Wednesday 5 January 2011

Day 193-From India With Love


I rarely post or even photograph  things I made for friends so I don't really know why I decided to do it for the things I made for Flora. I guess I was flattered when Flora asked me to make her some rusty tin cans. It was  at once strange but exhilarating to know that someone actually might really  like MY trash.


I was in a bit of a conundrum as Flora and my style appears to be diametrically opposite. She is delicate, fine and aristocratic whilst I am rough, old and tribal. Flora assured me however that a Victorian kitchen can also be grimy and filthy.  That's where this 3 cans would  definitely belong.


I also decided I should make some cans with  flowers in as Victorianly Indian way as I could make them. So I added some antique Flora prints to the cans and put in some dried  flowers sprayed in french blue.


For good measure, I added baskets of coal and wood and a stacked pot of almost dead plant, hoping to marry my Indian with her Victorian in even more ways. And as I shot these pictures in late September 2010, I finally discovered, after almost 2 years of photographing my minis, I could take ambient pictures just by placing a white light in front of the subject matter. 


I was so excited at how much my  pictures have improved that I have been wanting to post these pictures since that day in September . These gifts however decided to arrive in Italy only in January this year. Flora made them her 1st post for 2011. And so shall I, albeit with far less poetry.

To make up,  I shall leave you with one of my favourite sayings about gifts. 

Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
And Today? 
Today is a gift, that's why we call it The Present. 

39 comments:

Tallulah Belle said...

They look great...very Victorian Indian :-)

I hate posting to Italy....gives me more grief than all the other countries put together.

Now I am going to leave your blog open and listen to Mr Sakamoto a little :-)

Did oyu get my reply to that elusive email you sent me ?

cockerina said...

Sans your rusty cans are full of poetry!
I've also made friends with Flora, even though, like you, I'm rude and rustic ... this means that we are equal, you and me? haha!
yet, with Flora, there is much feeling, because she is sweet, refined, elegant, and complete the part that obviously missing us... :))
the final sentence is just, "this"is a gift!
hugs, Caterina

The Old Maid said...

Great cans happy to see your cans again! Glad to hear they finally arrived - maybe some thinngs already lost which should have come long time ago to me will find their way home too.:(

The Old Maid said...

Ps.: You have to do something with this music Sans, or I will never ever leave your blog! Hahaha!;D Thank you for the new - for me - version of Big in Japan - I would have never guess it is the same song I was dancing by on the school's parties!;D
Great music by the way:)

Ascension said...

Sans me encantan los regalitos que le has mandado a Flora, le quedan perfectos.
Flora es un encanto de persona y al igual que contigo disfruto muchisimo leyendo sus post tan interesantes y viendo sus preciosos trabajos.
Es una maravilla tu trabajo oxidando latas jejejeje, no das tiempo a que se envejezcan.
besitos ascension

Flora said...

DearSans, I'm honored that rare photographs are about my precious cans and baskets of coal ...
The "present" has never been so welcome :-)

Eva said...

So clever! I have seen the pictures in Flora's blog too.
Love the rusty cans with flowers :)

Dark Squirrel Victoria said...

I love the rusty can! Today is a Present for sure :)

Victoria ♥

Pubdoll said...

The cans look great and dirty, and I love the ambient photo with the baskets and pots! I think I tried something like it with my oriental scene way back then when we had just "met" :-)
And love, love, love the poem! You know how much I like a good play with words.

GB said...

I need to work on my photography skills too! happy new year, sweet Susan!

Daydreamer said...

Sans, your rusty cans are little pieces of perfection! It is the UNLIKELY subjects for minis that make the most amazing impressions.... and why would anyone want rusty old cans??? Because they are so REAL! They speak of TIME long past, and FORGOTTEN corners, and MYSTERIES.... what stories THEY could tell! So you see, they are the very ESSENCE of Romantic and Poetic details..... as Flora can tell so well!
And your photos are as beautiful as any that you use as your "inspiration" sources! The lighting and the mood and the age old feeling are perfect!
And I love that saying too! :)

Jollie said...

I love your cans/trash too! :)
Nice work.

Warmest wishes, Jollie

Marta said...

Ohh Sans ¡¡¡ que cosas más bonitas has hecho, las latas están increíbles y las cestas me han dejado con la boca abierta. Muchas Felicidades a las dos. Besos

Flor said...

Hola Sans!!!
Que latas mas bonitas, Flora estará feliz!!
Y las que pusiste en la escalera , con las flores ¡Guauuu!!Preciosas!!!
Y también las canastas ¡Todo lo que pones me encanta!! Jeje
Que frase mas hermosa y real
"Ayer es historia.
Mañana es un misterio.
Y hoy?
Hoy es un regalo, por eso lo llamamos Presente."
Ya la hice una de mis favorita ( ;
¡Muchas gracias!!!
Sans ¡por favor escribe algo en la entrada del sorteo de mí blog!!!
Para incluirte en el sorteo ¡por favor!¡por favor!!!!! ( ;
Gracias nuevamente por poner el aviso aquí en tu blog ¡Muak!
Un gran abrazo♥
Flor

Piikko said...

Sans, I love your pictures and rusty tin cans in them!
Greetings, piikko

Ana Anselmo said...

those tiny rusty cans are just fabulous!!!!!
hugs
Ana

Sans! said...

Jayne, my only problem mail too is to Italy. And of course, one of my best friends have to be residing there. :):).

I have found out that if you pay a premium and have your mail gone by registered or Express or Priority Mail , they WILL reach the destination.

I made a mistake of posting it by surface mail for Flora's gift because it was quite bulky. I am thus not surprise that it took three months.

Sans! said...

Hehe, Caterina, I don't think you are rude at all! Rude means impolite, curt or discourteous . Although I suspect, if you, like me, are passionate, outspoken and maybe a little impatient(?), it is easy to think we are rude, sometimes a little tactless. But I have not , in all the time that I have dealt with you or read your posts, experienced anything rude. :)

Anyhoo, my sister , SuZ is a little like Flora. She's one of the closest person in the world to me. I think that's why I think Flora and I clicked, even though we appear to be different :).

Sans! said...

Ewa, In this 2 years, the only mail that is still lost is my 2nd post to Italy :)which I sent in mid 2009. I was thinking maybe the postman also collects minis. :). Although if he is discerning, he might not be too interested in my 1st edition hookahs. :)

But I understand that postal services in Italy have improved a lot since :). So take heart.

Sans! said...

Ewa, I love this collection of music as well. I play them to sleep sometimes. I am one of those people who fall asleep only with music or some background sounds like TV :).

I remembered dancing to Big In Japan as well. In fact, when I was in university, I was one of the choreographers in a dance group and I remembered choreographing a dance to this song. It was a talent time contest and I picked non dancers and I was really proud that in the end, these dancers looked pretty good in the dance. I think we won a prize too.

Sans! said...

Ewa , you made me so nostalgic, I went and dug out my old albums to look at my uni pictures and I had some of this dance that I mentioned :). Such a long long time ago but I remembered some details quite vividly :). I hardly take pictures because I am not photogenic so I am surprised that out of a handful of pictures I kept, I had these of the dance I did of Big In Japan. Let me see if I can upload them and then you can see these pictures. :). They are very funny :)

Sans! said...

Jejejeje, sí, mis cosas viejas de inicio, la Ascensión. Instantánea Antiguo :):). Gracias por tus elogios:)

Yo también me encanta leer los mensajes de Flora:). Ella es muy buena con sus palabras y realmente leer como la poesía, incluso después de usar Google Translate:).

Sans! said...

Flora, think what I was trying to say in this post is that sometimes the gift of a giver is even greater. Like me finding a better technique for photography. It's not great but it's better than what I used to do.

It's a nice way to close 2010, knowing that the items reach you safe and sound :).

Sans! said...

Thanks Eva :):). I was a little addicted to making rusty cans for a while :).

Sans! said...

Victoria, can you imagine for the rest of our lives, everyday is The Present ? :)

Sans! said...

Helene, I have always love how you could make your dolls assume different expressions in your photographs just by twisting your angles.

Sometimes, I think, we need photography to fully appreciate miniatures. 1st, a photograph and some background facts of the miniature and then to view it in person and hold it in your hand. There are so many details that will escape a naked eye.

Sans! said...

Gagan, just keep taking them and after 10,000 hours,you will be a master :)

Sans! said...

Betsy, I always have to take a while to reply to your comment because I am often too overwhelmed for words :). Plus you are always too generous with the compliments .

I do love the simple and often neglected things, things that people often do not regard in anyway as any kind of art. Like you, I believe it is not a work of art that tells the real stories :). It's the mundane , run of the mill, everyday things. Now that I have finally found my media in miniatures, I just want to keep creating a world of these stories :).

That's why my favourite form of art is folk art. Because I think they are the richest where stories are concerned.

At the rate I am going, I think my eventual palace will be one that is dilapidated, old and quite neglected :).

Sans! said...

Thank you so much Jollie :).

Sans! said...

Marta, las cestas son elaborados por artesanos en Tailandia. Los amo demasiado porque los detalles son increíbles! :)

Algunas de las mejores miniaturas que he comprado son del sur de Asia del este. Tengo un gran respeto por estos artesanos:)

besos y abrazos

Sans! said...

Thank you , Piikko :). The 1st picture I posted is my favourite. :)

Sans! said...

Ana, thank you :). I can still improve on the painting. I think there's no texture of rust. Not only should they look rusty, they should feel rusty.

Sans! said...

Gracias, gracias, gracias, Flor por venir a mi blog para recordarme que no hizo ningún comentario sobre el post regalo:).

Pensé que era el post anterior y, por supuesto, me encantaría participar en su sorteo primero:). Me encanta tu trabajo!!

Y Flor, que es la persona que me inspiró para hacer las latas de flores y luego los muestra juntos:).

Muchos se presentan muchos, muchos para ti:)

Mari@ said...

Your wonderful work with your rusty cans is excellent! It's not to simple to make them. Compliments!! Your style is so beautiful... Hugs

The Old Maid said...

Sans you are a woman of many talents! A choreographer, WOW!!! Can't wait to see the photos!:D
As for the lost parcel - it is nice to read it came after such a long long time! Maybe our postman is not a mini collector either and they will arrive one day ;D

Sans! said...

Thank you so much Mari :). I love your work too and you write with so much background to your work . I think I can spend many hours on your blog and not get bored :):). Expect to see me there often :)

Sans! said...

Ewa, my next post is for you :).

Neomig said...

Dear Sans
Thanks for a chance to look deeper into your world! A special note:
Loved your proverb about yesterday, tomorrow and today !
be well
Neomi

Sans! said...

Dear Neomi, thank you for popping by. You are welcome here anytime. :) I love that saying too , one of those that's really easy to remember too :):)

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