Artnotes: Masquerade

The Cream Puff is in trouble:  our wonderful red Citroen station wagon is being put out to pasture. She is having retention problems, and while we can still drive it we are advised by our mechanic not to take prolonged trips on the highway (i.e. Rome).

So we are undertaking the purchase of a new vehicle.  One must find the car (setting filters:  5 seats, no more than 100,000 kilometers, for example) on a site called Autoscout24, and then arrange a meeting.  It’s a little like dating, I think.  You set a time, cruise by to get a look; act uninterested.   Maybe they have the car or not – here’s another choice.  Besides the intrigue of the rendezvous, it’s a complicated thing.  Italy is in the process of putting into effect environmental laws requiring cars to be of a certain pollution level (Euro 5) to be able to drive in the city.  Luckily a friend advises us. 

Because we have our car mainly to get to the city, it is imperative we buy a newer, cleaner, more expensive model.   We are hoping for a big art sale, or some form of windfall: maybe crowdfunding, in exchange for a painting lesson in Italy someday.  I’ll be 94 and still holding the brushes (cross fingers).    

We had our tapparelle fixed on Saturday, in anticipation of my sister’s visit.  Tapparelle are tambour-like exterior rolling blinds.  There are cords on the inside of the room for rolling them up and down, for privacy.  These same cords have been there since 1910, so they’ve experienced some wear.  One shade had slipped its holder; the other was just broken after 110 years of use.  A nice young man fixed them, and showed us how to grease the runners, so there would be less resistance when we lowered them for the next 20 years. 

We’ve been making masks for Carnevale this week.  I painted and decoupage-d; Blair stuck to paint.  We have accompanying hats, and I have a sparkly skirt to wear.   My sister and her husband and my grown up nephews are all joining us.  It’s probably crazy to fight the crowds, but how often in a life do you get to go to Venice and see grownups play dress-up?  Not to mention the potential food.  Already we’ve been eating little fritters and ravioli stuffed with sweet ricotta and powdered with cinnamon. And boats.

Harika got a haircut and is a little cold.  I put a sweater on her to keep her warm (she was shivering), and now she refuses to let me remove it.  I guess it’s her disguise.

PS.  If you didn’t get a chance to read Artnotes:  Putting It All Together,  I just want to let you know I am looking for painters to make a 12 x 12” painting (or collage, or drawing (something 2-D) from a 1” square image which I would send you.  Then, you take a photo and send it back to me, and we’ll put it all together and make a multi-handed mosaic picture on the internet.  I have 5 people ready to go, but would like to make it a dozen hands.