Olden Days Fan Art

Ever get lost in the mysterious masterwork of da Vinci? Beguiled by the smile of Mona Lisa? Pondered the fact that there’s slightly non-contiguous barren-like landscapes on either side of her?

It seems you need not ponder any longer. Besides the previous realization some years back that da Vinci likely used himself as a model for creating the alluring woman, another aspect of the strange (and wonderful) painting has come to light - the rationale of the landscapes paired with a beautiful lady.

One might call the Mona Lisa a bit of Fan Art, actually! Dr. Ross Kilpatrick (Queen's University Classics professor emeritus) has figured out that this painting is a kind of homage to the poems of both Roman poet Horace and Florentine poet Petrarch. da Vinci is believed to have read each... and both deal with a lovely smiling lady and a devotion to follow her across the world - including the barren places.

Thus, it’s a kind of “interpretation” or transference of medium of the poetry.

Pretty neat!

You can read the full article here.

This came to my attention via a friend I’ve made via the connections of Facebook. So, thank you, Gloria Beanblossom! Gloria is the author of The Tamarisk Tree, Byron's Corner and the upcoming The Wishing Stone. Give her site a visit to find out more about her or her works.  Thanks again, Gloria!

A Lovely Weekend

I’ve spent all but one of the past few nights at the theatre. I’ve been up 14-foot ladders painting the trim of the palace columns and doing various other tasks. It’s good to be a stage hand again. I haven’t done it for quite some time, since the last Vitalist Theatre production I would guess. I’d help out quite a bit in college. I’ve acted, too. But I regard theatre as a vacation spot. It’s nice to be there for a while, but eventually I’ve had my fill. I certainly stayed long on this round. Let’s just say I could see light when I left. But I’m up late usually anyway.

Saturday night we had a dinner guest, the lovely *Le Trix. Bart presented us with another culinary triumph. A “luscious bone-in roast loin of pork, glazed with a mélange of navel & blood orange juices, apricot jam, Dijon mustard and a kiss of red wine.” Since the fun lasted rather long, I would have gotten to the theatre quite late so I took a break and got some extra sleep.

In the morning Bart and I had another delicious meal at m. henry, one of our favorite haunts for brunch. We met *Dragonfly as per usual and he delighted us with his special brand of silliness, also as per usual. After a day of store hopping in Andersonville and then a nice sushi dinner with Bart’s sister *Lage, I returned for another late night of work at the theatre.

It looked stunning to begin with but now we may as well be in India.

All in all, a fabulous weekend.

*Pseudonyms

Serendipity Anyone?

Last night Great Spirit doled out some of Its magic.

I attended a dinner date that almost didn’t happen due to scheduling. While waiting for our friends to arrive, who should walk in but my best friend. I barely (we’ll just go ahead and say never) get to see him anymore. For one thing, he lives too many miles away. He’s a professor at Knox College of which we’re both of alums. For another, when he’s not teaching or in the field, he’s a husband to a charming lady (a professor and performer of dance) and father of two lovely girls. The poor guy hardly has time to himself. Anyway, the restaurant happened to be one of three that he could have gone to at the suggestion of the guy with him. On the way to take him home, they picked up some take-out, a dinner break. My buddy had come to town to work on Vitalist Theatre’s latest production: the American Midwest Premiere of E. M. Forster’s saga A Passage to India, adapted by Martin Sherman. I’m also friends with the founders and director of Vitalist Theatre, too. They happen to be professors at Knox as well.

Needless to say after dinner I swung by the theatre and started painting. As if I would miss an opportunity to be with my best friend and help out my college mentor and his wife, the director! They’ve been especially generous with their time, resources and advice throughout the various stages of getting my novel Peter Pan’s NeverWorld off the ground. I just don’t see how there could be any place else I should have been last night. Hopefully I will get to help paint and do other various tasks for this show again tonight. I’ve helped them out every chance I could. This is their 10th Anniversary Season.

My buddy is the set designer and I’ve seen some impressive and unbelievable transformations of theatre space. I must say… he has outdone himself. It’s exceptional. And given the caliber of past Vitalist performances, I am quite looking forward to seeing this one unfold on this work of grandeur.

What are the chances of a dinner taking weeks to make happen being the same night, time and choice of take-out, etc.? I love it when serendipity conspires in your favor. It makes me feel like I’m in a novel.