Scotland Adventure: Day Six: Part 1

After running around the Scottish highlands and lowlands for five days we ended up in Edinburgh at the Adria house. A quaint Georgian town home now run as a bed and breakfast (B&B), this is a wonderful location to begin our exploration of Scotland’s capital.

Adria House on the Royal Terrace

After another great breakfast (like I said I loved the food in Scotland), we set off to explore Edinburgh on foot. We made a quick list of some things we would like to get while we were out to bring back to Canada. Most of it was of course souvenirs, yet I would be looking for something more traditional of a local flavour. I had my heart set on purchasing a kilt to bring back with me. Not a simple kilt such as something you would wear for a costume, more along the lines of something I could wear to a party, formal gathering/wedding or simply on a special occasion. My friends knew about this and I got some well-needed advice and hints on purchasing one.

However while I was looking for one I would be taking in a lot of the local atmosphere of this old yet beautiful city. Our first stop or journey would be to walk and discover the wondrous things a street called the Royal Mile had to offer.

The Royal mile, as the name suggests, is about a mile long starting from Edinburgh Castle at the top of the hill, to the Holyrood Palace at the base, near the Scottish parliament buildings. This main street in the old town where many businesses cross is the busiest tourist street in the old town. Along this street you can see many tourist shops and attractions as well as many cultural centres such as The Real Mary Kings Close, St. Giles’ Cathedral and or course Edinburgh Castle; all of which we visited.

But first, we explored the streets looking and taking in the atmosphere that is Edinburgh. We walked up and down the side streets and we came upon the café where J.K. Rowling sat in to written her famous Harry Potter books. We even walked by George Heriot’s school, the school that she modeled Hogwarts after. From this location we were able to get a spectacular view of Edinburgh Castle. As we were walking to the castle the view reminded me of another castle I had read about long ago from another famous author, JRR Tolkien in the Lord of the Rings, Edoras. Edoras is the city capital of Rohan. Looking up at the castle I imagined that I was on a quest to Edoras to see King Théoden. You can call me a nerd but views such as this, stirs my mind to places created and destroyed within my imagination. Yet imagine, hundreds if not thousands of people have walked these streets seeing the same views, the same places.   However many simply walk past oblivious of the moment in time they are experiencing. This moment will never come again, we should savour it to its fullest and this image will be one I will treasure for a long time.

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

Looking for mischief

Trying to get into George Heriot

George Heriot’s school

We will be exploring castle but first we explored another building seemingly stopped in a moment in time, St. Giles’ Cathedral. Also known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh, St. Giles’s Cathedral is the main place of worship for the Church of Scotland. Dedicated to St. Giles, the patron saint of Edinburgh; he was a very popular saint in the Middle Ages, probably because he was also the patron saint of cripples and lepers. Today’s church dates back to the late 14^th century even though it went through extensive restoration in the 19^th century. Today it is seen as the “mother Church of Presbyterianism”.

We made our way into the cathedral and it is a lovely example of architecture of the day. I’ve seen older churches but this church had some wonderful stain glass windows I have only seen in pictures. I found their artistry enchanting and I spent a great deal of time taking in the little details in them. I particularly enjoyed the stain glass windows near the altar that depicted the main life moments of Jesus. The most memorable were the miracle at Cana, the expulsion of the money changers, the crucifixion, the resurrection and the assentation. I know all these stories from reading them in the bible and of course hearing about them at church. Yet no matter where I go I love to see other people’s renderings or interpretation of these events. I love to see which parts of the stories the artist chooses to add to the artwork.

Stain Glass at St. Giles’ Cathedral

St. Giles’ Cathedral 2 story Organ

Stain Glass at St. Giles’ Cathedral

Stain Glass at St. Giles’ Cathedral

Stain Glass at St. Giles’ Cathedral

Stain Glass at St. Giles’ Cathedral

Stain Glass at St. Giles’ Cathedral

Stain Glass at St. Giles’ Cathedral

Stain Glass at St. Giles’ Cathedral

Stain Glass at St. Giles’ Cathedral

St. Giles’ Cathedral

Stain Glass at St. Giles’ Cathedral

Stain Glass at St. Giles’ Cathedral

Stain Glass at St. Giles’ Cathedral

Stain Glass at St. Giles’ Cathedral

St. Giles’ Cathedral

Stain Glass at St. Giles’ Cathedral

Stain Glass at St. Giles’ Cathedral

 

Art is everywhere no matter where you look.

Art Inspiration:The Gift From The Gods; Pandora: Box/Jar/Urn

In my life I have had moments that inspire me to create and wonder about different possibilities. Working with children has always been a catalyst for these moments. On a number of occasions I have provided a drawing or art class for the children and their curiosity has inspired many ideas and creations. Some of these inspirations have produced scenes of me drawing them camping, or as characters from Harry Potter, but the majority of them enjoyed me creating a scene based on the Greek gods. I have posted this work so titled “The Greek Gods, Distraction on Olympus”.

This experience was so enjoyable that I have been thinking of creating another scene from Greek Mythology for some time. In the next few weeks I will be posting the different characters of this scene and a little background info on each one.

I must emphasize that this drawing is not for the children in my school but an independent work I undertook for my own enjoyment. It is from my imagination and may be a bit adult.

 

Jar/Box/ Urn

 

What would the story of Pandora be without the box? The interesting thing is that the original story of Pandora did not have a box but a storage jar or pithos. In the jar held all the evils or evil spirits of the world as well as one other thing. The jar was given to Pandora and her husband Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus.

Where Prometheus’s name meant ‘forethought’ Epimetheus meant ‘afterthought’. Prometheus warns his bother not to accept the gift of Pandora because he can fore-see trouble, but Epimetheus does not heed his bother’s warning.  She carries with her a jar, a gift to them from Zeus, yet she is told not to open it. Of course when someone is told not to do something they inevitably do that thing. She opens the lid and releases the evils and plagues onto the earth, but holds back hope that is still in the control of humans.

I drew the jar as a Greek urn with two handles. On it I drew the usual patterns around the urn but I added an eagle to the top centre of the neck of the urn to represent Zeus. Zeus is commonly portrayed as an eagle and so I wanted to show his influence. On the centre I redrew Pandora in her similar stance as I drew her but with her eyes closed. If you did not notice the eagle, I made sure you noticed the Zeus influence with the twin lightning bolts flanking the image of Pandora. In the final rendering this urn/jar will be place in it in a prominent place, but you will have to wait and see where it is.

In the mean time I hope you enjoy my depiction of Pandora’s Box/Jar/Urn, from The Gift From The Gods; Pandora. 

Pandora’s Box/Jar/Urn

Art Inspiration: A Gift From The Gods; Pandora: Pandora

  In my life I have had moments that inspire me to create and wonder about different possibilities. Working with children has always been a catalyst for these moments. On a number of occasions I have provided a drawing or art class for the children and their curiosity has inspired many ideas and creations. Some of these inspirations have produced scenes of me drawing them camping, or as characters from Harry Potter, but the majority of them enjoyed me creating a scene based on the Greek gods. I have posted this work so titled “The Greek Gods, Distraction on Olympus”.

  This experience was so enjoyable that I have been thinking of creating another scene from Greek Mythology for some time. In the next few weeks I will be posting the different characters of this scene and a little background info on each one.

  I must emphasize that this drawing is not for the children in my school but an independent work I undertook for my own enjoyment. It is from my imagination and may be a bit adult.

Pandora

  Pandora was a gift to humanity as punishment because Prometheus gave the gift of fire to us. Hephaestus created Pandora under the orders from Zeus. She then was bestowed with gifts from the gods to make her desirable to men. She is presented to Epimetheus brother of Prometheus, as a gift. However, Prometheus warns his bother not to accept the gift, but he does not heed his bother’s warning.   She carries with her a jar, a gift from Zeus, which contains all the evils and plagues of the world, yet she is told not to open it. Of course when someone is told not to do something they inevitably do that thing. She opens the lid and releases the evils and plagues onto the earth, but holds back hope that is still in the control of humans.

  I created Pandora with a full body and legs, to show the full female form of Pandora that Hephaestus creates. I created her in a sensual pose to highlight her figure. Her leg is turned in and her left arm up was my way of creating a ‘come hither look’ for her. I also created her hair rolling off the left side of her face and shoulder to enhance that effect. I did this to cover one eye to give her that “mysterious look” as I call it. Originally I created her with blonde hair but if she is from the Mediterranean region, then she would have dark hair, hence the brown. Her shoes were supposed to be sandals but I decided to give her high heels. High heels are used to emphasize certain physical features such as her hips, behind, breasts and shapely legs.

 I hope you enjoy my depiction of Pandora, from The Gift From The Gods; Pandora. 

Pandora – Gift to Humanity

Art Inspiration: A Gift From The Gods; Pandora: The Kharites (The Graces) : Algaea

 In my life I have had moments that inspire me to create and wonder about different possibilities. Working with children has always been a catalyst for these moments. On a number of occasions I have provided a drawing or art class for the children and their curiosity has inspired many ideas and creations. Some of these inspirations have produced scenes of me drawing them camping, or as characters from Harry Potter, but the majority of them enjoyed me creating a scene based on the Greek gods. I have posted this work so titled “The Greek Gods, Distraction on Olympus”.

This experience was so enjoyable that I have been thinking of creating another scene from Greek Mythology for some time. In the next few weeks I will be posting the different characters of this scene and a little background info on each one.

I must emphasize that this drawing is not for the children in my school but an independent work I undertook for my own enjoyment. It is from my imagination and may be a bit adult.

 

The Kharites (The Graces) : Algaea

 

In the Pandora story she is given different gifts to make her irresistible to men. One group of goddess known as the Kharites or Graces bestowed a gift to Pandora. The Kharites were three goddesses of grace, beauty, adornment, mirth, festivity, dance and song. I will reveal these goddesses one at a time starting with Algaea.

Algaea was known as the goddess of beauty, splendour, glory, magnificence and adornment. She was also the wife of the god Hephaistos and the mother of the four younger Kharites named Good-Repute, Praise, Eloquence and Welcome. She was also named Kharis (the Grace) and Kale (Beauty). Her and her sisters were usually depicted in art as three nude women dancing, yet for this piece I wanted to portray them in seductive attire to give the illusion of nudity.

I drew Algaea and her sisters as seductive women with luscious curves and wearing sheer lingerie. There are parts you can see but I wanted to leave some things to the imagination. Usually many goddesses have dark hair but this character I want to have blonde hair. I coloured her outfit in a darker colour because here sisters will be wearing more liter colours.

I hope you enjoy my depiction of Algaea one of the Kharties from The Gift From The Gods; Pandora. 

Algaea – goddess of beauty, splendour, glory, magnificence and adornment – one of the ‘Kharties’