Thursday, September 27, 2012

Ancient Manuscripts, Gluttony and the Czech Republic
September 27, 2012



"I am an explorer of  food"  Erma Bombeck


Greetings folks...happy you're here! I love sharing my art and inspiration with you. This week's 6-word memoir (above) is inspired by the challenge blog called COLLAGE OBSESSION...their theme is "confections-"  YUM  :)
TAKE A WORD blog's challenge is to create an art piece with a manuscript theme... I went mostly medieval!

 My last art pieces for this posting are inspired by the Art and Sole Postcard Challenge, my year-long commitment. This week, we take a virtual trip to the Czech Republic. My correspondants all met in Prague, the Czech Republic's capital city!  It's a smorgasboard of architectural styles, artistic details, painted (sgraffito) buildings and patterned pavements. From the cobblestones underfoot to the spires on its churches, every element is meant to be pleasing to the eye!  Here  are some of the outstanding sites...


Both of the buildings above are adorned with sgraffito... centuries old, they're a precursor to today's graffiti!


These are views of the famous Charles Bridge and a view FROM the bridge. It connects Prague's Old Town and New Town. It's decorated with statues and is a popular place for food, art and souvenir vendors.



The ASTRONOMICAL CLOCK in the Old Town Square is a sight to behold! It's original parts date back to the 1400's, but has been updated throughout the centuries. It tells time, but also shows the positions of the moon and sun, astrological signs, sunset and sunrise times and even the phases of the moon...though it takes a genius to figure it all out at first glance! It also has a collection of figures that come out each hour! Simply amazing!!!


Marionette operas and theater are a prominent part of Prague's contemporary art and culture scene...it has a long history throughout the Czech Republic.

The John Lennon graffiti wall dates from 1980 to the present. During communist times, it was used as a place for student commentary and today is a wall of peace and love!

One of the most unusual and bizarre sights I've ever seen (as my husband and I were really in Prague...these are my photographs...) was just a couple of hours outside of Prague in KUTNA HORA... the Bone Chapel. It's a small church that holds the bones of more than 40,000 people, most of whom died during the Plague. All the decorations in the chapel are made of human bones.

This is actually a family coat of arms!
Now for the Art and Sole POSTCARD CHALLENGE correspondance postcard and book page...





Thanks so much for joining me for this posting... hope to see you for the next. Wishing you the best...

Hugs,
abbyj 
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15 comments:

  1. TiffanySeptember 28, 2012 at 12:18 AM

    I am an explorer of food, too ... especially STRAWBERRY ice cream! It's my favorite!
    Love your artwork and the photos. I'm in awe, ou've been so many places :) !
    I'm particularly fond of the Prague Astronomical Clock! I first learned about it a few years ago while I was surfing the web, and I've been smitten ever since.
    Thanks for sharing your art & photography with us! xi

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  2. Joanne HuffmanSeptember 28, 2012 at 7:03 AM

    Love the "explorer of food" piece - great fun. The manuscript piece is cool. Now you have made me want to go to the Czech Republic with your photos.

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  3. APG JamieSeptember 28, 2012 at 8:30 AM

    Wow what a church, yeh. <3

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  4. Valerie-JaelSeptember 28, 2012 at 11:37 AM

    Lovely work again this week. Prague is really worth the journey, I still have friends there and hope to visit again someday. The chapel of bones is nice and creepy! Valerie

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  5. JanetSeptember 28, 2012 at 1:27 PM

    Super postcard and wonderful photographs of a rather macabre form of art! Very interesting read.

    Janet xx

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  6. JunibearsSeptember 29, 2012 at 5:09 AM

    What a great posting of your wonderful works!
    And thank you for that fabulous tour of Prague! Hugs xx

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  7. KayleneSeptember 29, 2012 at 7:14 PM

    Great work. Cheers

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  8. mags21September 30, 2012 at 2:34 PM

    great photos again..another interesting read.

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  9. JenOctober 1, 2012 at 4:35 AM

    Great photos and interesting stuff about the church. Makes me feel a bit uncomfortable though! A good read as well as a good postcard.Thank you.
    Jen x

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  10. EllenOctober 1, 2012 at 2:44 PM

    amazing photos of Prague , I need to go again with a different viewpoint. last time I was interested in beads and din't take much notice of the details of the buildings. Now with scrapping and photography it will be a totally different ballgame

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  11. EllenOctober 1, 2012 at 2:45 PM

    oops I forgot to say love your one for the manuscript challenge, so nice to see one being made

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  12. BillOctober 1, 2012 at 4:11 PM

    Oh my word. So many wonderful pictures to look at. I should be looking at your manuscript collage, but I'm too astonished at the Bone Chapel. That must have been incredible to see in person.

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  13. FayeOctober 1, 2012 at 6:44 PM

    Hi Abby, your medieval manuscript piece is very well done. I wish it had been in a separate post because I almost gave up before I got to the comment section. You have a lot of interesting things in your post. Only the TAW was one of my challenges.

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  14. Darcy MarshallOctober 2, 2012 at 4:12 PM

    oh wow...flippin heck Abby you have been everywhere. Those bones are freaky but so amazingly cool! I love the john Lennon wall too.

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