This week in art class : a Random Mine. Also: Shelf

[bunn]

Pp and I just put up a floating shelf.  It was hard.  The prong things fitted perfectly until they were screwed to the wall, then, mysteriously, they would not engage with the holes in the shelf.  I hit them with a rubber mallet in the end to make them fit.

Now my arms feel like two bendy straws.  Floating shelves : not worth the hassle.  Stick to brackets.

The painting below was for an exercise where we had to paint something for the words 'zeitgeist', 'ephemeral' or 'subliminal'.  I thought of approximately 999 very depressing things I could paint for those words, but I wanted to paint something more cheering, so in the end I went for 'Ephemeral' and painted one of our old copper & arsenic mines which were once both deadly and blighting, but now are overrun with plants and beautiful in their own way.

Then I decided to push my luck and added a pair of balmaidens for 'zeitgeist' - either literally as time-ghosts, or in the sense of 'well, things may not be perfect now, but at least girls are not routinely expected to take jobs working in arsenic mines at the age of 7 or 8 years old'.   I used some of the photos on http://balmaiden.co.uk/ for clothing/ tools reference.


I'm quite pleased with how this came out, and may paint some more mine-ghost pictures.  The girl is holding her bonnet in her hand, i'm not sure if that's clear.

Comments

[narya_flame]

Yes, that is very clearly a bonnet!

Gorgeous picture. I love how their blueish colouring matches the flowers.

I do find Cornish mining history utterly fascinating. I remember me and my Dad and my brother fumbling through one almost bent double when I was younger.

[alithea]

I did my PhD on mining contamination in soils - I'd recommend avoiding getting the dirt in them on your bare skin if possible and washing your hands thoroughly afterwards if you do. I hadn't known this previously but arsenic can cause skin cancer as well as poisoning you!

[narya_flame]

Oh! Well, it was only once, and it was about twenty years ago now, so...hopefully I should be fine!?

[alithea]

Oh yes! It's repeated exposure that's the issue, sorry if I worried you!

[independence1776]

Ooh, pretty!

[alithea]

That's lovely!

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

I like your mine-ghost picture - it does tell a story.

[hhimring]

I like this!
And I also learned something, because I did not know about balmaidens.

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Love your painting.

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

Oh, I do like this! Lovely composition.

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

That's really nice. I've just re-read Among Others, where fairies are most likely to be found in places that were made by people and were once busy with them, but are now ruined and being recolonised by nature. I bet your part of the country would be absolutely heaving with them.