Party On!

It's funny how things work out. 

Marsha, of the fab Splenderosa blog, has a blog party every month and December's event happens to be a fancy affair to celebrate our fellow blogger, Tina (of The Enchanted Home blog)'s new home. She's having a virtual party on December 23rd and we are to choose the outfit to wear to the party. Funny thing is, we are invited to a friend's holiday black tie party in real life and shopping is a definite must. I spend most of my days with paint and plaster on my clothes. 

This is definitely playing dress up for me! 

Earrings, Vintage Cocktail Dress, Shoes, Vintage Bolero Jacket, Clutch

I chose a vintage (1950's) gunmetal grey, taffeta cocktail dress with a black velvet insert on the right side of the bust; I've never worn a boned bodice before, so this should prove to be interesting. Thank goodness I've been faithful about doing daily crunches! I fell in love with its color and the ruched accent at the waist. It came with a matching taffeta jacket, but I decided to go with another vintage piece and chose this black Bolero jacket for the chilly night air.

Simple diamond and Rose of France earrings, a great pearl clutch from Alexander McQueen and glittery black peep toe pumps round out my outfit. 

I need to ask your advice, though. Should I add a necklace? 

My scent for the evening is I parfum by Puredistance, an elegantly soft floral with fruit and amber background notes. 

For my hostess gift, I decided to stick with what I know very well: flowers.

 I chose a vibrant bouquet of the just becoming available Coral Charm peonies with a collar of white snowberry. A fat satin ribbon ties it all together and I've arranged it so it can go directly into the vase, as is, when I arrive. That way Tina does not have to arrange anything and she can slip it into the garage for tomorrow's enjoyment, as she already decked out her house with greenery.

Please join me and let's go peak at what everyone is wearing! (Isn't that the best part of the party?)

MARSHA HARRIS http://www.splenderosa.blogspot.com/ 

TISH JETT an American in France http://afemmeduncertainage.blogspot.com/ 

YVONNE PRATT USAhttp://stonegable.blogspot.com/ 

CHARLOTTA WARD in Sweden http://spaceforinspiration.blogspot.com/ 

GREET LEFEVRE in Belgium http://belgianpearls.blogspot.com/ 

CATHERINE ROBINSON in London http://www.catherinerobinsoncashmere.com/ 

ANNIE BOUTERSE USA http://plumsiena.blogspot.com/
COTY FARQUHAR in Australia http://cotyfarquhar.blogspot.com/
DEBORAH PETERSON between Houston & Scotland http://www.dumbwittellher.com/
DUSTJACKET ATTIC, Debra in Australia http://dustjacketattic.blogspot.com/
SHARI MILLER USA http://www.littlebluedeer.com/
TINA USA theenchantedhome@gmail.com http://theenchantedhome.blogspot.com/
MONA THOMPSON USA http://providenceltddesign.com/
JACQUELINE MUMFORD England http://home-biba.blogspot.com/
KARIN JANSKY France http://lapouyette-unddiedingedeslebens.blogspot.com
VICKI ARCHER an Australian in France http://frenchessence.blogspot.com/
CECILIA GONZALEZ Spain http://desdemventana.blogspot.com/
RENEE GRANIER & ANGELA FOSTER USA http://underspanishmoss.com/
LISA USA not participating this month http://amidprivilege.com
FRANCINE GARDNER a woman of the world in NYC http://interieurs.com blog
CHRISTINA FLUEGGE USA http://greigedesign.blogspot.com/
STACEY BEWKES USA http://quintessence.com
LEANN BROWN USAhttp://linenandlavender.blogspot.com/
LENE Norway http://theessenceofthegoodlife.blogspot.com/
SANDE CHASE Canada www.agiftwrappedlife.com
SHARON SANTONI France http://myfrenchcountryhome.blogspot.com/
KAREN MALAN UK Pas Grand-Chose Blog http://athousandmiles-k.blogspot
LISA PORTER USA lisaportercollection.com
DEJA PSEU USA unefemme.net.
ISA CHANDLER http://isaslittleworld.blogspot.com/

With Great Admiration

Passionate, intriguing, resourceful, honest, independent... these are some of the qualities that I admire in a person. When presented by Marsha at her third By Invitation Only party with the challenge of naming the thing/person/place we've always wanted to experience, but have not yet, it was harder than I imagined. After mulling over what that meant to me, I came up with two individuals who I would love to meet. Thus the list of qualities above.

I would love to spend a day with Michelangelo Buonarrati and also with Mary of Magdela.

There are very obvious reasons why we admire Michelangelo. His sculptures and frescoes are legendary. His creativity and passion flowed through into his works. But life was not always a bed of roses for him. When he was summoned to Rome by Pope JuliusII in 1508, he thought he would be working on his commission to sculpt figures for the papal tomb. Instead, he was given the assignment of painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, having never worked in the art of fresco before. This required him to not only learn from scratch the intricate and precise steps of painting buon fresco, but also to design the scaffolding for the project.

Raphael's image of Michelangeo in his The School of Athens

 
He was passionate about every commission that he received and would tackle each project with his all. He never stopped working, even accepting the role of chief architect of St. Peter's Basilica in his seventies. I would have loved to observe his preparatory work and watch him in action.

Michelangelo's sketch of Libyan sybyl

Sketch of Sistine Chapel section

In 1536, Michelangelo met Vittoria Colonna, fifteen years his senior. They had an intense friendship for the next eleven years until her death. Michelangelo wrote many sonnets dedicated to her.

Love sonnet by Michelangelo

He died in 1564 at the age of 88 years.

Mary of Magdela is a woman much misaligned in history. She was closer to Jesus Christ than any other person, was his greatest follower, yet was pegged by the threatened Catholic Church as a prostitute. Although we will never know the truth about the many speculations surrounding her (ie. she was Jesus' wife), she exemplified great courage and strength during her life and was for me a great role model. She taught and promoted the beliefs of Jesus throughout her life and helped to bring the religion to Europe. I would love to find out what made her tick, watch her quiet force in action.

Mary Magdalene by Pietro Perugino

Mary Magdalene by Antonio Frederic Augustus Sands

 Don't forget to visit my fellow bloggers over at Splenderosa for the

  By Invitation Only blog party

MARSHA HARRIS

http:www.splenderosa.blogspot.com/

TISH JETT

http://afemmeduncertainage.blogspot.com/

YVONNE PRATT

http://stonegable.blogspot.com/

CHARLOTTA WARD

http://spaceforinspiration.blogspot.com/

GREET LEFEVRE

http://belgianpearls.blogspot.com/

CATHERINE ROBINSON

http://www.catherinerobinsoncashmere.com/

ANNIE BOUTERSE

http://plumsiena.blogspot.com/

COTY FARQUHAR

http://cotyfarquhar.blogspot.com/

DEBORAH PETERSON

http://www.dumbwittellher.com/

DUSTJACKET ATTIC, Debra

http://dustjacketattic.blogspot.com/

TINA

http://theenchantedhome.blogspot.com/

MONA THOMPSON

http://providenceltddesign.com/

FIFI FLOWERS

http://www.fififlowers.com/

JACQUELINE MUMFORD

http://home-biba.blogspot.com/

KARIN JANSKY

http://lapouyette-unddiedingedeslebens.blogspot.com

VICKI ARCHER

http://frenchessence.blogspot.com/

CECILIA GONZALEZ

http://desdemventana.blogspot.com/

RENEE GRANIER & ANGELA FOSTER

http://underspanishmoss.com/

LISA

http://amidprivilege.com

FRANCINE GARDNER

interieurs.com blog

CHRISTINA FLUEGGE

http://greigedesign.blogspot.com/

STACEY BEWKES

quintessence.com

LEANN SHULTZ

http://linenandlavender.blogspot.com/

LENE

http://theessenceofthegoodlife.blogspot.com/

SHARI MILLER

http://www.littlebluedeer.com/

SHARON SANTONI

http://myfrenchcountryhome.blogspot.com/

KAREN MALAN

Pas Grand-Chose Blog

http://athousandmiles-k.blogspot.com/

A Passion for Details: Antoni Gaudi

"Creation continues unceasingly through the Media of Man. But Man does not create he discovers. Those who search for the Laws of Nature as a support to their new works collaborate with the Creator. Those who copy do not collaborate. Therefore originality consists in returning to the origin.”

Antoni Gaudí

Antoni Gaudí

It has been said that original, new architecture, capable of changing everything, is produced by humanity only once every 700-800 years. With the suggested theme of It’s All in the Details at Splenderosa's International Blog Party, By Invitation Only, I could think of no better example than Antoni Gaudí as I strode through the beautiful streets of Barcelona. Gaudí's sincere devotion to his God and nature guided his inner sense, urging him to create with extreme details, down to each and every air vent not only having a function, but exhibiting beauty as well.

Antoni Gaudí the immensely creative, imaginative and controversial architect, was born in Reus, Catalonia, Spain on June 25, 1852 into a family of coppersmiths. He attended school first in Reus, later moving to Barcelona where he obtained his degree in architecture. 

 

At that time, the Romantic period was winding down and the Art Nouveau / Modern Style was exploding onto the scene, although Gaudí did not limit himself to any particular school of thought. Gaudí dedicated his work to cooperating with Nature and the Earth, described as organic naturalism; in his latter years, he also became devoted to his Catholic religion. He remained both a bachelor and a vegetarian. He defied the accepted building techniques, using nature as his inspiration. Gaudí combined the common materials of iron, concrete, brick, stones and mosaic with Arabesque geometry and elements of nature to express his deepest convictions. The architect had a close collaboration with his fellow Catalan artists: the stone masons, potters and blacksmiths, who carried out his instructions in great detail.

 

Gaudí was only 31 years old when he took over the already existing Sagrada Familia cathedral project. Although Sagrada Familia is considered his masterpiece, it is not his most personal creation. He was limited by the site (a small block in the middle of a crowded city) and the construction board, to whom he was subjected.

The forest of spires

The cathedral today presents two of the three facades that Gaudí had planned. The first, the façade of the Nativity, was begun in 1884 and finished in Gaudí’s lifetime. While the exterior is almost a Baroque profusion of statuary and organic elements, the interior is completely different with vast walls of geometry and light. 

The second façade, Passion, is now finished and the third, Glory, is under construction.

Nativity scene

Snakeskin

 Snails and lizards were imitated to create these downspouts.

A bell tower with its “crown”

Gaudí’s work on Casa Batlló was actually a remodeling between 1906-1909 of an existing building. Its façade is clearly suggestive of human bones and an almost organic tissue. Gaudí’s use of color through mosaics is evident throughout.

Organic forms, such a the nose and human bones, were inspirations to Gaudi and can be seen in the building's facade.

Notice the human "masks "on the front of Casa Batlló

Park Güell, built between 1900-1910, was begun as a concept for a residential area, but the project failed, with only two of the proposed 70 houses built. Today it is a municipal park unlike any other in the world. Wrought iron, polychrome ceramic mosaics and a viaduct of stone and stalactites are part of the multi-level terrain that hosts gardens on different levels.

The vaulted ceiling of ceramics in the Hall of Columns supports the great square above, which provides great views of the city of Barcelona. Its circular benches, embellished with fragmented ceramics, appear as a modern art installation.

 

Park entrance

The ceilings in the Hall of Columns (meant to be a market place)

Ceiling medallion

Wrought iron and mosaics- popular themes in Gaudi's work

Palm tree inspirations for sure!

Wrought iron fence with palm fronds

"Stalactites"

Barcelona city view

La Pedrera (Casa Milá) has a stunning presence on Passeig de Gracia. Built between 1906-1910, it features undulating balconies with wrought iron appearing as sculptured elements and ornamentation. The building’s roof contains a surprising collection of vents and chimneys made out of white ceramic tiles that resemble conch shells. Definitely not the norm!

Surprisingly, Antoni Gaudí was run over by a tram at the height of his career on July 9, 1926, assumed to be a begger by his appearance and was left on the street for hours. He died the next day. His works were controversial then but, as the crowds indicate at every site, he is much loved and revered today.

 Please visit my fellow bloggers over at Marsha's fab Splenderosa blog for more definitions of It's All in the Details!

Splenderosa

  By Invitation Only blog party