MY 1998 sketchbook pages -Paravent/Screens

A BLAST from my PAST...

Un Paravent : A Paravent is the French word for screen. A Screen is a piece of furniture , to separate two spaces .  It consists of one or more parts, often wooden, and sometimes with a few pieces of fabric .

Before I came to Canada...this was one of my projects which I was working on...I sold them in Furniture stores and took commissions...they were starting to become popular again...especially with the larger homes on the Island (Mallorca/Spain)...room dividers meant one could set up cosy sitting areas...or use them outdoors by the pool for changing behind.

One lady bought one for her bedroom, as a peek-a-boo piece of furniture...

Below are a few of my sketch book pages where I kept my designs...you thought yesterday's post was different...this really IS v. different...but I loved working on these...and although on this computer I don't have any of the finished photos of products...I will one day dig them out...lets face it...it was over 12 years ago!

the above screen was my favourite...and I painted each tile to resemble a Spanish/Portuguese Azulecos.(blue and white tile traditional from that region)

If I was working on a commission...I would make these paper screens for the clients...

If I had more room here...I would make them again. Perhaps when my studio is finished...who knows.

I love browsing through old sketch books...of mine and others...so many memories,so many ideas executed and so many just waiting to be followed through.

Do you keep a sketch/idea book?

I'm off to ponder...thanks for stopping by.

HUGS

Char.x.

I **HEART** Doors...

of all sorts but especially when you know there have been hundreds of years worth of stories and lives told behind them.

look at how strong and individual each one of these are...in North America everything is uniform, the same...just perhaps a different colour.

Nowadays you'll visit high end stores and they have coffee tables made from old Spanish or Moroccan doors...they look worn and welcoming...

When I lived in Spain, it wasn't unusual for many families to have a door as a patio table...it would definitely serve it's purpose and was big enough to seat 12-20 people around it.

I love how the Mallorquins hang their terracotta pots on the walls outside their front doors...it looks so natural, and look at this stone work!

I would love this door as my front door.

This could pass as a Church door...but isn't, it's just some one's home.

Many doors have been reinforced with metal at the bottom as a storm or flood protection...it helps to avoid swelling in the wood at the base of the doors.

I think a little kitty lives in this house...

This door lead out to a beautiful terraced garden...I wish I had pictures of it to show you...

This is the back door of the Church which I showed you in the earlier post this week. Pink walls...aren't they welcoming?

and last but not least...my favourite...beautiful craftsmanship, and I can assure you the key to this door would be just as spectacular!

What do you **HEART** lots of?

Char,Ontario
P.S.ALL these photos were taken by me at Christmas'08, please ask if you would like to use an image. Thank you!

The doors to my past...

are right here in all these photos. Last winter I finally managed to take my husband back to where we first met. The Island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean. I will post more photos in the near future...I have a little obsession with "doors" in the South of Europe...so there will sure to be a post solely on doors...

Another love was definitely the Olive Trees...they grow anywhere and everywhere...on the side of a mountain, in top of a stone wall...they are quite spectacular...and produce a kitchen staple for many...Olive Oil, and delicious Olives(I could eat them all evening with a good glass of wine)

For those of you who do not know, I lived in Mallorca for 7 years before moving to Canada. This is where I met my husband. He came over for a very short 3 day holiday and we got on extremely well...kept in touch and 8 months later we were engaged.

LOOK at these walls, they are pieces of Art...

Don't you just love this? Even on a cloudy day the buildings and houses exude colour and light.

Pathways full of luscious plants and cobbled streets...so much character and texture...it's a pianter's dream this Island.

Churches so grande, even for such a small town. I remember their coolness, I would love sitting in them on those 45 degrees hot days we used to get in the Summer...and 95% humidity...not even the sea could cool you down like the interior of the churches could.

Mountains captured by the heavy clouds filled with a shower of warm water.

You come around a corner in your car of a winding and twisty road in the countryside only to be surprised with yet another beautiful village...

The Sea is truly magical...clean and warm in the Summer...rough and dark in the winter.

Cliffs which make your jaw drop in awe of their beauty...

Mallorca is all about nature,fruit and what the land gives you...it's such a beautiful and peacful place.

But...my husband didn't speak Spanish and to get a job anywhere similar to what he does here in Canada he would really have benefited in being able to speak Spanish. SO...I moved here...to flat Ontario...SO flat compared to Mallorca.

I don't regret coming over to Canada, I have made some precious friendships here...and my husband is here, which has a whole lot of weight to why I am STILL here :-) This is the town of Selva and I lived here for 5 yrs.

This is the Church in the plaza of Selva...

and I lived in the little apartment just above the Banca March...it was great to go back, and we saw some old friends.

So, there you go...there were a few pictures from my past...

Did you live somewhere else to where you are residing now?

Char,Ontario