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Kerry's Gallery
Kerry:
Through a dense patchouli haze, I seem to recall that I did once own a black suede fringed vest. Bell-bottom trousers too. And paisley! I loved paisley back then! Still do! Even I draw the line at white patent leather boots and gold lame, however! ;) :laugh:
Kelda:
--- Quote from: Kerry on April 28, 2009, 09:17:43 am ---Through a dense patchouli haze, I seem to recall that I did once own a black suede fringed vest. Bell-bottom trousers too. And paisley! I loved paisley back then! Still do! Even I draw the line at white patent leather boots and gold lame, however! ;) :laugh:
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Fact for the day:
--- Quote ---Resembling a large comma or twisted teardrop, the kidney-shaped paisley is Indian and Persian in origin, but its western name derives from the town of Paisley, in central Scotland.
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(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paisley_(design) )
Ellemeno:
--- Quote from: Kerry on April 28, 2009, 09:17:43 am ---Through a dense patchouli haze, I seem to recall that I did once own a black suede fringed vest. Bell-bottom trousers too. And paisley! I loved paisley back then! Still do! Even I draw the line at white patent leather boots and gold lame, however! ;) :laugh:
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In five years, when the technology allows, I'm going to come back to this thread, and embed some patchouli we can all smell as we read. Ah patchouli, I remember thy dense haze...
Kerry:
--- Quote from: Ellemeno on April 28, 2009, 10:14:16 pm ---In five years, when the technology allows, I'm going to come back to this thread, and embed some patchouli we can all smell as we read. Ah patchouli, I remember thy dense haze...
--- End quote ---
Can you believe I still have some patchouli in my possession? It's an intoxicating blend of patchouli, ylang ylang and orange, and is marketed as Comforting Blend Essential Oil by Jurlique ( available online at www.jurlique.com.au ). A few drops in some water in a vaporizer above a candle flame adds a wonderfully contemplative ambiance to a room prior to meditation. Alternatively, it's lovely to wear as a dab on each wrist. It's amazing that patchouli was worn as a perfume in ancient times and is still being worn today.
Kerry:
Warning: There follows personal commentary regarding certain Roman Catholic Church doctrine that some people may find offensive. Please do not continue beyond this point if it is likely that you may be so offended.
It was back in my school days when Bernini’s gorgeous sculpture, “The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa,” first captured my imagination.
“The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa” by Gianlorenzo Bernini, 1645
I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. One must bear in mind that I was a somewhat religiously-minded young chap back then, with particular leanings towards the cloistered monastic Carmelite Order of the Roman Catholic Church, of which Saint Teresa of Avila was a member in medieval Spain (not to be mistaken with Saint Therese of Lisieux, known as “The Little Flower,” a French Carmelite nun).
The story goes that Saint Teresa was praying in chapel one day when an angel appeared to her, holding an arrow. The angel thrust the arrow into Saint Teresa’s breast, which she experienced as an ecstatic, overpoweringly euphoric sensation of divine love. Bernini has graphically captured the moment of penetration in his famous sculpture.
As I got older, I began to wonder about this ecstatic penetration of St Teresa. I loved the sculpture no less, but I did begin to question the entire notion of a celibate nun being penetrated in any way whatsoever; be it by a decidedly phallic looking divine arrow or otherwise. And what’s more, being thrown into an enraptured, ecstatic state as a consequence.
Just look at the expression on her face. Is that soaring religious ecstasy you see, or more likely to be a decidedly carnal orgasm going on there? So I painted my own version:
“The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa”
The angel has been morphed into a twisted, gyrating beam of light, which embraces the saint and holds her close. She appears to have lost her habit in the process. I’m not exactly sure how that happened.
My painting is rendered in oils on canvas and is 4ft x 3ft in size (120cm x 90cm).
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