Dora in Barcelona: my second solo trip abroad

Dora in Gaudi Museum

Since I can remember I have always wanted to visit Barcelona. I have always liked the very sound of the word B-a-r-c-e-l-o-n-a. It sounded so grand to me and conjured up the picture of an elegant lady (doesn't the word sound a bit feminine and whimsical?)or a majestic and glamorous place. Barcelona is a very old city in which you can feel the weight of history; it is actually haunted by history. You cannot walk around it without perceiving and feeling it. It is full of splendid architecture, incredible stories and stunning landscapes. Barcelona is breathtakingly beautiful. It is a dream destination for art and culture lovers. It has got all you need for perfect holidays: insanely good food, great shops, beautiful sandy beaches, staggering cathedrals, palm and orange trees, gorgeous hills, cable cars, fairy tale architecture, fabulous parks and glorious weather. It is full of music, first-rate tapas bars, great flavours, flowers and glistening fruit. It is incredibly vibrant, charming and colourful.  It is spirited and irrepressible. It is a city with a character and charisma! A very stimulating place to visit. I had a wonderful time in Barcelona. I needed a break from reality and rainy, gloomy English weather and sunny Barcelona instantly awakened me from my winter hibernation/somnabulism.

Panoramic view over Barcelona from the outside of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (Barcelona National Art Museum of Catalonia). The museum is situated on the top of Montjuïc Hill. 



I decided to visit Barcelona in January to avoid heat. I arrived at El Prat airport on the 11th of January and the moment I came out of the terminal I had to shield my dazzled eyes against the Spanish sun's brilliance. I spent 4 full days in Barcelona and the sun was shining almost every day. The sky was cloudless most of the time, the air was fresh and breezy, the temperature just about right for me: +15/16° C. It was sunny, bright, and pleasantly cool. Very refreshening and rejuvenating. Ideal weather for intensive walking, parks & hills touring and relentless exploring of the city. My hotel was located in central Barcelona -  on one of the most popular shopping streets in the Gothic Quarter, a 5-minute walk from the Rambla and the cathedral, 15-minte walk from Placa de Catalunya (Catalonia Square). Placa de Catalunya is a strategic place in Barcelona. It is the central place where the old city  (Barri Gótic and La Rambla) meet.  It is the starting point for all Barcelona hop-on hop-off City Tour Buses. Aerobus service has its stops at Catalonia Square too. Thanks to the fact that my hotel was conveniently located in close proximity to Placa de Catalunya (right at the heart of the city) I could see Gothic catedral, Picasso museum and famous La Boqueria market on the first day of my trip. I was able to stroll lively La Rambla and El Raval as often as I pleased and could immerse myself in the enchanting architecture of Barri Gótic quarter every day. 

    

Panoramic view over Placa d'Espanya Barcelona from Montjuïc. Placa d'Espanya is one of Barcelona's most important and biggest squares.



If you are visiting Barcelona for the first time, here are some tips to make you trip easy, convenient, smooth and most of all enjoyable.

1). Take a good guide book with you. I strongly recommend Barcelona City Guide (Insight Guides series). It has got full-colour, easy-to-follow detailed maps of all Barcelona quarters.The Best Of section at the front of the book contains all the top sights. The Places section details all the attractions worth seeing. I found Insight Guides Barcelona Guidebook the most indispensible item during my travel. I am a great walker and enjoy active sightseeing. In my humble opinion, walking is one of the best ways of getting around Barcelona, which is not really physically that huge as I had previously thought. Despite being one of the largest cities on the Mediterranean (population 1.6 milion), Barcelona is a pretty easy place to find your way around. In effect, it is a series of self-contained quarters or neighbourhoods (known as barris) stretching out from the harbour, flanked by parks and hills.  The guide book with great, detailed maps in it was a great resource to help me plan every day in Barcelona and to explore the city on foot. 


 

2) Book your accomodation in the city centre. Staying in a centrally located hotel or hostel will save you lots of time whilst finding your way around the most important sights. You can find really inexpensive accommodation in the heart of the city. Barcelona has an excellent range of accomodation, with high-end luxury hotels and a varied spread of midrange and budget selections. Depending on the season you can pay as little as €15 to €25 for a dorm bed in a youth hostel. If dorm living is not your thing (it is not mine) but you are still looking for a budget deal, check around the many pensiones (small private hotels) and hostales (budget hotels). These are often family-run, small-scale hotels. Whilst looking for an inexpensive accommodation in Barcelona the word hostale was putting me off. I couldn't help associating it with a loud, squalid youth hostel. The word hostale   couldn't be more misleading though. Some hostales (small hotels) can be actually immaculately maintained gems. An example of such a gem is Hostel Fina. I based myself in Hostel Fina for 5 nights - and paid only €92.50 for enitre stay (€18.50 per 1 night). I booked single room with its own shower and toilet. The room was small but cosy and most importantly - spotless. The hotel is conveniently located on Carrer Portaferrissa street - a stone throw away from famous La Rambla and Barri Gótic. A better location could scarcely be imagined - close to major sights and the old city; perfect area for exploring on foot; good nightlife and dining options. 

  


 3)Buy AeroBus ticket online and print it at home. AEROBÚS is the official shuttle bus service that connects El Prat Barcelona Airport (Terminal 1 and Terminal 2) with the city center ( Pl. Espanya & Pl. Catalunya) in 35 minutes. You pay €5.90 for single ticket and €10.20 for return ticket. The return ticket is valid for 15 days after validating the outward journey. Your printed return ticket will be replaced with a paper ticket by the driver once you get on the board of the AeroBus. 

4) Get Art Ticket (Barcelona Museum Pass). If you read my blog you must be into art & museums and Barcelona is to modern art what Greece is to ruined temples. Barcelona is exceptional for the quantity and quality of exhibition venues and is a sheer delight for any visitor interested in art. Art Ticket is a must when visiting Barcelona. It saves your money and time as it allows you to skip the line and cuts out the need to queue and wait. For convenience and speed the best way to buy your museum pass is online purchase. You pay 30€ online then print your Art Ticket and exchange the printed voucher for your Barcelona Art Passport at the ticket desk of any Art Ticket museum. As simple as that. 

 
With Art Passport you save 45% on the normal admission price. The Art Passport is valid for 12 months. It allows you to visit the 6 most popular museums in Barcelona, including Picasso Museum, Fundacio Joan Miro, Fundacio Antoni Tapies, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, CCCB and MACBA. 

Six great museums in greater detail:

1) MACBA: The Contemporary Art Museum of Barcelona. 

MACBA is gigantic and impressive. It is a great, rotund, white bastion of contemporary art. Located in the bohemian Raval area, two minutes walk from PLaca de Catalunya, its iconic main building designed by Richard Meier, features captivating exhibitions for art lovers and a permanent collection of more than 5,800 works.

2) CCCB: Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona. 

CCCB is is situated right next to MACBA. CCCB is housed in a labyrinthine building and was set up as a force for social, urban, environmental and cultural development, and has a full programme of striking, thought-provoking and frequently futuristic exhibitions, talks, music and videos. 
 

3) Fundació Antoni Tapies. 

The museum was created by Antoni Tapies, leading 20th-century Catalan artist to promote knowledge of modern art. The Fundació houses one of the most complete public collections of Antoni Tapies' work, and organizes activities and temporary exhibitions on contemporary art. The Fundació Tapies is housed in a pioneering Modernista building (completed in 1885). The building, designed by Domenech i Montaner for the publishing house Editorial Montaner i Simón, combines a brick-covered iron frame with Islamic-inspired decoration. Tapies crowned it with the meanderings of his own imagination, a work called Nuvol i Cadira (Cloud and Chair) that spirals above the building like a stormy cloud or wreath of wind. There is something sinister about the wilderness of wires suspended above the building. The creation is quirky yet thought-provoking. 

 


4) Museu Picasso.

The setting alone, in medieval stone mansions, makes the Museu Picasso unique. The pretty courtyards, galleries and staircases preserved in these old, stone buildings are as delightful as the collection inside. 
The collection concentrates on the artist's formative years, yet there's enough material from subsequent periods to give you a thorough immpression of the man's versality and genius. Above all, you come away feeling that Picasso was a true original, always one step ahead of his time, in his search of new forms of expression. The collection includes more than 3500 artworks, largely pre-1904, which is apt considering the artist spent his formative creative years in Barcelona. It is important, however, not to expect a parade of his most popular works (works representative of his best-known periods. The holdings at them museum reflect Picasso's years in Barcelona and elswehere in Spain, and what makes this collection truly impressive - and unique around many Picasso museums around the world - is the way in which it displays his extraordinary talent at such a young age. Faced with technical vituosity of a painting such as Cilencia i caritat (science and Charity), for example, it is almost inconceivable that such work could have been created at the hands of a 15 year old. 

 

5) Fundació Joan Miró.
  
Joan Miró, the city's best known 20th-century artistic progeny, bequethed this art foundation to his home town in 1971. The museum's buildings, designed by close friend and architect Josep Lluis Sert, are crammed with seminal works, from Miró earliest timid sketches to paintings from his last years.

The foundation rests amid the greenery of the hills and holds the greatest sngle collection of the artist;s work, containing around 220 of his paintings, 180 sculptures, some textiles and more than 8000 drawings spanning his entire life. Only small portion is ever on display.

 

 

6) Museu Nacional D'Art De Catalunya.


From across the city, the flamboyant neobaroque silhouette of the Palau Nacional can be seen on the slopes of Montjuic. Built for the 1929 World Exhibition and restored in 2005, it houses a vast collection of mostly Catalan art spanning the early Middle Ages to the early 20th century. The high point is the collection of extrordinary Romanesque frescoes. 

The Playful Wind.

 

Many creative people do their best work when collaborating within a circle of likeminded friends. Experimenting together and challenging one another, they develop the courage to create things they would not have otherwise created. Out of their discussions they develop a new, shared vision that guides their work even when they work alone. If it were not for my friendship with Bartosz Kowalski - a young, hugely talented Polish composer, I would have never dared to create poems in English. Thanks to his encouragement and a subtle push I did venture to write my first English poems. I used to write lyrics in my native language which is Polish but did not feel confident and competent enough to create poetry in Shakespeare's language! Bartosz suggested that I should give it a try one day, because he would be happy to translate my poem in English to a choir song. He commissioned me to write some poems in English and I took a chance. Listening to "The Playful Wind" sung by a choir made writing the poem all worthwile. When I listened to the choir rendition of my poem for the first time I felt really proud and elated. I thought - It is me who wrote the words - I am a lyricist ;-).

I like surrounding myself with creatives. They help us to unleash our own creativity!

Bartosz Kowalski, a graduate in composition from Chopin University, Warsaw, composes in a variety of genres, including both sacred and secular choral music, instrumental music, film music. The Playful Wind  is a colourfully dynamic setting of Dora Lorenc's poem "To the Playful Wind" - about 6 minutes' duration and was premiered in October 2015 and is eager to be performed again.

The composer is more than happy to make arrangements for other forces on demand.

Composer's website: http://www.bartoszkowalski.com/en/


Composer: Bartosz Kowalski
Lyrics: Dora Lorenc

Warsaw University of Technology Academic Choir
Conductor: Justyna Pakulak
Solo: Katarzyna Piątkowska
15th Anniversary of Choir Concert in Warsaw Philharmonic (28.10.2015)

How my solo travel to Amsterdam changed me: on contemporary art and Stendhal syndrome (2)

Have you ever heard of Stendhal syndrome? I was not even aware that such syndrome had existed until my memorable visit to Van Gogh Museum. I obviously knew that Stendhal was the famous 19th-century French author so the word and the name did ring a bell to me, but getting to know that a syndrome and psychosomatic illness is named after him really surprised me. Well, well I have another reason to never underestimate educational value of traveling!

So what exactly Stendhal Syndrome is? It is a psychosomatic illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly beautiful or a large amount of art in a single place. 

Although there are many descriptions of people becoming dizzy and fainting while looking at Florentine art, dating from the early 19th century on, the syndrome was only named in 1979, when it was described by Italian psychiatrist Graziella Magherini. Looking at great art, according to Magherini, can be bad for your mental health. But it was Stendhal after whom the illness was named. After visiting the Basilica of Santa Croce  in Florence and seeing Giotto's frescoes for the first time, Stendhal was overwhelmed by emotions and wrote that he "had palpitations of the heart" and "walked with the fear of falling". 

According to Magherini this psychosomatic, aesthetic reaction to the wonders of the world and beauty of art does not affect everyone the same. He claimed that after a few minutes of looking at a masterpiece, the typical tourist can put the wonders of the world in their place and flee towards comfort zones. Others have a mental immunity, "always remaining rational" despite aesthetic delights. He argued that there are those who can succumb to a complex crisis when faced with the beauty of Florence (he observed and described more than 100 similar cases among tourists and visitors in Florence). Magherini identifies these individuals as "sensitive and easily susceptible to emotions".

I am highly sensitive to beauty both in art and in nature. I often embark on quest of beauty: I travel, visit art galleries and museums. I consider myself an aesthete. As far as I can recollect I did experience certain symptoms akin to those described by Magherini on multiple occasions, especially when contemplating works of art in Louvre or The National Gallery in London. I remember feeling a bit dizzy while appreciating Botticelli's frescoes in Louvre (especially Three Graces) and my head felt as if it was not getting enough blood. In addition, I experienced increased heart rate and increased perspiration. I attributed these reactions to prolonged standing and visual stimulation however. I did not realize that I could have been experiencing Stendhal syndrome. Have you ever experienced intense psychosomatic illness while contemplating an artwork? Share your story!

If you happen to experience Stendhal Syndrome in Van Gogh Museum there is a special rescue remedy for you. You can shelter yourself in a wooden pavilion which offers treatment for this intriguing and elusive syndrome. Stendhal Syndrome Pavilion creates a space where visitors can seek retreat and solace, reflect meaningfully on the power of art and the fragility of human perception.

**********************************************************************************

Being in Amsterdam on my own for five days was a rejuvenating feeling. The trip made me fall in love with myself, and it taught me lessons I wouldn’t have experienced otherwise. To grow as individuals, we long to see different places and to experience new things, and solo traveling allows us to do just that. 

My solo trip made me realize that my "weaknesses" are just a part of my imagination. We all have certain things we think we are bad at. I often proclaim that I am worst at directions. I joke that I can get lost anywhere even in a box. But on my first day in Amsterdam, I walked 30 minutes throughout the entire town with only a paper map and no cell phone but with a smile plastered to my face. I took my time figuring out where I wanted to go, and when it was time to head back, I challenged myself to find my lovely, cosy hotel - Hotel Galerij. And guess what? It worked. I walked my way home from pure memory. At times, I questioned myself, but I stuck to my intuition. I arrived without anyone else’s help.

Taking a solo trip can really help you to understand who you are. Solo trip is the answer for self-discovery. And when you discover who you really are you will be free! Sounds liberating, doesn't it? If you want to transform yourself into something better, if you want to optimize your life, if you want to expand your world and stimulate your vision, you should embark on a solo journey. You will never regret it.  No matter the circumstances, you will figure out how you thrive and survive in certain situations. No matter the circumstances, you will figure out what makes you tick and bubble with excitement. The thing is, that we often censor ourselves or hesitate to do certain things because we are with other people. We often restrict ourselves, wear masks and conceal who we really are while being surrounded by people whose opinions we value. But when we are on our own, we have the freedom to do whatever we want. Who is there to judge us? 

I am pretty certain that if I hadn't gone to Amsterdam on my own, Van Gogh's unfinished painting would not have elicited such an unexpected emotional reaction from me (I would have to censor my emotions and reactions in company of my friends), I would have never visited Stedelijk Museum (I am pretty sure that none of my friends would be happy to pay 15€ in order to gaze at upturned chairs or Matisse's monumental, wall-filling cutouts). I am no art expert myself but I am highly attracted to different forms of artistic expression. I might say that Stedelijk was a bit of a novelty for me. It did open my eyes to a new world of art. When I first encountered the largest-ever retrospective of work by Henri Matisse (1869-1954) in Stedelijk I hadn't really seen much of modern art up close. My initiation into the world of abstract art took place some time ago in Tate Modern in London. But I went there with a friend whose bubbly predisposition and extroverted nature impeded severely my reception of and engagement with  contemporary artistic creations. 

So what happened in Stedelijk? Well, lots of things. Stedelijk redefined or even revolutionised my relationship with modern art. I can honestly admit that it was my first genuine interaction with abstract art in my life. I saw modern art UP CLOSE for the first time and it left a lasting impression on me. People say "Do not judge a book by its cover" and I will add: "Never judge abstract art if you haven't let it confront you yet". Understanding abstract art does not come naturally for everyone. It is the kind of art that leaves some people puzzled and makes them say: "Even I could could do that. Even my kid could do that too!". This is a kind of remark people say when they see prints or illustrations presenting examples of abstract art in books or magazines. I was equally puzzled when I browsed through a history of art coursebook many, many years ago and reached the final chapter devoted to abstract art. I remember thinking that contemporary artists sadly lacked drawing skills and a sense of beauty of the Old Masters (forgive me my ignorance my dear readers but I was an inexperienced teenager at that time). 

What I am trying to say now, is that you should not denigrate abstract art and dismiss it as some silly, meaningless scribbles and doodles unless you have experienced it and saw it UP CLOSE. I know that abstract art does not contain familiar objects, so there is not much to grasp or hold onto. This can be very confusing and even threatening.

 

   € 15

I am going to describe my experience of the artwork above now. Six huge canvases. White paint spread out and rubbed all over their surface. You may look at it and say that it is boring, monothematic, static, it bears no meaning. It does not have any beginning or any end. But you are looking at the tiny picture at the moment.  You can't experience the size, texture and real colour of these gigantic whitish creations. They will not speak to you through your computer screen. I stood in front of them for a while. It was very quiet in the gallery, very intimate. I gazed and gazed and after some time I started to experience all sorts of strange feelings: whiteness started to ooze and engulf me, I felt a sense of alienation combined with a feeling of emptiness and hollowness in depths of my being, then increasing fear and anxiety. Fear of what?  Was it fear of whiteness and sterility? These paintings made me think of the future world. They conjured images of futuristic sterile white laboratory in my head. Perfectly clean, with no bacteria. Hermetic and sound proofed like a capsule. Futuristic world. The unknown world. Uber-Civilized World. Uber-Technologized World. World of Science and Experimentation. And what the condition of humanity is going to be in such kind of world? Humans? Humanoids? Artificial Intelligence? How are they going to communicate? Will they feel isolated?

This seemingly nonsensical piece of art created a room for a silent dialogue with its viewer. It encouraged deep process of thinking and envisaging. And that's what abstract art is all about. It allows the spectator to decide what the artwork is about, on a very personal level. A large part of the beauty of abstract art is that we, viewers, can bring our own meaning and assign our own context to an artwork based on our associations, memories and unique emotional response. Abstract art is open to interpretation and speculation. It requires you to have an open, enquiring mind, you must confront and enter the painting and see where it takes you. This intensely personal process enriches a viewer's perspective and stimulates their imagination.

When you stand close to a painting so that you become spiritually immersed in the experience of colour different ideas and associations might suddenly and unexpectedly spring to your mind. Different colours radiate different frequencies and energies. In abstract paintings colours play vital role and invite the spectator to open their emotions to an intellectual and emotional kinship with art.  

Oscar Wilde wrote that "There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all". I just thought I would borrow and change his aphorism to sum up my entry about abstract art: "There is no such thing as a well painted, or badly painted painting. Paintings either speak to your soul or not. They either stir your emotions or not. That is all". 

  

How my solo travel to Amsterdam changed me: on happiness and determination (1)

Can a single travel abroad change us? Dora in Amsterdam - my first solo trip abroad entry tells you how wonderfully empowered I felt when I came back safely home and what makes Amsterdam an ideal pick for a female solo traveller. When I completed my first alone trip to Amsterdam I felt a sense of achievement and pride. My confidence has increased. The ability to be unencumbered by others, to see all the new places with my own eyes and at my own pace was so refreshening and liberating. I was not impeded and slowed down. I was perfectly free to do what I wanted.  My first solo trip abroad was one of the most enriching, character-and-confidence-building experiences I have ever had in my life.

When you travel on your own you have much more time to think, explore, make your little discoveries, reflect, contemplate and experience those amazingly illuminating 'aha' moments. Solo travel gives you a great deal of flexibility. You can observe and analyse things more carefully. Solo travel gives you time and mental space for introspection and self-analysis. I had many illuminating 'aha' moments along the way. I experienced them in various places, for example while strolling between plastinated specimens displayed in Gunther von Hagens' Body Worlds Exhibition, while exploring The Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk Museum,I experienced them in Anne Frank House or even during our relaxed guided walk around the Red Lights District. I learned many lessons during my journey: I discovered a recipe for happiness, I realized the importance of determination and perseverance in achieving one's goals and potential, I redefined my relationship with contemporary art and became familiar with Stendhal syndrome. My trip to Amsterdam taught me how to live a more meaningful, purposeful and happier life. It has also shown the significance of determination in our lives.

 

What is happiness and how to be happy?

 

If you want to find the answer to these two big and fundamental questions about the attainment of human happiness and fulfilment, book a trip to Amsterdam and head in the direction of Damrak 66 where BODY WORLDS: The Happiness Project is located. It's just two-minute walk from Amsterdam's Dam Square or a five-minute walk from Amsterdam Central Station, which is accessible by train, tram, metro and bus.

Body Worlds: The Happiness Project marks an entirely new chapter in the already impressive range of Body Worlds exhibitions.

Recipe for happiness

The exhibition tells the amazing story of our bodies and the influence that the emotional phenomenon of 'happiness' has on our health. The Happiness Project is a specially-developed interactive exhibition examining what happiness is, the science behind it, and its effects on both body and mind. 
What did I learn from the project? Well, lots of interesting, eye-opening things! I am going to share my little discoveries with you now. Firstly, the project made me redefine success and the concept of successful living. I think that most of us tend to correlate success with happiness. Many people pursue success as they believe that it will make them happy. But research suggests the opposite: happiness fuels success, not the other way around. When we are positive our brains are more motivated, engaged, creative, energetic, resilient and productive. But how to stay positive? What psychological vitamins should we take in order to be happy? Research shows that thriving and happiness occur when these three needs are met:

1) Autonomy: doing what you choose.
2) Competence: doing it well.
3) Relatedness: connecting with others. 

So to cut the long story short, if you want to be successful in your life you have to learn how to maintain enthusiastic and positive attitude in the first place. When you radiate positive and happy energy you are more likely to attract and achieve success.  You can achieve state of happiness through autonomy, competence and relatedness but also through movement and action. Our body is designed to move. A complex scaffolding of muscles and bones it allows us to achieve remarkable feats of coordination and balance. Movement and excersise prompt the release of endorphins - hormones secreted in the brain that reduce pain and increase happiness. Physically active people have greater feelings of enthusiasm and excitement. Due to its many positive effects, regular exercise is a fountain of youth and tonic for happiness. Tune your body as you would a fine instrument and see how far it takes you.
 
Happiness like every other emotional experience is the result of electrochemical reactions in the brain brought on by stimuli. Nerve impulses produce feelings and chemical substances (neurotransmitters and hormones) act as transmitters. According to research each person is born with the potential for happiness in their genes. The happiness marker or 'set point', the natural level of happiness to which each person returns even after failures and triumphs - varies from person to person.

50% of Genetics

Our ability to be happy depends at least by half on our established marker or 'set point'. 

40% Activities 

Our ability to change our lives through our actions contributes to happiness also as much as our genes. Amazing, isn't it? We can consciously shape our own state of happiness.
Progress on our goals makes us feel happier and more satisfied with life. Interestingly, positive emotions have the potential to motivate goal-directed behaviours and volitional processes that are necessary for further goal progress or attainment. The research literature also reveals that we experience the strongest positive emotional response when we make progress on our most difficult goals. It is important to have different goals and pursue them! So set a new goal and an action plan  today. Your new goal can be anything from learning a foreign language, starting a travel blog to taking classic ballet dance course or driving lessons. The list of goals to choose from is endless. Working towards achieving our goals is extremely rewarding. But attaining the goal itself fills us with a sense of pride and achievement. That's how our small personal achievements are created - through reaching our goals. Setting goals and achieving them should become a life-long habit. It has become a new habit for me. My new short-term goals are: solo trip to Bruges this autumn and Community Interpreting Course Level 3. I have just had a pre-screen conversation with the English & Community Interpreting Lecturer this morning and I have been offered an interview on Tuesday. Wish me good luck! If things go fine I start my Community Interpreting Course next Thursday. I feel enthusiastic, thrilled and excited. I feel happy!

10% Life Conditions

Our circumstances in life - financial, physical, marital, social - have only little impact on our happiness.

Happiness is rather a state of continuous pursuit. 

Our brains are genetically programmed to be sprouting nerve cell branches that create connections with one another. These connections form pathways. If we have the same experience several times our behaviour begins to form permanent patterns while unused pathways are gradually pruned away. Due to its make-up, the brain thrives on learning and loses its agility when performing only habitual and easy tasks. Therefore just as our bodies need regular exercises our brains require challenges. Happiness can be trained too by focusing on the happy side of life. Make focusing on the bright side of life your habit. 

As illustrated in the picture above, happiness follows a U-shaped curve during a person's lifetime. We are happier when young and old and least happy in middle age. 

We tend to blame ourselves if we haven't met our standards and we often feel regret about the roads not taken. Eventually, too many choices may make us unhappy, frustrated and even mentally paralysed. No matter our circumstances, having all areas of our life - family, work, health, friendship, leisure well-balanced, gives us satisfaction. When our life balance is out of kilter we may feel resentful, disappointed or burnt out, and our physical and psychological health may suffer. 

 

*****************************************************************************************************

 

,“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Genius will not. Education will not. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
Calvin Coolidge

I have always known that persistence and determination are the key factors in achieving one's potential and dreams. But my visit to Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam only confirmed and strenghtened my faith in the omnipotence of persistence and determination. Van Gogh has become my new role model and an inspiration. He was an indisputable genius, an extraordinarily gifted painter and an extremely driven and persistent individual. I was surprised to find out that Van Gogh discovered his true calling to paint at the age of 27. He consciously decided to train himself as an artist. He diligently studied instruction manuals and spent much time practicing. He taught himself the rudiments of perspective, anatomy, and colour. However, the lukewarm reactions to Potatoe Eaters made Van Gogh realise that he still had much to learn. Accordingly, he decided to take some lessons. He first studied for a short while at the art academy in Antwerp, and then in the studio of the painter Fernand Cormon in Paris. Van Gogh did nothing other than practice, practice and practice for an entire year. With singular feverishness and dedication, he studied and practised on his own. He read extensively on  theory of colours, their practical use and concepts of how they complement each other. He painted portraits inspired by the work of 17th-century masters. He studied the human body by drawing nudes, and copying classical sculptures. And by concentrating on still lifes he perfected his skills in painting techniques and in combining colours. He was very diligent, self-disciplined and determined. In just over a decade, he produced more than 2100 artworks, including 860 oil paintings and more than 1300 watercolors, drawings, sketches and prints. Producing so many paintings in the space of only ten years is a great testimony to Van Gogh's determination, commmitment and self-discipline. He managed to paint over one and a half painting a day! That's a torrent of creative activity! In addition to being a prolific painter, Van Gogh was also a very prolific epistolarian (a letter writer). He wrote about 820 letters to his brother Theo. Van Gogh was not only a master of painting but also a master of self-motivation. He was a man of immense persistance and determination - he wouldn't let any obstacle, hardship or setback block him from achieving his goals. Next time when I find myself in the grip of procrastination or indolence I will think of Van Gogh!

   

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced."

Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890)

 Genius redefined

Few words on the importance of being persistent

Van Gogh was an indisputable genius. It came as quite a surprise to me that Van Gogh did not start painting until he was 27! I have always thought that great artists were child prodigies and the moment they jumped out of their cradles they meddled with musical instruments or painting paraphenalia and produced extraordinary pieces of art. To me a genius was a person endowed with an innate and almost supernaturally superior ability, intellect and creativity. I think that many people tend to attribute phenomenal inventions or creations down to genius alone, while being completely unaware of the gut-wrenching effort an artist or inventor puts into developing their project or creating their work of art. I reckon that many of us share common misconceptions that our ability to excel depends on innate qulities. The case of Van Gogh challenged my preconceived notions about genius and showed me that genius takes effort and passion. Above all, it takes perserverance, commitment and hard work. Genius does not tolerate laziness. Thomas Edison is known to have worked up to 112 hours a week (that's 16 hours a day. He was a realist when it came to the process of invention, saying: "Invention is 2% inspiration and 98% perspiration." Great works of art, inventions and ideas are born of vision and relentless commitment to that vision.

"Life leaps like a geyser for those who drill through the rock of inertia." 
~ Alexis Carol, Nobel Prize Winner

 My visit to Van Gogh Museum made me realize one very important thing: talent is great if you have it but no amount of talent will take you to the stars if you don’t have determination and persistence to keep trying. Talent is just a raw material. It will be wasted if it is not explored and cultivated in a continuous and ruthless manner. "Talent without deliberate practice is latent" - that is the response of Geoff Colvin. I am going to buy and read Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World Class Performers From Everybody Else by Colvin (available on Amazon). It is a fascinating study of great achievers from Mozart to Tiger Woods. The author has brilliantly highlighted the fact that great effort equals great success.  

You can be an expert in your chosen field too. You can excel and leave the world in awe. Passion, commitment, hard work and persistence can take you anywhere you want.

A gem within a gem: Venus Verticordia, 1868, Russell-Cotes Art Gallery, Bournemouth

When I stumbled upon Russell-Cotes Museum and Art Gallery some time ago, I thought to myself: what a treasure, what a gem! The museum and gallery is a wonder itself and it contains many other, smaller wonders within its Victorian walls. One of them is Pre-Raphealite oil painting Venus Verticordia, 1864-1868, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. I have always liked this painting. The first time I saw it in an art magazine it has captured my attention and imagination. I was captivated by its brilliance and vividness of color, the sitter's lush copper hair, full cherry-coloured lips and pensive yet somewhat wistful expression. And I knew from the very beginning, from the first time I laid my eyes on it, that there was something intriguing behind this painting - a mystery perhaps,a dark secret or a fascinating story. I did some research regarding the history of the painting as I wanted to know who the artist's sitter was. Her name was Alexa Wilding. She was an independent woman, a dressmaker, a seamstress, artist's model and muse, and latterly a landlady, who never married (WoW!). She became Rossetti's model and a silent witness to the most turbulent years in his bohemian life. I highly recommend a fascinating and a beautifully written novel A Curl of Copper and Pearl by Kirsty Stone Walker available on Amazon.co.uk. In her outstanding narrative and a magical evocation of Alexa Wilding's story, Walker charmingly mixes facts and fiction. Kirsty Walker fictionalises the life of Alice Wilding, whose beauty and mass of copper red hair led  Rossetti to  approach her in the street and request her to to sit for his painting.
Plucked from the street by the artist and taken completely aback by his offer, Alexa's life turned upside down. Rossetti transformed her life of drudgery and poverty into one of art and beauty.

"As his muse, she witnesses infidelity, madness, forgery, lust, theft and death. A Curl of Copper and Pearl is memoir of the lives of others in a world where truth is reliant on who is painting the picture". A Curl of Copper and Pearl, Kirsty Walker.

The gallery is full of paintings, mostly female portraits, but Venus Verticordia does stand out from the crowd and the moment you enter the gallery you can't take your eyes off her, like you are connected by an invisible cord and can't break free. She is mesmerizing. She will hold your attention as if you were under hypnosis, she will have you under her spell. She is a magnet painting, a magnet face. Her regal bearing makes her look like a queen. She is the queen of the gallery. She radiates so much sensuality and powerful female sexuality. She is Venus after all, goddess of love and 'turner of men's hearts'.She is a vision, madly beautiful vision

Stand in front of her, and you are aware that you are looking at something deeply contemplated. Every object is intimately described, every motif freighted with meaning. The viewer is drawn in by an uncertainty or a puzzle. She is shown with one of Cupid's arrows and the Apple of Discord awarded to her by Paris of Troy. There is a butterfly, a bird and a festoon of honesuckle flowers. Rossetti complained that buying fresh flowers daily to paint left him penniless. The honey suckle flowers were meant to represent the fleeting nature of love. The title of the painting refers to a quotation from the Roman poet Ovid. He describes one of Venus' attraibutes as being able to assist Roman women to turn their hearts towards virtue and modesty. This does seem contradictory for such a heavily sensual and sexual image, but perhaps it is a warning of the dangers of sexual obsession.

When I look at Alexa's portrait, I am not surprised that she turned Rossetti's head in the street. She was a Victorian stunner - tall and voluptuous, with distinctive lips and a mane of glorious red hair. Her long strong neck, her angular jaw, nose and cheekbones, and her flexible fingers established the androgynous appearance that would become the Pre-Raphaelite 'type'. Alexa became the archetype of Pre-Raphealite canon of beauty.

It took Rossetti four years to complete this painting, which is his only nude work in oils Originally, the model for Venus was a cook who worked in Chelsea. However, when the work failed to sell, Rossetti replaced her face with his new model - Alexa Wilding. 

 An x-ray of the painting taken in 2003 has shown that Rossetti used two, or possibly even three models for the painting. The first model was tall, striking woman who worked as a cook for neughbouring family. Rossetti met her in the street, where he found several of his models. Dissatisfied with this portrait, he painted over it using the face of Alexa Wilding. It is also possible that Fanny Cornforth modelled for this painting. 

'Venus Verticordia' was acquired by the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum via the Art Fund in 1945, and has been loaned for many contemporary exhibitions. These include two at Tate Britain, and other international venues including Germany, Holland, Italy, USA, the Canary Islands and Japan. The museum regularly receives loan requests from museums and galleries in the UK and abroad. Most of these requests have to be declined to allow the picture to be shown in its home gallery; to minimise the inevitable risks and deterioration caused by travel; and for other reasons, such as high insurance costs for borrowers. 

Hidden Bournemouth Gem - The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum

When you think of Bornemouth, the first thing that springs to your mind is the sea. Glorious sea, majestic cliffs, spectacular sandy beaches, charming white pier, grey squirrels running up and down the pine park,  a cheerful colorful balloon floating high up in the sky. Bornemouth is a fantastic playground for both children and adults: it is full of sunshine, life, vibrant colors, happiness and fun things to do. It smells with the sea and fish and chips.

I like Bornemouth. And so did Thomas Hardy. He liked Bornemouth enough to recommend it to his friends as a holiday place, and a "good place to winter in". It is described by Hardy thus:

"This fashionable watering-place, with its eastern and its western stations, its piers, its groves of pines, its promenades, and its covered gardens, was...like a fairy place suddenly created by the stroke of a wand, and allowed to get a little dusty. An outlying eastern tract of the enormous Egdon Waste was close at hand, yet on the very verge of that tawny piece of antiquity such a glittering novelty as this pleasure city had chosen to spring up". 

Bornemouth was Hardy's "Sandbourne". In The Hand of Ethberta (1876) he describes the old wooden pier which was replaced by an iron pier in 1880, and it is in Sandbourne that Ethelberta's family have their last home, called "Firtop Villa". Tess in Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891) murders Alec in an imaginary boarding-house called "The Herons". Hardy was a friend of Robert Louis Stevenson who lived in Bornemouth, and on one visit he stood by the grave of Mary Shelley. 

Bornemouth has much more to offer than you might imagine. If you are an art and history lover you should definitely go up the East Cliff and visit one of the most fascinating museum-houses in England: Russell-Cotes. Sheltered in the bushes, sitting proudly on the top of the cliff, Rusell-Cotes Art Gallery is not an easy place to find. Its location makes it a bit secluded and thus getting there will fill you with a sense of thrill and achievement. The house is a great testimony to Victorian, imperial England. Carpeted with crimson, richly decorated, hung with beautiful works of art, the house is a delight to visitors' eyes. It is lavish, opulent, splendid and with a touch of fantasy. Moreover, the origins of the place are very romantic. On the 15th of 1901 July Sir Merton gave his wife Annie a dream house on a cliff-top, overlooking the sea. It was an extraordinary, extravagant birthday present. The date when Sir Merton presented East Cliff Hall to his wife as a gift on her birthday is significant, as it was the year that Queen Victoria died and makes it one of the latest Victorian buildings ever built.

"For many years I had it in mind that some day I would build a house after my own heart, as an offering of "love and affection" to my wife". (Merton Russell-Cotes writing in his autobiography Home and Abroad).
The house was begun in 1897 and was completed in its first form in 1901. It was designed by the architect John Frederick Fogerty, who moved to Bornemouth in the late 1880's. Nevertheless there can be no doubt that there was a great deal of input from Rusell-Coteses. After considering several designs, Sir Merton wrote, "I had made up my mind to construct it architecturally to combine the Renaissance with Italian and old Scottish baronial styles". 

Like many wealthy Victorians Sir Merton and Lady Annie travelled the world visiting many countries including Japan, Australia, New Zeland, Russia, America and Hawaii and used the house as a showcase for their growing collections. Many of the individual rooms were devoted to the places they visited such as The Mikado's Room based on their visit to Japan. 

In 1907 Sir Merton and Lady Annie Russell-Cotes announced that they were giving their home together with their collections of art and beautiful objects to the people of Bornemouth. They continued to live in the house which was oficially opened in 1909 with public admission on the first Wednsday of the month up until their deaths in 1920 and 1921.

The picture shows the authentic reconstruction of Annie's wedding dress. Turning the two dimensions into three was process requiring lots of patient and scrupulous research and informed guesswork, looking at garments in museums, early phootographs, fashion plates and other material culture resources for style and construction details. Annie's dress is typical for the day. It has a large skirt supported by a crinoline frame, a kind of steel-hooped petticoat trimmed with bold decoration. A corset underneath the bodice helps keep a small, neat waistline.

Although concepts of the 'traditional' wedding emerged during Victoria's reign, mostly women wore a dress they could incorporate into their wardrobes afterwards, often as a 'best outfit'. This practical requirement means that day, not evening styles were more popular. Annie's style of the dress show it is for day wear.

The picture above presents The Dining Room. Grand, isn't it? The Dining Room is one of the principal show rooms of the house and contains some of the finest paintings to be found in East CLiff Hall. The peacocks and fruit that decorate the coving were painted by John Thomas, the painter for the Roayl Bath Hotel. The room is a burgundy, traditional in dining rooms to show meat on the plate at its best. The inglenook fireplace and the ceiling owe their scheme to earlier English design which reflects the Russell-Coteses ambition to create a historic family seat in the style at least. Stained glass reveals the patriotism and imperialism of the Russell-Cotes and four of the panes depict Patron Saints of the British Union whils the panes in the bay window represents countries from the British Empire.

The decor of the house is deliciously sumptuous: rich colours, stained glass, luxurious wallpaper, painted ceilings, frescoes and patterned tiles. Rooms and collections are inspired not only by their extensive travels but also by their love of the theatre and the decorative arts.

The house is an awe-inspiring work of love.  Every room is a surprise and a delight, each possessing its own unique atmosphere and ambiance through the rich use of different colours, decor and artifacts. Some rooms have an oriental theme, others a more European feel. If you love Victoriana you will definitely be impressed by this. The Russell-Cotes Museum is an absolute gem and should be a must visit for anybody either living or visiting Bournemouth. It is full of fascinating items from all over the world and the art collections are superb.

Rich, opulent rooms in Russell-Cotess Villa illustrate how wonderful the drawing-room in Thrushcross Grange must have looked like:

"Both of us were able to look in by standing on the basement, and clinging to the ledge, and we saw—ah! it was beautiful—a splendid place carpeted with crimson, and crimson-covered chairs and tables, and a pure white ceiling bordered by gold, a shower of glass-drops hanging in silver chains from the centre, and shimmering with little soft tapers" (Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights).