here in my kitchen in Essaouira, Morocco - making adjustments here and there,
and delighting in the new flavours that the
souk-bought ingredients add to the recipes.

One of the recipes, in particular, I decided to "Moroccanize"
I'm happy with the result,
so I thought I'd share it with you here.

Recipe No.12 is Italian Carrot and Almond Torte -
(thank you Diane R. for the original recipe)
and has now transformed into -

Moroccan Carrot and Almond Torte

4 eggs, separated
1 cup raw sugar
2 teaspoons, or more, finely grated orange rind
¾ cup firmly packed, finely grated, carrot
8 chopped dates
splash of orange flower water (don't use rose water)
2 cups almond meal
2 tablespoons plain flour combined with
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup, or more, chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons raw sugar
Icing sugar for dusting (if you like)

Preheat oven - moderate 180˚C.
Grease a deep 20cm round cake pan and line with baking paper. I need to triple the paper on the base, for my small oven, to stop the bottom burning.
Beat egg yolks and sugar in a large mixing bowl until thick and creamy.
Fold in orange rind, carrot, dates, orange flower water, almond meal, flour and baking powder.
Beat egg-whites in a bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
Fold into cake mixture; pour into prepared pan.
Sprinkle top evenly with chopped walnuts, raw sugar and cinnamon.
Place in the preheated oven for about 40-45 minutes, or until lightly browned and cooked when tested.
Cover the top with foil if nuts are over-browning.
Stand cake in pan for 10 minutes; turn out onto wire rack to cool.
Serve either warm or cold. Dust with icing sugar if you like.
You might like to add a few dollops of natural yoghurt sprinkled with cinnamon.

I find shopping for fresh ingredients in Morocco to be inspirational!
Buying from the carts piled with fresh seasonal produce that roll into the Medina everyday, and selecting from the baskets and bowls in the souk, are some of my simple pleasures.

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Tuareg Veil Weights

20/6/2018

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As you may already know,
I have a fascination with these beautiful pieces of adornment.

They are worn by Tuareg women, who receive them as gifts from their husbands, and are tied to the end of their veils to act as a holding weight against the Saharan winds.
Not face covering veils;
Tuareg men cover their faces, but the women do not.

Originally these weights were actual keys to women's jewellery chests and have evolved over time into separate, functional
decorations and symbols of wealth.
There is a correlation here to the Lady's "chatelaine".

Tuareg society is matrilineal and the women own the home
and its contents and are free to divorce.
The Tuareg are a large Amazigh (Berber) ethnic
confederation of about three million people.
They live in the Sahara of Libya, Algeria, Niger, Mali
and Burkino Faso and are nomadic pastoralists.

Occasionally I come across some fine examples of Tuareg veil weights in the jewellery shops and souks here in Morocco.
They are individually wrought using a combination of various metals: brass, bronze, copper, steel and silver.
A language of etched Tuareg symbols completely cover their surfaces. They are talismanic amulets; intriguing and exceptional.

The pictures below show various veil weights;
different sizes and shapes. You can see how they are worn - generally "assrou n'swoul" : thrown over the shoulder.

I have managed to source just eight pieces, available for sale. These are numbered, sized and priced and can be posted worldwide (no charge for postage).

Enquiries can be made through my contact page.

Five beautiful examples in various sizes being worn here...

Below - two stills from the documentary "Adalil - Mistress of the Tents" - (on Youtube) -
here a Tuareg couple talk about how they became engaged.
Adalil's daughter tends to her veil weight while trying to elicit
a stronger and more romantic response from her husband.

Here are the eight Tuareg Veil Weights.

Metal, brass and copper.
33cm in length - $315
SOLD

Metal - 11cm in length - $285
the different view below shows the "knob" to maybe tie
a tassel to.
SOLD

Silver with brass
and copper additions.
15 cm in length - $350
SOLD

These five beauties are made from brass, steel and copper - 24cm in length - $270 each

Take a peek at my Instagram and Facebook page
to see them acting as weights on my own shawls.

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Madrid in April was all about Fashion...

17/5/2018

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This is quite a long story, but just notations with many pictures - because I was happily inspired by what I experienced visually. There were beautiful juxtapositions of textures and textiles, colours and tones.
I gathered many ideas for works with paper and books, printmaking, sewing, weaving and collage...
I hope it sparks lots of ideas for you too...

Two exhibitions at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum:

Sorolla and Fashion
the works of Valencian painter - Joaquin Sorolla - (1863 - 1923)
alongside an exquisite collection of costumes from the era 1890 to 1920.
and
Louis Vuitton - Time Capsule Exhibition
1854 to the present - an elegant selection of LV designs anticipating the needs and
desires of a changing world over 160 years (the world of the very rich, that is).

So let's begin with Sorolla...

Joaquin Sorolla in his studio and his painting of his wife Clotilde.

SILK in all its many manifestations: taffeta, muslin, satin, lace, crepe, chiffon, even silk cheesecloth. Combined with glass and metal beads and sequins.

An incredibly complex design.
The fine lace medallions inserted into the thin silk skirt hardly showed a stitch!

Cotton and lace - white on white - texture reigns.

This was my favourite Sorolla painting - Under the Awning, Zarautz - oil on canvas - 1910.
I love the expression of the breeze in the hat veils, all the reflected light under the awning and the blazing sunshine on the sand behind. I wonder what they're so keenly observing?

A two-piece garden party dress in cotton and lace with matching parasol

Another oil painting titled Under the Awning, Zarautz Beach.
This beach is on the north coast of Spain, not far from Biarritz in France.
The tonal gestures that make up the white clothing are delicious.

A summer garden party dress in linen and cotton from 1908 - 1910 with parasol.
The painting is Snapshot, Biarritz - painted in 1906

Gentleman's linen taffeta jacket and trousers 1920 - 1924.
Straw boater with grosgrain ribbon (of course) 1920 - 1930
Antonio Garcia on the Beach - oil on canvas - 1909
This is one of my favourite men's ensembles - a linen suit. Runs a close second to doeskin breeches, thigh high boots and frock coat - or am I giving too much away?

Raquel Meller - a Spanish singer and international star in the 1920s and 1930s.
Painted here by Sorolla in 1918

Very excited to have the opportunity to study a couple of
Mariano Fortuny's (y Madrazo) creations - based on the ancient Greek "Delphos" design.
Mariano is the son of Mariano Fortuny y Marsal (1838-74) whose exhibition I visited,
at the Prado, in Janauary - my blog post HERE
He lived and worked in Venice and his villa is now a museum.
It houses his lighting designs and inventions for theatre and home.
In particular, his pleated silk and stamped velvet garments - he invented the silk pleating method and patented it - and developed a method of block printing velvet with metallic pigments. His silks were all naturally dyed by hand in beautiful colours.

This top, below, in fine silk taffeta with metal thread cord and Murano glass beads
shows the subtlety, beauty and fine craftsmanship of his work.

And the highlight of the exhibition - for me - was this Fortuny Delphos gown.
Pleated silk taffeta combined with Murano glass beads.
What a masterpiece!
Unfortunately you'll have to imagine the exact colour - a subtle turquoise green.

Now lets go downstairs to the Louis Vuitton exhibition...

At the entrance - one of the seamstresses from the House of Louis Vuitton -
demonstrates leather hand-stitching techniques.
Three screens show all angles as she works - trimming thread, gluing thread ends, and explaining the advantages of hand stitching for longevity and strength.
Explanations delivered in French and translated to Spanish -
fortunately pictures tell a thousand words.

I was fascinated by the tools, of course,
and the beautiful case that was designed to house them all.
I was also imagining a Louis Vuitton designed "artist's field sketching bag"...

The wardrobe trunk - what a perfectly designed piece of luggage that was.
And LV's latest design; I bet this never sees a luggage carousel -
only handled by your leer jet personnel from the hands of your chauffeur.

These are beautiful - linings in watered silk and suede - hand blown glass containers
with silver lids - for your toiletries, cosmetics, perfumes and that perfect cup of tea.

Radical changes in design here -

Hard to beat the simple elegance of this backpack and umbrella.

The only thing missing from the show was the smell of leather.

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1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair 2018 - Marrakech

11/3/2018

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The Marrakech Biennale was meant to happen again this year - 2018 - but was cancelled due to the withdrawal of its sponsorship.
Cue - 1:54 CAAF - the Contemporary African Art Fair -
held annually in London, New York and for the first time, Marrakech. Displaying their art in the beautiful and famous La Mamounia, were seventeen international galleries representing over 60 artists. A very relaxed atmosphere, great conversations with enthusiastic and informed gallery directors and the art, well, that was pretty good too! Here's a little of what took my fancy -
AND of course, feel free to google any of the artists if your inspired to follow a creative thread!

Ibrahim el-Salahi

photo of Ibrahin el-Salahi by David Levene for the Guardian

Still working at the age of 88, this Sudanese artist painter, former politician and diplomat is one of the artists installed in MoMA's fifth-floor galleries whose work bears the wall text: “This work is by an artist from a nation whose citizens are being denied entry into the United States, according to a presidential executive order issued on Jan. 27, 2017. This is one of several such artworks from the Museum’s collection installed here to affirm the ideals of welcome and freedom as vital to this Museum as they are to the United States.”
Ibrahin el-Salahi was also the first African artist to have a retrospective at the Tate Modern in London. Vigo Gallery was his representative at the Fair and I had a delightful conversation with their young curator in front of Ibrahim's ink drawings. I assured her I couldn't afford the $50,000 price tag, but still she was keen to show me examples of his work and happily let me photograph the drawings I liked - here they are - Indian ink and gum arabic - gorgeous.

Horse and Rider - 1970

1964

1977

Kyle Meyer

I've seen many fibre/textile works over the years; starting in the 1960's and 70's when women were boldly and creatively proclaiming their Truth using the so-called "gentle arts" as their medium of self expression. This work was largely ignored by major galleries - and was given the new name of "craft". Of course, if a man produces a woven artwork, a knitted wall hanging, a knotted rug or a patchwork quilt - it suddenly and easily slips onto a gallery wall as "fine art". Am I bitter? You bet!
Kyle Meyer (above), Abdoulaye Konaté and Joël Andrianomearisoa (below) have created some beautiful work but I can't help but view them through my Woman's Eye.

Abdoulaye Konaté

Man Wall Hanging (my title)

Joël Andrianomearisoa

Labyrinth of Passions (the Green Process) 2017

Nu Barreto

Always exciting to view an artist's portfolio - here the representative of Louisimone Guirandou Gallery takes us through Nù's surprising red pencil drawings - this artist is from Guinea-Bissau, born in 1966, now lives and works in Paris.

Ouattara Watts

A very interesting watercolour and I really liked the pairing with the mauve suede bag.
Then the owner of the bag turned up - in a fabulous crocheted dress!

Moshekwa Langa

A blue detail from this South African artist who now lives and works in Paris.

and one more from
Ibrahim el-Salahi

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Darija classes with beldi style -

21/2/2018

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Today, our Darija (Moroccan Arabic) class was held at a classmates beldi (country) house just outside Essaouira. A beautiful place she has created herself, over the past eight years.
Have a look around and learn some Darija at the same time...

Our classroom under the olive trees / zeetoun shjaar

The turquoise front door/bab to the happy/ferhana place.

Black and white cat. Khel oo byed msh. Green eyes - beautiful cat. Khadar ini - zween msh

Window and chairs - sherjhem oo kursee

A beautiful carved stable door for the horse and the rescued donkeys/Hmaar

Tortoise fekroun Turkey bibi Sheep howlee

The sheep's name is Lana (Italian for wool).
She will be clipped shortly and her fleece will be spun by a local woman in the village.
Lana is due to have a lamb in April.

Pots and a threshold - good symbols!

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Madrid on a Thursday in January -

20/1/2018

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This time I stayed on Gran Via in the city centre.
The temperature range for the day: minus one to sixteen degrees C. Ten degrees cooler than Essaouira.

Here's my morning perspective from the cosy breakfast room -

And a reminder underfoot -
for those of you who read my FB post about my Threshold series (14th September 2016).

***

First stop - THE PRADO - to see two exhibitions:
Mariano Fortuny (senior)
and
Cai Guo-Qiang
(the Chinese artist who works with gunpowder)

Fortuny's beautiful watercolours of Morocco place him firmly in the romantic school of Orientalism.

He trained in Rome on a grant from the Provincial Council of Barcelona.
Went on to North Africa to paint episodes from the Spanish-Moroccan war
(they still don't make good neighbours)
and was inspired by the local peoples and their customs,
an inspiration that reappeared throughout his career.

He had a fascination with the macabre - a few paintings showing near dead prisoners in chains and
a particularly disturbing watercolour titled "Jailer with his Dismembered Prisoner"
that I didn't need to inspect closely - and painted from life obviously.

As you can see, I'm showing the watercolours I prefer.
The painting above - "A Moroccan" - 32 x 20 cm (1869)
Below - "Camels Reposing - Tangiers" - 21 x 37 cm

He was a great innovator in watercolour, introducing a new spontaneity,
tonal clarity and exquisite quality of execution.
Fortuny's oils however, were the basis for his fame and highly influential in Spain, Italy and France.

My preference is for his small oil paintings. They sparkle like jewels.
This piece below, I first spotted across a crowded room in the Prado in 2016,
and knew it immediately as Morocco, because of Mariano's skillful depiction of the light.
"Moroccans" - 17 x 25 cm

This one, below, is probably his most famous. It's reproduced on everything in the Museum shop.
"The Artist's Children in the Japanese Salon" - 44 x 93 cm (1874)
I have a folding fan depicting the detail of the gold butterflies and cherry blossom, a portion of the red cushion and that gorgeous turquoise background.
(the colour is not so accurate in this reproduction, or the fan's, for that matter).

I liked the added touch of the smoke billowing up from the poster for CAI GUO-QIANG

You may have seen his work before.
Here's some of his pure gun powder pieces from the Brisbane Triennial in 2009.

Cai has been studying the collection at the Prado for the last two years.
He is the first contemporary artist to work on-site (October 2017 - March 2018)
I personally did not like the work he produced;
mixing pigments with the gun powder before ignition - hence no pictures (sorry).

What I did find fascinating though, were these few "sketches" and plans.
Below - his plan for blowing up the Spanish royal family and the pigment placement. I love these pieces!

And below - the first spark, so to speak...

After the Prado the next stop had to be JECO - the best art supplies shop in Madrid.
I stocked up on Golden acrylics ready for my next paintings for the Kasbah des Caids gallery in Tamnougalt.
And a visit to La Riva Papeleria - a paper shop that cuts my paper order to luggage size.