Life...The Vivere

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, II 
May 15, 2012 

"Russian Icon paintings make me breathless!" (Archangel Michael)

Hi Family and Friends...(or in Russian, zdravst/ vuyte!) Still writing you from Russia as we sail along the rivers from St. Petersburg to Moscow. This week, I'm IN LOVE with the extraordinary Russian icons and frescoes that I've seen!  Typically painted on wood, Russian icons are simply The Gospel...PAINTED!! Artists started painting them back in 988 A.D. as commissions and gifts for the Russian Orthodox Christian churches. They're spectacularly beautiful... and many of Russia's centuries-old churches display them as part of their church history and decor today. They are art that's unique and soulful. 

Since we're in Russia, I decided to answer two blog challenges based on a couple of my photos...

INSPIRATION AVENUE called for a theme of "art with heart."  My piece is based on the Russian tradition called LOCKS FOR LOVE. Here, bridges, fences and sometimes trees are covered with different padlocks...heart shaped, house shaped as well as normal shapes. When a couple marries, they close their lock in one of these spots and throw the key away, symbolic of making their love untouchable as well as irreversible...LOVELY!!

COLLAGE OBSESSION called for art with tulips. We visited a Monastery founded in 1397...the Kirillov-Belozersky Monastery, in the little village of Kuzino. It, too, was filled with beautiful icons and frescoes dating back to its origins...and boasted some beautiful grounds. I planted my tulips here... 

Finally, ART and SOLE's POSTCARD CHALLENGE 2012  took challenge participants to somewhere in West Africa... My correspondent, Bahati (and his wife Champa,) very much at home in their native Africa, "journeyed" to Mali to visit with the Bobo fing people...a people that date back as early as 800 A.D.  They're famous for their mask making skills that they use during agricultural, initiation, divination and funeral ceremonies. Primarily an agricultural society, they grow maize, yams, sorghum and pearl millet for themselves and cotton and honey for trade and export. Here are some of their masks...  

Both sides of my postcard and my book page from Mali, West Africa, follow... Women's rights is a big issue there as it's society is greatly influenced by a conservative Muslim population. A Family Law granting women more independence and more rights has been introduced several times, but it's always defeated, rather than passed. The woman on the postcard front is a widow from a small town in Mali who believes in her equal rights as a woman and is fighting for them...TODAY!!

Once again, thank you for stopping by! Good-bye or (in Russian,) da svidanya for now. Hope you'll stop by next week... 

Hugs,

abbyj