Friday 29 March 2013

A Good Friday

So as Jesus finishes carrying his cross through town, flanked by masked faces in sinister tall black peaks, 10 of us gather together and circle round a beautiful naked girl, sitting in pain, so we can draw her, I guess we all have our weird faiths and our burdens.

But soon graphite slides like silk over smooth cartridge and my feminist angst subsides, I remember how fond of this I am. It is about sensitivity, respect, the simple act of finding form in space.

Maybe the BDS was too much of a good thing, or maybe it was naïve of me to think you could organize something and enjoy it. But for the past year, my love of life drawing had gone, or maybe it was just resting.







  


The crowd is chattering



then silence as the masked people come out



















    








Good Friday is a sad day here




Thursday 28 March 2013

MOB



Graham had a frustrating day yesterday wrangling with the internet at home, its slow, yes, and sometimes it just decides it doesn’t want to play but yesterday it was just Grahams computer that it turned it’s nose up at. The other three phones and two computers it was happy to sniff, pick up, throw around a bit, and sometimes run and run but it wasn’t touching Grahams.

It was a problem that he just couldn’t get his head round with no reason or logic, maybe it wasn’t a ‘getting his head round’ kind of thing, it was just unexplainable. But being an engineer and a computer engineer at that that didn’t make sense. He even went to the park with Molly to download a big file, as wifi was better there!

We have been so lucky with this apartment as I think we got in before they put the prices up for this year. If one bit of it is a bit flaky then that’s ok. I think it may be fate what ever that is, it was bad so we had to find another solution and it made us find MOB, which stands for Makers of Barcelona, this is from their about page

Mak·er /ˈMākər/, noun

1.Someone that is self-sufficient, passionately driven, fully-capable and highly motivated, one that can make things happen for themselves.


sounds like Graham!

Laters…..

We went to MOB and its a really lovely big white space in an old industrial building, some flexible desks which get pushed aside for events in the evening and fixed desks at the back next to the small terrace which brings in more white light through huge windows onto the white furniture. There is a seperate architects area that is less open with more books and Graham chose to be in there. Unfortunatly a couple of architect firms have gone bust recently as its v. difficult for them at the mo. The place is totally silent and you take any calls in other plces, like the converted goods lift shaft, entrance garden thing, or the cellar, which is massive!

If Graham works first thing and then goes to his Spanish class straight from there I can look after Molly in the morning, it would be good for me to not slip into the same habit of going to the studio all day straight away and locate myself in the city a bit, then I can go to work from 12 to 8pm and we may get into the right time frame for here.

Graham will start there after we have been to his dad’s ie week after next. Its in such a lovely area with big wide streets, it all has a really lovely feel to it so it will be a great walk to work. We went for  sangria to celebrate.

This is Grahams walk to work, and mine if I take the metro



and with sunglasses!



streets near his work




 sangria ice







Acclimatizing in a soup







Yesterday’s randomness continued with dim sum in the evening, first time I have ever had it, why not it be in Barcelona. Really packed café round the corner and we ate at the bar, menu was in Chinese translated into Spanish so we were a bit adrift with what to get, but a spattering from the menu brought, yummy peas in pods which we new, veg wrapped in blankets and steamed/boiled shrimp stuff surrounded by white and flabby stuff which surprisingly for its look and texture was delicious! Guess that is, as I now know, dim sum for you.

I had planned to go to the studio today but the sun peaked over the opposite building as it does in the morning and settled on the terrace, it sealed the fate of the day. With the tiredness of the past few months seeping in I had breakfast with Molly sunbathing.

A walk in the park and back for lunch of puy lentil, butternut squash, olives, tomatoes on bags of lettuce, a little bemused at what we were doing here. A glass of vino blanco seemed in order.


I wouldn’t say I was getting into the life in Barcelona as we haven’t even scratched the surface but there is a certain comfort drifting in. The sound of the piled high people, wafts of music, smells of jostics, other peoples washing, windows and courtyards in the most unsuspecting places that seem to work. We have two windows and a door in our courtyard that we don’t know where it goes, or if anyone lives there. I suddenly realised today that I should probably water the plants.

The kitchen and toilet windows open onto Simon’s mothers terrace which you cant see from the front or back, a middle crevice gives her flat a through draft from a window onto the inner hall and front. They are massive buildings, all dark and with loads of ventilation.

We all poke about in our containers and share our sounds like a lovely soup. There are birds in the next door garden of overgrown green and some tiny birds high up, hung from a balcony in a cage, they provide a back drop to movements and conversation. Today we had a smattering of opera to add to the mix.

Wednesday 27 March 2013

Banana at the studio

Went to the studio properly for the first time today to unpack and rather randomly I drew a banana.




Views from my studio



View from kitchen and kitchen



 view from the loo



er....drumroll.....heres my studio!!!!!








Trekked across town last night so Graham could pay cash to the language school as they were playing silly buggers trying to use his card, i.e couldn't get it to work. Now beginning to fully understand how posh El Borne is, and so quite. Its not busy in town as its holy week but its so lovely round us, and yes I am even starting to appreciate the dark streets. I just haven't been looking up much, so last night I did. 
Also walked through a trendy bit of el raval as well which looks realy nice, bought freshly ground coffee from a proper coffee (and tea shop with huge glass jars of loads of different teas) with more sign language, bought more bread and then the sign language failed in the pharmacist with cotton wool, but we got there in the end. Back for home made tapas and an episode of 'The Killing'....jolly stuff!

Tuesday 26 March 2013

Dandelion Seed


Tuesday is mine. I feel severed. Like 3/4 of me has been hacked off and the remainder rises like an umbrellared seed, it wafts about wonderfully with no apparent direction. Yes I am still a couple of stone overweight but I feel light. Not confused, well maybe a little but so free it makes me want to cry.

Monday 25 March 2013

Monday morning


Monday morning and the first sight of lime green spring appears in the trees that make up the avenues, it’s as if it just appeared last night, swapped itself for the Palm Sunday strollers. Now the park is full of dog walkers and pallets of blue green medallion wearing parrots, squawking.  Behind there is the hum of commuter traffic and a trumpet echoes around the depths of the statue, practising rather performing today. The fountains are turned off, the dragons’ shouting mouths have stopped shooting water out but they are silently still screaming.

Today is the day for quite unfurling of spring; the sculptures are being all dramatic but spring is creeping in, whispering through tiny leaves squeezing out of tight buds into blue sky and for the poor boxer on heat getting too much doggy attention.