about Clio

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"Clio may be the most austere and chaste of the Muses, but she has been known to come down informally from Mount Helicon in a mood so raffish that there are those who claim to have seen her with her slip showing."  ~Willis Thornton, Fable, Fact and History

I  am always intrigued by the paintings of Clio-(my personal Muse of Choice)- this one by Vermeer- very much so.
what is the story of this painting?
It's all explained here-

your Muse of Choice?

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Crazy thanks to Sanity Fair

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How lovely to get a Kreativ Blogger Award from Sanity Fair. Many thanks! Of course being a Scorpio- they are the natural detectives of the Astrological World- I need to know. It isn't that feminine curiosity- like who are you wearing? But more likely- why are we culturally obsessed with labels?

I investigated Kreativ Bloggers & their Award. How do Kreativ Bloggers behave? What I discovered is that some-don't actually do what is asked. I can understand-but I was surprised. Not following through with the conditions is somewhat unGracious especially if accepting. It is like that awful deadly silence when someone opens a present Not to their liking & it shows all over her face. I say just grin & bear it.

The conditions are quite simple really- tell 7 things about me that readers might not know & nominate 7 other bloggers for the award. My 7 Picks are Fabulous.

ME - 7 things you may not know

1

I am not a bull shitter.

2

cupid, concord & clio

I love to make use of something I have just learned. I was sitting with a fellow designer & Scorpio this afternoon and found out this is the case (Scorpios are natural detectives).
How did I NOT know that?
SB replied Well dear I am 25 years older than You and I know more-
Yes in some cases that is true. I defer to SB-that is- when it concerns all things of the Astrological World. Knowledge is Power-& I want to Know.

3

photograph of cz guest

3- I have ruined my back over the last 25 years doing this-
Sadly- Not looking this elegant.

4

Mary Poppins is a personal Heroine and Style Icon of Mine.

5

Madame Yevonde photograph

I am an eccentric-I know this because at the age of 17 -I was defined as such-

Yes-actually called out with the Webster's definition. I did know what it was-
I did not- however want to be That at 17.

I grew into it- it took a while. College was a struggle-where more than there -
Do you find yourself, or lose yourself?
In my case it was a bit of both.

6

I love cookbooks. I collect them even. I've inherited them. I use them constantly. I read them-sometimes aloud to trapped friends. I love the photography, I love the poetry, I love the ingredients, I love the organization- alas I don't do that much cooking. I go through stages- trying the cuisine of the South- Edna Lewis. I can completely Do Miss Lewis' things. That gingerbread recipe is knockout. (let me know if you want it) Right not I am going through a spanking new one The Country Cooking of France. The recipes are History- by Ann Willian, the photography by France Ruffenach- Art, to see excerpts go see (here).

7

the legendary Tallulah Bankhead

I love a power Nap. At some point-I think it was after I heard the late and brilliant Peter Jennings say He was too-I felt t it was OK to come out of the bedroom and declare it to the world. I LOVE A NAP.

My 7 Kreative Bloggers

(read it and weep Ladies-for joy or otherwise,
It's yours do with it what you will!)

(IN)DECOROUS TASTE

TROUVAIS

BELGIAN PEARLS

ROSE C'EST LA VIE

LE STYLE ET LA MATIERE

PARIS ORIGINALS

SOODIE BEASLEY

take time to go see their blogs-just click on the blog titles and enjoy


& one more thing- I love a quote~

VW by Roger Fry

"Literature is strewn with the wreckage of men
who have minded beyond reason the opinions of others."
~Virginia Woolf

see MADAME YEVONDE here & with more about Madame Y at HOBAC here

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Livia's Laurels

Death of Lord Byron

Joseph-Denis Odevaere

XXXV.

Ferrara! in thy wide and grass-grown streets, Whose symmetry was not for solitude, There seems as t'were a curse upon the seats of former sovereigns, and the antique brood of Este, which for many an age made good

Its strength within thy walls, and was of yore Patron or tyrant, as the changing mood Of petty power impell'd, of those he wore The wreath which Dante's brow alone had worn before.

XLI.

The lightning rent from Ariosto's bust The iron crown of laurel's mimic'd leaves; Nor was the ominous element unjust.

For the true laurel wreath which glory weaves is of the tree no bolt of thunder cleaves, And the false semblance but disgraced his brow; Yet still, if fondly superstition grieves, Know that the lightning sanctifies below Whate'er it strikes yon head is doubly sacred now.

from CHILDE HAROLD"S PILGRIMAGE

**Byron's Wreath of Laurel**

Wreaths of laurel on a victor's brow began with Livia Drusilla, wife of Caesar Augustus. "A hen of remarkable whiteness... was holding in its beak a laurel branch bearing its berries" and dropped the branch at Livia's feet. From this time onward, the bird and her offspring resided in nests, at the Poultry on the Tiber where the laurel branch was planted and propagated..."The laurel grove so begun has thriven in a marvelous way..."



From this time, all the Caesars appeared in triumph & held a laurel branch from the original tree in his hand and wore laurel wreath upon his head-and planted the branch. Pliny the Elder

Caesar Augustus

detail from Vermeer's The Art of Painting

close up of Clio, Muse of History

Portrait of a Woman Wearing a Laurel Wreath

Rosalba Giovanna Carriera

Da Vinci's Wreath of Laurel, Palm and Juniper

Dante Alighieri by Sandro Botticelli

try one of Livia's laurels on.

Cesar

Helena







Amour





all by

Louis Mariette

"Nod to ancient elegance in Louis Mariette's detailed headbands. Take inspiration from the classics and pair it with a draped maxi dress for the ultimate in Grecian glamour." from net a porter

** ** Byron's Wreath of Laurel photograph from (here) and Patrick Hunt (here)