Muscle Memory

It’s been a while since attending a ballet based class was a thing for the humans @theoldmortuary.

An exercise class called Barre enticed us in.

My previous ballet experience was in a mirror- less room at the Institute, Braintree so even the word Barre was a little bit exciting. Holding the Dado rail was the Essex way. Plymouth Ballet lessons were a lot posher for Hannah and involved lessons from Wayne Sleep and Bonnie Langford as well as mirrors and Barres.

As it turns out we didn’t touch the Barre.

The movements and language were a revelation. I had completely forgotten that French is the language of ballet.

The strange thing is that our bodies had not forgotten, effortlessly getting into the positions required before our brains had fully processed the command.

‘Effortlessly’ is slightly disengenuous, we didn’t turn into giddy, gauzy, whisps of women seemingly floating across the dance floor in a chiffon of pink. How I wish that were the case; but it was noticeable that none of the moves were unfamiliar to us and we threw in little ‘Jettes’ quite naturally and our ‘arabesques’ felt as beautiful as the word suggests. As with all things exercise there was a punchy soundtrack that encouraged movement and time keeping. The only downside to all this ballet nostalgia was the mirror, in keeping with its well-known cliche. It didn’t lie.

Digital Learning Day

Every day is a digital learning day @theoldmortuary as we are both digital migrants, very far from Luddites we are early adopters of technology who have a fondness for the hardware of the pre-digital age. Currently involved,and failing, to engage local artists in the benefits of Instagram , this morning I adopted irony with my post.

© Guardian

This image captivated me over the weekend, it illustrated an article about Hilary Mantel and her new book. Another image from the weekend was this typewriter in Joe and the Juice, Wimbledon.

I love that the hardware of the pre-digital age are loved by so many people and not all thrown into landfill.

Joe and the Juice, Regent Street had another gorgeous typewriter when I was there in the winter.

Lurking in the studio @theoldmortuary there is a collection of wooden letterpress letters.

The sentiment is somewhat appropriate.

And, thank goodness, neatly brings me back to art.

I would be really grateful to anyone who has an idea or experience of engaging artists and makers to engage with Instagram and Social Media in general. Comments either on here or on theoldmortuary Instagram/ facebook page. Thanks in advance.

Bright shaft of sunlight.

This morning the sunshine demanded to be noticed @theoldmortuary.

It highlights.

1. Tissues, we have been bogged down with a shocking virus this weekend. Not the headline grabbing sort just one that saps the strength and deadens the creative soul.

2. Hidden books, I have no idea how they get there.

3. Shadows, we have cast metal fish in our windows . In spring as soon as the sun comes out the fish shadows swim all over the ground floor.

4. Phalluses

Today is Ash Wednesday, an important date in the Christian calendar and #ash is the prompt for the social media account of Drawn to the Valley an artist collective I am involved with.( I used David Bowie’s Ashes to Ashes lyrics to fulfil the prompt) I mention this only in passing to illustrate that although I am not an active Christian I do have a good grip living opposite a church and being culturally shaped by Christianity, the gentle moves of the Christian calendar and it’s feasts and rituals are integral to the shape of our daily lives. Weddings, funerals and baptisms shape the way we park if nothing else. Paganism too plays it’s part in todays blog about Bright Shafts of Sunlight. There is almost an eponymous characteristic to those words. #4 explained

Our garden traps confetti, even after a winter of harsh storms and few weddings, today’s ‘ bright shaft of sunlight’ has its own special meaning @theoldmortuary as the garden twinkles with golden phalluses.

Advent#31

December 31st 2019, the last day of a decade. The blog has grown into itself. Pondering has become the driving word for narrative and visual creations. All thanks to a writing course with The Gentle Author of Spitalfields life.

https://spitalfieldslife.com/

Pondering the past year, I grabbed one picture for each month from my smartphone. There was no theme. No images of dogs or family or friends. In reality I ponder my friends, family and dogs often in the moments of these images. Taking you all into the next decade is the best gift imaginable.

Time to gently close the door on 2019 and lift the latch on the one marked 2020.

@theoldmortuary , pondering 2019 one month at a time.

Portwrinkle, Cornwall. January 2019

Portwrinkle again. Shells on a rusty GPO box. February 2019

https://gailsbread.co.uk/bakeries/dulwich-village/

Cheese straws. Gail’s Bakery, Dulwich Village. March 2019

https://www.porteliot.co.uk/

Wild Garlic, Port Eliot, St Germans, Cornwall. April 2019

Spring Flowers, Trematon Castle, Saltash. May 2019.

Hong Kong. June 2019

https://www.vam.ac.uk/

Shadows at the Dior Exhibition. V and A, Kensington July 2019

Rusty watering can rose and geranium. @theoldmortuary.August2019

https://kelly-house.co.uk/

Quick sketch of a 90 year old theatrical crown. Kelly House, Kelly. September 2019

Spider web, Waterside, Saltash October 2019

Corrugated cardboard rolled. St Ives, Cornwall. November 2019

Scavenged Festive wreath @theoldmortuary December 31st 2019.

https://www.oceanstudios.org.uk/

See you there …

Advent#29

Despite once appearing in a ‘Style’and ‘Lifestyle’ magazine theoldmortuary is never going to appear in a sophisticated magazine shoot at Christmas.

Our festive decorating taste has a ‘hoarder’ aesthetic. We have no colour theme or mood board planning.. We are a rest home for gaudy, exotic and outrageous baubles . Baubles that might not get chosen in other homes are free to swing on our Nordman.

A subset of the bauble collection is the travel section. Either bought by us or gifted to remind us of a specific time or place.

This gorgeous creature arrived today and despite being a little late to the party she was straight up into the tree and asserting herself as the new Queen of the Tourist/travel bauble coterie. She knows she inspired this blog. Ice Skating Canadian Moose. New to Cornwall.

Seriously no one would mess with this powerful Moose woman . She has blades and she knows how to use them.

We have a few Canadian baubles, nothing quite as lively as Ms Moose.

Inuksuk hanging not so far from her hoped she wouldn’t realise there was a fellow Canadian in the room. He has always seemed a quiet unassuming cultural symbol.

Another other Canadian bauble @theoldmortuary looks innocuous enough but the strips of fabric inside this bauble come from the offcuts of fabric from the costumes of Macbeth, performed at the Shakespear Theatre at Stratford Ontario.

The shadow behind Ms Moose is the Elizabeth Tower, mistakenly known the world over as Big Ben.

Big Ben features on a really subtle bauble slightly reminiscent of the infamous London fog known as a ‘Pea souper’ because if its density. I’m not sure who would ever think of producing a fog themed set of baubles. Festive brightness dialed right down.

The London theme continues with a black cab.

The black cab is the first of the transport baubles. He is my favourite and is unlikely to be joined by a novelty Uber any time soon. Even though it would considerably cheaper.

But just like in real life there is a red bus right behind him.

Then we head East to Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong tram is a little bittersweet . We love the city and everything about it . But we’ve had to bury the cremated remains of two family members in Hong Kong in recent years. The administration office and Cemetery were most easily reached by tram so they both took their final journey in a bright red tram which is so much more fitting and interesting than a black hearse. I think we might struggle to find a home for a hearse bauble even on our eclectic tree. I realise somewhat belatedly that a festive hearse might be entirely appropriate @theoldmortuary. However such is the proximity to the local grave yard the customers of 50 years ago would have been carried over.

 

The tram, however, brings me nicely to the Chilli’s. A good place to stop as they bring good fortune to all.