Narrow Boat Painting on Flower Boxes Part 1

Today I made some art! Yaayyy!! It’s been so long… This morning I spent some time in the studio trying to tidy up and made some inroads into the chaos, providing a bit of space to work again.

Over several years my hubby has been given a bottle of port for Christmas, in a wooden gift box. These boxes were so nice that he didn’t want to throw them away, but couldn’t immediately think of a use for them. He has been working very hard in the garden this year, and it’s so lovely for him that our garden is small enough for him to be a bit creative as well as just doing maintenance and keeping the weeds down. We have a shed/summerhouse at the top of the garden, and this year he had a brainwave to paint these boxes and hang them by their rope handles on the front of the summerhouse. They are not big enough to put real plants in, so he got some little pots with silk flowering plants in them which fit nicely inside the boxes, and they look very nice hanging there, visible from the house.

I suggested that it might be fun to do some narrow boat painting on the front of these boxes, and he agreed – they have been hanging around for ages waiting for me to get down to it, but we have been so busy, and then having the sitting room decorated, that my poor studio reverted to its usual dumping ground status when it’s not being used, and it is only this week that I can find no further excuse for not getting in there and getting stuck in with some art again.

So far this evening I have mapped out and planned what I am going to do. I took some ordinary copy paper and pressed it onto the front of the two different sized boxes and cut these shapes out.

Many years ago when we were on a canal holiday, I bought this gorgeous book on narrow boat painting, which is a traditional English folk art. The book has plenty of illustrations of this style in use on boats and the many traditional objects carried on the boats, and it has instructions on how to construct the basic flower shapes.

I have been interested in the history of this art style for a long time. Many years ago my mum and I went away on a short mid-week break to Budapest, where I bought a black felt waistcoat in the traditional style, embroidered with brightly-coloured flowers in the style of the “Matyo rose.” Google this and you will see how attractive it is. I was wearing this waistcoat at a lecture some years later, and the lecturer, an Indian gentleman, approached me at the coffee break and asked if the waistcoat was Indian. I was intrigued by this question, knowing the history of the style, and explained where it had come from. The original true Gypsies originated in India and migrated westwards across Europe, carrying their beautiful art work with them and influencing the local culture as they went. Their caravans were traditionally decorated in this brightly coloured naïve style, and when they started to migrate onto the canal boats, known as “narrow boats” because of their long, narrow shape designed to fit in the narrow English canals, carrying the cargo which fuelled the Industrial Revolution, they began to decorate their boats in the same way. Like the caravans, the boats were home to these travelling people, living on the job, carrying the coal and iron and manufactured goods across the country.

Living in a caravan or a narrow boat, space is at a premium and many of them dreamt of living in a castle – hence the traditional “roses and castles” designs so characteristic of the style. It is very romantic and decorative, and the style has been revived in recent times and is immensely popular, on the canals (now restored to their former glory, for tourist use rather than for industrial transport) and on many objects which find their way into people’s homes.

I have done some of this painting myself in the past. It is surprisingly easy to do, with simple strokes of the brush, using bold and bright colours.

Here are the templates with the roses and daisies mapped out roughly. They will serve as a guide to painting on the boxes.

Here is a sketch of the flowers with a plan for the colours – I may change my mind once I get started – we shall see.

Watch this space to see my progress. This is going to be fun.

Daddyhole

Daddyhole… what a funny name! According to one website, the origin derives from a natural arch or hole in the cliff which the Victorians named “London Bridge” but which has a much older name – “Devil’s Hole.” In Old English, Daddy was a name for the devil! In some ways I wish I’d never found that out!!

Anyway, today I felt sufficiently better to realise that I was going stir crazy, not having left the house at all for several days. I asked my hubby if we could go out for a while to look at the sea as it was a lovely day, so he took me up to Daddyhole, which is not far from where we live, in Torquay. This is a high-up plateau above the sea, with wonderful views and the air is always fresh. At this time of year there are plenty of wild flowers growing, too.

Coastguard Station.

This is unfortunately no longer in operation and has been turned into a museum.

I love seaside architecture! It’s so light-hearted. Isn’t this a fun terrace of houses painted in their pretty pastel colours.

My hubby.

A most intriguing little archway to the left of the Coastguard Station with a path leading down the cliff.

We found these really weird flowers growing on the cliff top. They look like giant lavender! They were quite large. I have not seen this plant before.

View over the bay.

Looking over the cliff.

Flowers and railings.

Rocks and boats.

I love those three rocks strung out across the sea. Lots of sailing boats out today.

The sky was so beautiful today – I think you will agree that the changing cloud formations are gorgeous. The sky and sea were so blue.

A short, but very pleasant trip out – a change of scene and a breath of sea air. OK, I was knackered when we got home, but it was worth it.

Edited later: Pic of me taken by my hubby. I wasn’t aware of him doing it so I’m looking a bit dozy!

Here’s another pic he took the other day, at Anstey’s Cove, another beautiful bit of our Torquay coastline.

On the Dig

This morning my hubby took me over to the local archaeological dig where he has been volunteering for the past couple of weeks. This is the first year since the dig began, that he has been able to go full time, because previously, work had a habit of getting in the way! (Actually these days I don’t see him for dust on a daily basis, so not much change from when he was working!!)

This is the site of a Roman, and earlier Bronze Age settlement. It was discovered several years ago by my hubby’s friend who introduced him to metal detecting – this gentleman discovered a large number of Roman coins which he took to the university, where interest was sparked, and an archaeological team was appointed to open an official dig. The team consists of qualified archaeologists and students, and a number of volunteers from the local area. This particular excavation has revealed the first evidence that the Romans settled west of Exeter, so it is an important find.

Here are a couple of general views of the site.

Running across the site is the Roman road which has been unearthed. If you look carefully on the left of the road, just to the right of the little row of stones, you can see a wheel rut in the road. The road is cambered, and there are several potholes that have been filled with different types of stone – obviously the Romans had the same problem with potholes that we do today!

Beyond the road, a series of stakes and tapes plot the further path of the road, as revealed by the geo-phys.

Technology in action:

Equipment.

Removing dust with a large brush.

Sieving. This is the job my hubby was on for a few days last week – yesterday he was glad to be back on the main site, clearing with a brush. I told him that in order for the professional archaeologists to do their job, they depend on minions like himself – the blue-collar workers who do the donkey work, boring as it may be!

I noticed that the sievers were wisely standing up-wind of their sieves – there was a light breeze today and it was very hot and dry, and the sieving generated a lot of dust which was blowing about.

Clearing with a fine brush.

Today they uncovered part of a brooch, and a flattened section of a bracelet with some decoration on it, both probably made of bronze. I was shown a section of quern stone – the Romans used two discs of stone with a hole drilled through the middle through which a spindle would have passed, and through which grain would have been poured. On the upper stone, near the edge, another hole would have accommodated a stick which would be used as a handle to turn the upper stone on the lower, and the result of the grinding would work its way to the edges of the stones and be collected. This piece of stone that I was shown looked very unremarkable to my untrained eye – no doubt I’d have rejected it as simply a bit of old rock, but the archaeologist pointed out the smooth curved outer edge which was sufficient to identify it.

I find it amazing that they are able to recognise what is a genuine find, and distinguish it from the surrounding worthless rubble, but as my hubby pointed out, when the Bank of England trains its tellers in the recognition of counterfeit notes, they do not give them counterfeits to handle, but the real thing, and then, when they encounter a counterfeit, they are so familiar with the real thing that the forgery is instantly recognisable. In the same way, the archaeologists become so familiar with the feel of pottery, metallic objects, bone, and so on, that they can identify a genuine find almost immediately, even if it looks quite unremarkable.

I was impressed by the organisation and quiet industry at the site. Everybody knew what they were supposed to be doing, and they were all applying themselves with great concentration to their own particular job of the moment. Each time something was turned up, the exact location was marked and the find was bagged, and a special laser record was made so that the finds could all be plotted on the computer in 3-D. You can see the bags and tags fixed to the ground in the first two photos. The archaeologist explained to me that archaeology is a destructive process because the site is not left intact when they have finished. I had not thought about it like this before.

This is an extensive site, and ground radar has indicated that it extends across many fields. Hopefully the funding will continue, and the dig will be opened up each summer for the foreseeable future. My hubby is thrilled to have the opportunity to volunteer, and to be part of such an exciting venture so close to home, and now that he has retired, he can immerse himself fully in the experience.

It is exciting to think of the Romans living so close to us, living their ordinary daily lives and leaving things for us to find many hundreds of years later. I always feel a great sense of excitement when I handle something that has been dug up – my hubby brings home all sorts of interesting finds from his metal detecting jaunts – spindle whorls, shoe buckles, coins – and I think of the last person to handle the object before it was lost and buried, and what sort of lives they would have led; what their beliefs were, their style of dress, their food, etc. etc. Handling these objects centuries later gives one a real sense of connection with our ancient past, and the human beings who lived such different lives from our own, in our local area, but sharing the same emotions, joys, doubts and fears which are the common lot of humanity. They breathed the same air, saw the same moon and stars, were warmed by the same sun, and lived through the same seasons. It makes one feel grounded in one’s own environment, having a sense of our ancestors going back through the centuries, and provides a sense of belonging and continuity.

Salisbury and Cotswolds Holiday Day 8–Cirencester and Home–First Post

On our final day, after leaving our lovely farm bed and breakfast, we visited Cirencester before beginning the journey home. We ended up spending most of the day there as it was just great.

My hubby took me to the amazing museum which celebrates the rich Roman history of the town. The museum is of a very high standard indeed, with the exhibits beautifully displayed. Just as we arrived, a school party from Oxford also arrived, and we spent some time going around with them, and I was very impressed with the standard of teaching, and the responses of the children. It was clearly a very good school and the children behaved very well throughout.

Adjoining the shop on the way out was a small gallery where they hold temporary exhibitions of local art, and the current one was based on William Shakespeare. I have done a separate post about this – more delicious art! We’ve been so blessed with it on this holiday!

The entrance lobby of the museum was screened off with a glass wall through which we could see the first of many displays of mosaics and wall paintings. Cirencester was an important Roman settlement and many very fine mosaics and other artefacts have been unearthed.

Looking through the lobby to the Roman Garden beyond.

Throughout the museum we found this beautiful logo, sand-blasted onto various glass panels, reflecting the museum’s emphasis on mosaics.

In the first photo you may have noticed a large hare in front of the mosaics on the wall. Cirencester is currently holding a “hare festival” and various shops and other venues have these large figures, each decorated in a different way. The museum one was embellished, appropriately, with mosaics. A lovely piece of work.

You can read more about the Hare Festival here. Lots more images here.

There were quite a few life-sized displays of figures illustrating life in Roman Britain (and other periods too – our time was limited so we just concentrated on the Romans). The school children were particularly fascinated by the mounted Roman cavalryman – or more particularly by his horse!

I am always fascinated that the Romans did not use stirrups, which were invented much later, and the horses are understood to have been unshod. Despite this, they were still a force to be reckoned with.

Walking in on this display, I almost apologised for disturbing a man sitting on his bed!

The Roman soldiers certainly had pretty basic accommodation – this looks more like a scene from a concentration camp!

A closer view of the Roman Garden. You can see the beautiful wall paintings beyond, and the mosaic logo on the glass partition.

The reconstruction of a Roman hypocaust found in Cirencester. I am fascinated by this form of underfloor heating – not just the simple but effective technology, but perhaps it has something to do with the word itself? It has a wonderful sound that rolls off the tongue (I love words…).

This display of Romans relaxing at home was very interesting. We listened to the teacher explaining that the installation of a mosaic in one’s home was a huge labour which would have taken many months, or longer, depending on the quality. This was a major investment, and proved that the owner was a person of wealth and status. They would have taken great delight in showing off their mosaics to their friends and neighbours. When they moved house, they would have to leave it behind as there was no way of lifting it and transplanting it to the new house, so I am sure that having quality mosaics would increase the sale value of the house. (I wonder if the wall paintings I left behind in our old house will have the same effect? Lol!)

Viewed from the balcony above, the famous Hunting Dogs mosaic could be seen in all its splendour. This is a very fine mosaic indeed, with small tesserae, and a great deal of detail. The muted colours come from the local stone, carefully selected and cut.

A reproduction pillar with an original Roman capitol in the Corinthian style. Each of the four faces depicts a Roman god – in this case the god of wine, Bacchus, surrounded as usual by grapes and vines. What particularly intrigued me was his wand, or thyrsus – in this case, the shape of it was exactly the same as the labrys or double-headed axe of the Minoan civilisation – my father brought me back a beautiful heavy silver pendant in this shape. It was a sacrificial axe, and it gave its name to the famous Labyrinth of Knossos, where Theseus slew the Minatoar in Greek mythology. With further research I may be able to establish the connection with Bacchus but no time at present!

From the Christian period of Roman occupation, this Sator square was found in Cirencester. It is an acrostic which spells “Pater Noster” – “Our Father.” It was probably a coded message passed between Christians, much as the simple image of the fish was used. There is plenty of information about this online.

Finally from the museum, a fine example of a wall painting in the form of panels – a popular design in Roman villas.

I took plenty more photos but could not possibly include them all here – this is a good representative sample.

Some pictures of Cirencester streets:

It’s a beautiful town, with very classy and intriguing shops. We came across this book shop with lots of flying hippos and bunting in the window!

Then… more chocolate heaven! I managed to restrain myself from going into this particular shop, and contented myself with photographing it from the windows! The first photo reflects the Hare Festival and features a large hare made of chocolate.

What about these chocolate cakes?

Yummy, or what? More pictures of the inside of the shop. First, a stunning chandelier consisting of carefully arranged hanging crystals, illuminated by small spotlights from above.

After this we found a very nice place to eat – a bit expensive but certainly worth it! This is the window seat with a set of lovely brown cushions in different fabrics. My hubby’s hat tones very well, don’t you think?

After lunch we visited the outdoor market, and then an indoor antiques market – I had wanted to do this first thing, and was proved right because by the time we got there they were starting to pack up. In the antiques market I bought a length of cream coloured lace for art work but there wasn’t much else in the way of vintage linens or textiles. In the outdoor market I came across a stall selling beautiful bright coloured Indian clothes and the lady running it looked so beautiful that I asked for a photo, and she obliged!

After this we really felt we should be making tracks for home, as we’d stayed a lot longer than we intended. I didn’t want to go straight home after leaving the bed and breakfast, but wanted to take advantage of our last day away, especially as several of the days were spoilt for me by feeling so poorly! We were home in time to feed two hungry kitties who were, of course, absolutely delighted to have us home again.

I have composed this post on Saturday 21st June but kept its date in sequence with the rest of the holiday posts – last night I was much too tired to attempt it, and today I am having a rest and attempting to catch up with myself a bit – we’ve got a family get-together tomorrow evening and I need to be on top form for that!