From painting to Mug

My day starts with a nice cup of tea; each morning I look among my collection of mugs and pick the one I want to use on that day.So why not make my own?I picked a watercolor and decided to make my own mug... but then I found I needed another one. So here I have my pair... One depicts Zirma, the redundant city where memories include dirigibles flying in all d......

Here's how I start a painting

Before painting or creating a new city, I always take some time to think about the city I want to paint or create, and concentrate on its characteristics: Is it a happy or sad city?Is it abstract or does it have some recognisable feature as described in Calvino’s book? What colours do I want to use?After giving it some thought, I start sketching some ideas.......

Calvino on the Invisible Cities

Italo Calvino (1923-1985) was one of the most important fiction writers in the late twentieth century, now representing the Italian writer par excellence.He is mostly known for his literary experimentation which led him to blend fantasy, fable and history to give an illuminated depiction of modern life.His most interesting book “The Invisible Cities” of 1972......

The Invisible Cities

During a lecture at Columbia University in 1983, Calvino explained that “Invisible Cities does not deal with recognisable cities. These cities are all inventions, and all bear women’s names. The book is made up of a number of short chapters, each of which is intended to give rise to a reflection which holds good for all cities or for the city in general”.The......