Monday 25 August 2008

Postcard from the Hermitage

MY WALLS have always been covered in pictures... my bedroom at home was a patchwork of postcards and magazine snippets, drawings and quotations: from skirting board to light fitting there was imagery. Many of these postcards have travelled with me from home to home and still adorn my walls now, dog-eared with old glumps of blu-tack mixed with flakes of paint and plaster from various walls on their backs. Others have been sent to me or picked up along the way.
My liking for patchworkings of clutter means that our walls are peppered with pictures of quite beautiful things, in every nook and cranny, they inspire me and feed my eyes wherever I look, and I thought that perhaps you'd like to see some of them....

37 comments:

Tess Kincaid said...

I thoroughly enjoyed browsing your collection of postcards, Rima! I have my fair share of them, too. Beautiful and inspiring, aren't they? I have the same card of the girl standing in the meadow! :)

Ted Marshall said...

I really enjoyed looking at them too.
One of my favourite things to do with postcards is use them as bookmarks (I generally have two or three books on the go). Then every time I open to my place, I see the gorgeousness of the images and am reminded of the lovely friends who sent them.

d. moll, l.ac. said...

What a lovely crazy quilt of images and you have some rabbits too, that's good. I see a Gwen John self portrait, I love her work, probably because I could never come close to sensibility. Oh, now I see an artichoke! ......

laughingwolf said...

ab fab, rima... full of enchantment, like i expect from you :)

Gretel said...

I remember your lovely little burrow in London, it was lined with interesting things, I want to know what the little car/submarine thing is in the middle with wheels and zebra on wheels...hey, did I send you that one of the jester on the caravan step? Isn't it by a Russian artist? I did buy it for someone and I can't think of anyone else it would have been more appropriate for.

Elva Undine said...

Lovely! I've been working on something like this in my bathroom, bit by bit.

herhimnbryn said...

A mosaic of images!!!!!!
Lovely.

Terry said...

Charming and seductive! I'm so glad you shared this.

the dafthermits (Mel n andy and wee clan) said...

wow rima thanks so much for posting this.I am busy writing and looking at the cards has set ny mind racing

all the best to you both

andy & mel

the daft hermits

Anonymous said...

oh it made me teary...so much beautiful images,there are others as antiquated as me who knew.

BT said...

How wonderful Rima. I can't wait until my 'playroom' is built. We're waiting for builders quotes now. I can fill my walls up too. I hope leatherdyke calls in, she'd love the zebra. It was a pleasure.
Gina

Anonymous said...

At a quick glance I recognised several (Gwen John, the Lewes chessmen, maybe Tenniel?) and I know that, when time allows, I'll come back for a closer look.
Over the years, many of mine were lost, but those remaining I intend to bind in an artist book.
Thankyou for the glimpse, Rima.

Carl V. Anderson said...

That is a wonderful, visually stimulating group of images. Your walls must indeed be like a million tiny windows into magical places.

annette emms said...

Oh Rima, how lovely! I have spent my coffee break gazing at these images. Thank you.x

tut-tut said...

something to come back to again and again. An alphabetician! I had never heard of that . . .

Elizabeth said...

What a feast of delights......
I could look at them for hours
so inspiring and magical

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Ooh...I love the spider web and the old boots. And all the many faces... and the fairy sprites on the bottom row. And...I do see a little rolling house or two like your own. A most enchanting inspiration board indeed!

Vita said...

It is great to see where you are coming from,I can see that these images trully sprouted in your art.

Yoli said...

Rima that is lovely. So much inspiration. I am working on such a wall myself.

Ciara Brehony said...

Hee! I just love other people's postcard/image collections. Wouldn't it be great if everyone shared theirs too? These are just so beautiful and inspiring and intriguing. There are so many wonderful images, how to choose a favourite. But I think it has to be the mother and children at the window, bottom left. Thanks so much for sharing.

Namnet said...

Hello,
What an ispiring wall! I love the postcard with a stagecoach and children in front of it, the one with a house on a cart (houses with wheels have something special for me:-), the one with boots. Also the last two postcards grab me - the witch(men) one and the postcard with a family (perhaps) in a yard. But also the others are wonderful and catchy.
I have something similar on my walls. And on furniture and doorframes:-) Not just postcards but also cuttings from papers and magazines, posters of paintings I like, and some drawings my friend drew for me.
I must say I like your blog a lot and have it in my blogroll (hope you don´t mind). Your work is gorgeous. So thank you for sharing such wonderful things:-)

Anonymous said...

What a neat idea! I used postcards as bookmarks as well, but I think placing them all on an inspiration wall is a much better idea.

mama p said...

::) a million smiles back at you, this is wonderful.

my favorite hobby of late (likely because we're packing) is finding stacks of my old cards and seeing what colors, textures & themes talk to me from my previous whirls...
:)
p

Creations by Marie Antoinette and Edie Marie said...

They are all just wonderful.But I like the one at the very top.I would put these up myself.They are for viewing.Just love this post.Marie Antionette

Arija said...

Rima what a wonderfully inspiring
blog! I love the transmuted turtle/hare, that old, old hand tells so many tales, the Gypsy waggon sings to my very soul,
each and every one is inspirational
in it's own way. Just magnificent. Thank you.

Curious Art said...

Ah, a woman after my own heart! I can't get enough visual yumminess myself-- where I have my way with home decor I am decidedly a maximalist. Delicious to see your choices, all so beautiful, with a healthy spice of strangeness,just the way I like it!

Anonymous said...

I really enjoy looking at your "Patchwork-wall", so inspiring! Thanks for charing with us, Rima. The walls in my studio are also filled with various notes and pictures, but not as full as your walls though...

Acornmoon said...

I love your postcard images, I like all that Illuminated, decorative stuff. Some time ago Past Times reproduced the 'little kings' I don't know what they are but I think they may be Norse, I have always loved them, they are so otherwordly.

Anonymous said...

Hi Rima I got here eventually. What an eclectic mix- the hanging bowl's escutcheon from Sutton Hoo to Victorian toys. A very inspiring collection.

I would be interested in the crow pic or something similar?

Brilig said...

I'm always torn between the need to be surrounded with familiar things leading to clutter on a grand scale incomprehensible to my nearest and dearest (particularly the display of 1968 Hot Wheel cars in the family living space) and then an urge to '5S' everthing within reach. Having just returned from hols with a bootfull of souvenirs of a plastic/shell nature I'm veering towards the latter. God, I need to breath.

Chris Stone said...

Fascinating! I'm glad I discovered your blog. Love your work!

Texas Travelers said...

I have thousands of postcards. Yours are great. I like the pictures and stories on the, I like the cancellations and dates. I like the little personal stories penned on them.

thanks for sharing yours,
Troy and Martha

Anonymous said...

Lovely!x

Anonymous said...

Oh, I can see where you get a teeny bit your inspiration from (the rest come from you!) This was a an enjoyment to pour my eyes over, thanks for sharing Rima!
xox sarah

Dixie Redmond said...

They inspire me, too, Rima! I see a Gwen John painting in your collection above. I love her paintings.

Griffin said...

Hmm, one thing I do is collect up postcards, usually from art galleries and museums. When I have a stack of them I shuffle them, turn them face down and take six off the top.

With those six I have to write a story using the images as illustrations to the tale.

So I am now wondering what tales you'd come up with given that little lot!

Ann Christine Dennison said...

Your blog is very beautiful, I feel the essence of nature through it and love your artwork :-)