Research, Research, Research

I had thought that I had most of the required research done for my current short story 'An Eye for Detail'. I had a rough plot sketched out and had scenes on the pinboard but it took the best part of a week to really get into the correct headspace to write the opening scene. I wanted to give a sense of who the main character was and what she did so I could get straight into the mystery...

I struggled for the right words. If I cannot get an inspiration for the opening scene, it is so much harder for the rest of the words to flow. My brain needs to visualize the opening scene (I get complete with opening music in my head) or it refuses to go any further.

Finally they came to me. In the middle of the night I was scribbling in my notebook. Seven hundred words in less than an hour and the first draft of the opening scenes were done. Again,  the initial creative spurt is often written by (often illegible) handwriting!

Yesterday, I retyped the opening onto my computer (first edit was also done, reshuffling and rewriting some sentences). I was now ready for the next section of the story - the discovery of the actual mystery. But...

Almost straight away I realized I needed to do more research into some historical facts:

Did the police station in the area actually exist in the 1870s? What street in that area was low income, middle class professions and upper class nobility? More research!

I found copy of Charles Booth's Poverty Map of the nineteenth century and then spent over an hour 'walking' around the streets via Google maps street view. This has proved to be a very useful tool, giving me an idea of how far it was to the local 'nick' and how the character would have arrived there.

With most of the day now gone, it was getting very late... again. This time it was just a few paragraphs and notes (that will need heavy editing) were jotted down. There was to be no late night as Tuesday is my work day (for my alter ego). 

Back from work now, and back to my passion of writing... hence the late blog. Tuesday are like that.

Give me Something to Write About!

Sitting, staring at an empty screen is one of the most frustrating and scary things. Words want to come but they are locked up, beating on the door to be let out but they are trapped. I needed a topic. I said to my husband "Give me Something to Write About!" We both laughed. (not everyone will get that reference). Now I have the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on replay in my head. Give me Something to Sing About was one of the pivotal songs in that quirky episode Once More with Feeling - the perfect way to get so many back stories all out in the open in one single episode. A truly 1950s musical-esque way to cut several episodes of explanations from the series.

That brings me to something that, if encountered, would be a very scary thing indeed! Vampires. Not the wussey, touchy feely vampires of recent romantic teenage fiction but the gritty, rip-yer-throat out kind. The kind I really, really would not want to meet in a dark alley unless I was armed to the teeth with a non-wavering faith, silver crosses, holy water, multiple wooden stakes (preferably on a multiple barreled crossbow for rapid and maximum impact) and a definate means of escape. Or a vampire slayer as back up.

Vampire lore has been around, from the dawn of time, in many different cultures. In Europe vampiremania led to people being buried with stakes in their hearts and sometimes bricks in their mouths to prevent them rising to inflict carnage on the living. Both the shrinking skin of corpses that made it appear that it's nails were still growing and those poor souls inflicted with the hereditary blood disease porphyria seemed only to confirm folkloric myths. (The disease was described by Felix Hoppe-Seyler  in 1871.)

Vampires appeared in poems and novels, form the mid 1700s onwards, including The Vampyre, Jules Verne's The Castle in Transylvania and Bram Stoker's Dracula. Television and movies took them up with a relish with Nosferatu being a classic amongst all of them. Myths and folklore have been around for a much longer time. Vampires shunned the light-giving sun, were blood thirsty, erotic, demonic, self-serving and just plain nasty. (In the 1990s, I must admit I loved the televeision series Forever Knight, with a vampire police detective trying to redeem himself... but there was still the classic blood suckers and danger involved with confronting one). One thing they did not do was sparkle in the sun!

Traditionally, vampires embodied our fears (of the dark and of dying), they represented  a separation from community, anti-social behaviours, repressed sexual desire and our inner darkness which Jung called our shadow, the dark part of ourselves that we do not want to admit to. The scariest thing being losing oneself or soul. They were the cursed.

There was always a dangerous, (sometimes not so) slightly erotic tinge to the classic vampire stories but there was always the threat of the untamed monster turning, risking both life and soul. Times may have changed and we may now be more immune to horror, no longer scared of the metaphorical dark, no longer worried for our soul and our modern sensibilities and thinking may have progressed beyond the Victorian but surely this should have dictated that vampires were depicted as even more depraved, more terrifying and more evil. Recent teenage vampire novels have neutered many vampires, making them soft, cuddly (though slightly cold) boyfriend material with the prospect of joining them in happily wedded undead bliss... 

"Its alright if something's come out wrong,

We'll sing a happy song,

And you can sing along" 

-  Something to Sing About (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Once More with Feeling)

No matter how sophisicated or civilized a vampire may seem, it is not safe to dabble on the darkside. There will always be consequences. You had better be either willing to accept them or be very well protected. (Even Buffy suffered consequences when she and Angel finally gave into their desires.) When did it become socially acceptable to murder someone (that you supposedly love) by draining their blood.
"Oh, it is okay, as we are going to get married and unlive happily ever after."
I have found some of the most recent novelisations and resulting movies are promoting some disturbingly unhealthy behaviour towards women... but that is my personal opinion.

There is a t-shirt (that I own)...

Then Buffy Staked Edward.

The End.

Give me the wooden stake! I would rather die with my soul intact, thank you.

Lest we Forget

One thing that is guaranteed to bring me to tears, no matter where I am or what I am doing, are two songs made famous by Redgum - And the Band played Waltzing Mathila and I was only 19. (As does The Last Post.) As a general rule I try to avoid movies and television shows that relate stories from the World Wars or Vietnam war but these catch you out, when you least expect it. Occasionally they will play on the radio or in the shopping centres. People stare at me as  I blubber like a baby. 

Over the years, I have come to realise that I don't care if they stare as I am glad these songs make me cry. Why? Think of the other option - that I don't cry. I don't want to be hardened to the death of others particularly if such people died to defend me and my country. Don't get me wrong. I am definitely not a fan of war.  War is a stupid waste of lives and resources. 

(from And the Band played Waltzing Mathila by Redgum)

How well I remember that terrible day
the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter

On this Anzac Day, remember those who fought and died for our country, who protected our lives and the lifestyle we now enjoy. I may not agree with war but I can still respect those who fought and / or died. Remember the horror and the uselessness of war. 

Today, I remember them. Never forget the horrors of what has gone before... and in remembering maybe we can learn from our past pain and learn to accept those who are different and live in peace. 

They shall grow not old, as that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

(from Ode of Remembrance by Laurence Binyon)

Lest we forget.

Pride and Restrictions

Yesterday, I had a Jane Austin fest - the full BBC miniseries of Pride and Prejudice. I have a soft spot for the clothing, especially those long, fluid coats worn by Mr D'Arcy! Sometimes, I long for a simpler time with  more manners and ettiquette, the romance of it all (I am a big softie really) and then I slowly remember the reality, of that era, and how lucky I am to be living in the twenty-first century.

I am the daughter of dairy farmer and lay-preacher's daughter. I would not have been a great catch if I had lived in the early 19th century; I would have not had the opportunity for a University education, due to my perceived social standing and the fact that I am a woman.   Modern medicine has allowed me to survive the birth of my daughter. My life is definately enhanced by being born in the twentieth century. 

Mr Bingley compliments, "All young ladies are accomplised. They sing, they draw, they dance, speak French and German, cover screens and I know not what". With such a list of accomplishments, I am feeling a little inadequate!  On the surface of it, had I been born in Jane Austin's time and been one of the privileged classes, I would have had the time to learn, practice and hone my skills at so many artistic things that I would love to at least try some day.  I could have gone beyond basic French, kept up my school German, be able to practice my drawing and photography more than part-time. I could spend more time embroidering and catch up on my reading. I could even try dancing. 

But at what cost?  Dig deeper, and we can see the restrictions woman had then. Today, I am blessed to live in time where I have so much more freedom. I can improve my 'lot in life' by education and work - both not available to most woman in Jane Austin's time. I have modern luxuries such as washing machines and vacuum cleaners to make my life easier. But I cannot have my cake and eat it too, as they say. I need to work, at least part-time, to afford the luxuries most of us have come to expect in the 21st century.

It is interesting how, in just a few centuries, things can change. In early 19th century, we read of women who felt trapped as that is all they could do. Today, I get told I am indulging myself too much, if I concentrate on my artwork.

I can only hope to follow such an extensive list of creative pursuits in my spare time and there are just not enough hours in the day. But, I do have the option to work, study and follow my artistic pursuits. Like everything, I need to work hard to afford to do the things I enjoy. I have started the slow climb, so that my creative pursuits may, one day, produce a decent income. Until then, won't give up my day job!

The makings of an almost period Patent of Arms.

I call it an 'almost period' Patent of Arms, as it this is almost like an unpaid commission for an individual, playing at re-creating Medieval and Renaissance times, living in a modern world. They have modern ideas and sensibilities. They have not grown up in the past, with all of the the ideas and cultural references that would have been everyday, say in the 1400s. So no matter how much I wish to recreate a perfectly accurate Award Scroll, by definition I am starting with a conundrum. A scroll is a rolled piece of parchment. What I am recreating is a modern document suitable for framing, to celebrate an achievement in a modern-day club, in the style of a six hundred plus old piece of scribe work. 

Yet, despite this, I find the whole process very fulfilling. Deciding on a style and designing and then creating, a homage to it. Firstly, I like to get an idea of the recipient, the colours they favour, any favourite images or totems (animals or plants etc), and whether they have a preferred era they like to 'play in'. This can cover from early, say Saxon, to late Elizabethan.   I need to get the feel of the form of the images, the layout, the colours and style of writing (calligraphy). This can only be done by looking at as many different versions that I can find.  Like most of my artistic ventures into a modern 'scroll' or 'patent of arms', it starts with research. Lots of research. 

Yesterday, I flipped  through a pile of my calligraphy/ illumination books and a few copies of Books of Hours, that I have at hand. I also trolled through the internet, trying to find a specific picture, that I KNOW I had seen somewhere. I did not find the specific one I was thinking of, but did find some adequate substitutes to get me started.

This project does have a few constraints, one of which is that it needs to be done in a short time. For this reason, I have decided to make it smaller than I usually do. Thus, I do not have to rush to fill a larger space. I would not be happy having to rush the painting portion as this is my favourite part and I do want to give my best effort for the recipients. This  also means that the calligraphy portion will cover less area - a bonus - as this does require more effort on my part. The standard script/wording also requires truncating, due to the smaller space available. This is still a work in progress.

The day ended with a definite size and basic layout which now requires a decision on the final decoration. The colours are mostly decided upon. I have sent a draft of the shorter version of the wording, after some help of friends, with possible translations.

I leave you with the layout and will elaborate, at another time, when more progress has been made on this project.

The Impatient Generation

Time was that conversing with someone in another country, meant having to board a ship, or send a handwritten letter (via ship) and it would take months to cross the major oceans to reach another continent. At least from Australia - that big island in the Southern Hemisphere that is so far from the other continents. Then later, there was the telegraph. This could still take days for messages, depending on how far from a telegraph office you resided. Then there was the overseas phone call (at exorbitant prices) and finally, what is now termed, snail mail. I miss letter writing days, pen friends and collecting the stamps. 

What I think is really awesome, is that I can sit in my lounge room, in Australia and type some words. Push a button and these words will then get seen by people in all the major continents of the world, including Russia, South America, Asia and Africa - let alone Western Europe and Northern America. These days a message on FB or a blog can be posted and it has been seen, read or replied to within seconds! This is actually mind blowing!

There was a time when the only resources, for research, was the local library - the State Library if you needed something more in depth. I usually ended up at the University Library or ordering in books on interlibrary loans - some of which could take over a month to turn up. These days we just go 'google it'... One problem is that things published on the internet don't have fact checkers to make sure that we are not reading total fabrications. Internet is also essentially ephemeral; here one day, gone the next. It is all smoke and mirrors.

I was born pre-video recorders, pre-DVD, pre-moblile phones. My friend would audio tape- yes a cassette tape! Our favourite television show (back then we had only one TV and my show clashed with the parent's show) and when we replayed it, she would narrate the visuals for me! I remember having to wait months (and sometimes years) for a television show to be aired here, in Australia. We would wait months for Doctor Who. All this is lost on the current generation who have had mobile phones, instant messaging and internet downloads at the finger tips.

Just the other day, I saw someone bitching (yes, they were quite spiteful and indignant) that 'how dare they have to wait til the next day to see Doctor Who? They should be able to download it straight away.' They did not care to wait for the official download but wanted a pirate copy NOW, as 'why should they have to pay (less than $2) for a copy when they can get it illegally... oh .. don't get me back onto copyright issues!! For now, let me just say that people seemed to have lost their patience and expect everything for nothing! It won't kill you to wait less than 12 hours! We had to wait 6-9 months or more!! 

This also translates into other areas of life and becoming a cultural norm, unfortunately. (Sadly, it is not just the internet generation either; baby boomers and X-gens can be just as impatient.) 

Dear Impatient generations,

Deal with it! Stop and smell the roses. Good things come to those who wait. Enjoy life, slow down, enjoy art and movies.. but remember someone had to make them, for you to enjoy. 

love,
Learnt the Value of Waiting.

Myths and Legends...

Humankind has always shown creative imagination. Cave paintings can be found in Europe, Africa, Australia and many parts of the world. They tell stories about past lives and possibly the hopes of those who created these works of art. When humans started questioning their lives and the Universe, the communicated this via their art as well; Australian Aboriginal art tells stories of the Dreamland. Even before writing, humans were telling stories, weaving words to create myths and legends, many of which echo through many continents. We all share heroes and heroines, adventures of daring do, strange lands and fantastical creatures. 

My favourite is the dragon. They are large, beautiful, strong, powerful and intelligent; testosterone with wings, beauty and wiles. All of humanities strengths wrapped up in glistening armour-hard scales and (in my early-childhood-Tolkein-influenced view) encrusted with sparkling, precious jewels. Gob-smackingly beautiful. With wing-spans almost as big as a house, their muscles have to be powerful and just about every story has a dragon who outwits its attackers. Beauty, brawn and brains too!

Artistically, this has always caused me a problem. Just one day, I would love to draw a butch dragon however, when I try to draw terrifying dragons, they always end up looking cutsey. Not good unless they are aiming for lulling adventurers into a false sense of superiority. (hmm... could be an idea...) Solution: Draw just a fraction of one... Dragons are so large that we would rarely see all of it in one glance - plus I love drawing eyes... 

Roleplayer series #3 Dragons eye at Redbubble (also in print and direct sale badges and Portable Art)

While looking for a second creature drawing, for this series, I was reminded of the Cockatrice. These are interesting creatures; part chicken/Rooster and (guess what!) part Dragon! Maybe I could make this look a little more menacing? Big sharp beak and curved claws are menacing. (Have you ever been chased by an angry, territorial Rooster? Trust me - scary, painful stuff). Still not sure if it is nasty though. Maybe it was having a good day? Available at Redbubble - Roleplayer series#4 Cockatrice.

 

So, from pre-historic art, to myths, to cockatrice, to t-shirts; that is the segue for today. Happy Adventuring!

(and don't eat too many Easter eggs)

Gearing up for a new adventure

As I have previously mentioned, we have a new D&D adventure starting up soon; I am in the middle of creating a new character and am forming her picture in my head, so I can do a character drawing. For the past fortnight, I have been trawling though my old roleplaying folders.  Some I have not seen for over twenty years!  I had a vague memory of some character drawings that I had done for a role-playing tournament in 1988! These were shaded in pencil, as the tournament adventure book was photocopied in black and white... I am talking 1988 here; no computer scanning or cheap colour photocopies were available. It was all cut and past back then. Finally, I found them and, as an added bonus, I also found some old original drawings of mine that I did for Australian Realms (a now defunct Australian Role Playing magazine) that I did some articles and artwork for. Some of these I had thought were lost forever. Colour me happy!

One reason why I had gone searching was to satisfy my burning curiosity to see if I still had the drawings, or if they had been lost over the years, and because I wanted to revamp some of them for my Roleplaying series of t-shirts. Yes, I could (and will) draw some new characters but I wanted to use 'classic' drawings I had done, back in the days when we would (tabletop) roleplay for days on end... literally!! Ah, the days of youth!

Looking though the old drawings, I also found character sketch of a thief (or now more commonly known as a rogue, in D&D). This is one of my thief characters, from 1991. She had been a member of a (celtic-like) tribe. If I remember rightly, she may have been the character who kept telling the party that the newcomer was a doppleganger and should not be trusted. No one believed her... until it was too late. She was the only character of mine that ever died; she was killed by the doppleganger but she died knowing that she was right. When the rest of the party were eventually killed, they finally acknowledged that she had been correct about the doppleganger. Sigh.

Unfortunately, this was one of the drawings that I had shaded in pencil, making it a more difficult task for me to revamp it. Honestly, it would have been quicker if I had redrawn it! However, it would not have been the same drawing with the same atmosphere. On the upside, I got a lot of practice in using GIMP and learnt a new feature. 

I scanned the original drawing, tried to remove the pencil work with no luck. Finally, I decided to manually erase most of the shading before I coloured it. Some of the shading was left to give more texture to the drawing... and because I was getting exhausted erasing bits! I learnt a lot about colouring in layers, with this project.

Many people draw traditional thieves in black and browns only. My thieves were usually female and liked a bit of colour. Not too bright though. The colours still need to be able to blend in shadows when needed. 

Finally, the next t-shirt in the Roleplayer series:

#2 in the Rogue/ Thief is now available on Redbubble. 

Also available in prints.

Rain, rain... please... RAIN!!!! - A few words on rain.

We have had the driest summer on record, this year.The local dams are only 38% adn 51%. As an ex-farm girl, I get worried when the skies don't give up their bounty. Though I have lived here for over twenty-five years, I miss the rains that bombarded me as I grew up in Queensland (before the droughts).

When I say "I can smell he rain coming" some people think I am crazy but I miss the rich smell of the water-laden air. I miss the build up of moisture, leading to the expectation of rain. Just the gentlest of breezes could cool the air, adding some relief. The running joke was that we didn't need air conditioning, in the car; we had 4-60 air conditioning; 4 windows down, going 60 kilometres and hour. 

I remember the longing for those first drops to fall, listening carefully for the slightest noise to herald the wanted relief from the humidity. I can still hear the brooding thunder, so faint that I thought I was imagining it at first; maybe I had wished too hard and only just imagined it? Then there is another slow rumble, rolling closer confirming that it was indeed the real thing. Soon I realise that the faint flickers of light, in the corner of my eye, is not just the bug zapper on the verandah, but lightning toungueing its way across the sky and occasionally touching with the ground, creating a split second vacuum. There is a loud crack as the air snaps back to fill in the void.

With a chill of excitement, I count the seconds, until the next peal of thunder. One thousand and one, one thousand and two, one thousand and three... The sound of the rumbling again builds up and rolls past. The storm is closing in. Already the air is becoming lighter, as it sheds its load. Tap, tap, tap - the gentle fall of those first precious jewels of water. Like a heartbeat starting to race, the taps increase in number, quickening until there is a curtain of droplets in front of me. As the sound grows steadily until I can hear nothing but the rhythmic thumping on the roof, I watch the light display playing across the clouds. Tesla had nothing on this!

Finally, there is relief as the air changes, clearing to a crispness equalled by no other. I can feel the negative ions making the air buzz, providing both instant calm and rejuvinating energy! An excitement. A fulfillment A relief. I live with South Australians who were born here; they don't quite understand the excitement I get when I smell the rain, then the disappointment I suffer when the electrical storms here end in no rain. But they have learnt to cope with my squees of delight as I frolllick in the smallest of sun showers...

Did I mention that  I miss the rain?

Chosen essay practice: write in 1st person on a subject I love. 480 words
(photo: smoke from the Grampians in Adelaide)

Painting with silk threads

One of my passions is costume. I have been making SF and fantasy costumes since 1982 when I attended fan conventions.. (hmm... should rave on them sometime). I was of the very early members of the Australian Costumers' Guild (in its first incarnation). Since then, I discovered the Society for Creative Anachronism and another costume avenue - historical costume. Over the years, I have gravitated towards 16th century Florentine clothing - for both its simplicity and its complexity. Ha! Yet another reason for research. My research, articles and experimentations, in this field,  can be found at The Purple Files/The Florence Files. 

I even had the amazing opportunity to attend the inaugral Costume Colloquium in Florence, 2008, to celebrate Janet Arnold's (researcher and publisher) work and launch her last book Patterns of Fashion, concentrating on linen wear. I got to see extant Florentine and Tuscan dresses from 1560s, and talk to the conservators, as well as get to see the background workings of the Pitti Palace... so I was majorly chuffed!!! My costume and archeological passions were both satisfied!!

As my research continued, my outfits evolved and  I grew hopefully closer to reproducing the styles and methods used at the time. The average Florentine dress was understated and plain, when compared to Venetian for example.This did not mean that money was not spent. Oh, no! The Florentines liked the best - best materials could cost a fortune. There appeared to be something lacking though - the Renaissance loved its decoration. But looking further into the records of the time (written and visual), the decoration can be found on the chemise (smock), collar, cuffs and partlets. 

I had never learnt to embroider, when younger, so I started with simple, one-colour designs then graduated to colour projects. I was learning new stitches but quickly realised that I only needed 3-4 stitches to produce the coloured work. This was a very similar path that my drawing had taken, when I was younger.  And then it dawned on me; embroidery was like painting. First I did research for the patterns, then I designed the pattern or composition, then finally I executed the design. But, instead of using pencils, paintbrush or even GIMP, I was using coloured silk threads and wearable linen for the canvas. The very noticeable difference was that the embroidery took months to finish, not days. 

I have had to learn patience, though. Creating an embroidered artwork/item takes more time. This has been a learning experience, however; it has resulted in enjoying the research and creative process more, rather than rushing to produce the final product. This also applies to my photographic and drawn works.
It has become cathartic.

Since this time, I have embroidered several partlets, based on 16th century designs. Flora and fauna were a common motif.

Currently, I am working on a design based on a Bronzino portrait of Giovanni de'Medici. I drew up a pattern, based on the collar, in the portrait. The pattern was drawn, onto the linen, with a HB pencil am using gold coloured silk thread.





I am only half finished but already am eyeing off another design for a new chemise and for my dream project - an embroidered linen jacket/doublet.
For more blogging on my costumes/embroidery, check out The Purple Files:Living in the Renaissance?  or FB: The Purple Files.

Now you have another insight into one of my many (my husband says way too many) passions and pursuits. Art can be in many forms and I am sure there are many more for me to discover...