Trees and tiles in Andalucia

 

Alhambra palace, Granada

One cricis follow another. The world is currrently turned upside down.
Creativity, for many, is influenced by the sadness and worry that the news brings.

So it was a welcome break from reality that took me and my other half (OH) away to Spain for a few days. I tried hard not to be distracted by the news, and to enjoy the landscape and history that Andalucia has to offer. The cities of Cordoba, Granada and Seville.

Each has its own beauty. Each has a history of invasions and religious battles.
Palaces and castles in stunning settings, alongside expansive places of worship , a meld of muslim and catholic architecture.

Orange tree, Cordoba

 

We were lucky to be guided from place by Jimmy; a man with a heart of gold.

His knowledge of the local history was not expansive; but he made up for this in jokes, tall stories and an ability to park in tight underground carparks that I have never seen matched.

I think his best story was the one of an American lady who had never seen a night sky full of stars before.

She asked Jimmy  'Are the stars closer to Spain than New York'?



OH and Jimmy competed in their knowledge of historical facts; they were well matched.

We visited the Dolmen of Menga site at Antequera; a megalithic burial site.
I forgot to take any photos..... imagine a few enormous stones in the side of a large hill.... difficult to photograph in any meaningful way.

I was more struck by the Chinaberry tree in the car park, set against the most vivid blue sky. A masked woman sweeping up the berries to keep the car park tidy. I cannot imagine a similar scene in the UK, and in times to come it will remind me of the pandemic.

Sweeping up Chinaberry tree berries in Antequera

In fact, it was interesting to see what I did photograph in the few days that we were away.

Being 'on tour' is very different from being away by myself with no constraints on time or place. We had a very busy trip and walked miles every day. I carried one very small camera, and mostly used my phone for photographs, so I was definitely 'snapping'.

Jimmy was very surprised when I declined to photograph my churros and chocolate in a famous cafe in Granada.

Seville oranges

 

I enjoyed the trees, especially the heavily laden Seville orange trees. They are marmalade oranges; very bitter to eat.

The tightly controlled cypress trees in Cordoba were strange and dramatic.

Topiary trees, Royal Alacazar palace, Cordoba

Topiary trees, Royal Alacazar palace, Cordoba

The garden at the Royal Alacazar Palace, Cordoba

I am often struck by the act of pollarding, both in London and here in Cordoba. You can just spot some lemons hanging over the wall in the photo below.

two more trees clipped almost to oblivion

Outside the palace gardens was a more wintry scene, but elegant palm trees ascended towards the sky.

Outside the city wall, Cordoba

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In Seville the oranges were gathered up into a skip to keep the pavements tidy.

The other striking thing that I loved about our city visits was the colour and geometry of the tiles adorning the palace walls and floors.

tiles of Andalucia

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There is something very calming about the cool colors and geometry of tile patterns lit by spring sunlight.

We enjoyed our days very much. Perhaps one too many castles for me, but the thousands of olive trees in the local fields and the typical local towns were a welcome break from the UK.

The highlight was definitely the cool interior of the Mosque-Cathedral in Cordoba with its myriad of columns.

An awe inspiring space that has stayed in my memory since I last visited about 40 years ago.

Mosque -Cathedral of Cordoba

Our flight home was delayed by a day, so we had an unexpected trip to Madrid.

I dragged OH to the Thyssen-Bornemiszna National Museum to see some art. We were tired, and wanting to get home after walking around Madrid carrying our valuables.

It was all a bit overwhelming and busy. But one work stopped me in my tracks and made it all worthwhile. A Rothko, in maroon and green.

Untitled (Green on Maroon) by Rothko 1961

 

It made me want to paint.

More about that another day, perhaps.





I will leave you with an image of Antequera, the lovely peaceful town where we stayed.

Antequera, Spain

Under a Cold North Sky - a book of snow and ice

 

Long dark winter months, with an absence of the usual diversions.

Trying to keep busy. These have not been easy days for many. A short interlude for Christmas, and then back to very quiet times.

Covid days.

Time to make a book. Always a happy diversion.

This one was created for the Instagram #areyoubookenough challenge on the topic of frozen. The challenge was started in 2017 by the book artist Sarah Maker, and brings together book artists from all around the world.

I have many images of snow and ice, and many happy memories of trips north, so the topic of 'frozen' had instant appeal.

A dive into my hard drive seemed like a good a place to start.

I searched for 'ice' and 'snow'. Up popped many images that are long forgotten.

Images from Iceland, Greenland, Finland, Yukon and Norway.  Some of the places that I am missing the most.




Firstly, a small fragment of ice from Disko Bay. Ice that has made its way down a glacier, and then broken into fragments as it fall into the icy water of Disko Bay; an iceberg graveyard.

Greenlandic ice fragment

Crystals of watery ice from a glacier.

glacial ice formation

Broken ice from a grassy puddle. This from Lofoten, where I was attracted by the texture of the snow crushed grass.

Grassy ice puddle

There are tiny fragments, and wide views. It is the juxtaposition of scale that I enjoyed when making this book.

Lofoten mountains

Initially I  printed out many small images.
I  then experimented with different combinations and juxtapositions.
Some images were rejected, as they didn't work with the others, or were just too ambiguous.

Icy reflections from Disko Bay were tempting to include, but the water was not actually frozen, so these were rejected.

Icy water in Disko Bay

 

 

 

 

 

 

mini prints for layout experiments

 

 

For the start of the book I chose images of snow falling at night, and a lump of ice. The raw elements of icy landscapes.

I remember vividly standing under a lampost in Finland capturing snow falling in the early evening, the snow lit by the artificial light; blowing around wildly in the wind.

falling snow

glacial ice

Then I moved through gradually larger landscapes, trying to find pairings that complemented each other.

Grass and ice.

Black on white, white on black.

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A 'landscape' of ice crystals on snow beside a tree in a field.


The images are printed on bamboo paper 110gsm, made into a concertina. The hard cover is covered with a Lotka polka dot paper in black and white. Lotka paper is Nepalese, and is easy to fold around the cover of a book.

'Under a Cold North Sky' - concertina book

'Under a Cold North Sky' - front cover

I don't know when spontaneous travel will be possible again. My plans to return northwards in February are very likely to be thwarted.

But as soon as I am able, I will be heading in that direction once more.

 

You can see a slideshow of all the images here