My photo frame wall gallery - amateur

I make it a point to state that this decorative act of picture hanging is thoroughly amateur. It is my first attempt at some serious hole making in our first abode.

Hence, I shall go forth and tell on how I came up with this arrangement.

Many an afternoon I have spent googling my way into this endeavour. But the links which stuck were the following:

http://laurenconrad.com/blog/2012/05/picture-perfect-how-to-hang-a-wall-collage-gallery/ ...where I learnt about using butcher paper to make a draft of the gallery on the wall and how to ensure that nails are properly measured otherwise your measurements in between won't tally (thus making it look shabby).

http://rk.pbimgs.com/pbimgs/rk/images/i/201405/0004/images/shop/pip_pdfs/Gallery_Frames.pdf ...where I learnt about the different formats of the wall gallery.

However, when I googled my specific case in particular, that is, a wall gallery which would hang above a sofa I knew I had to look further than the above formats. And that is how I came upon: http://oakridgerevival.blogspot.com.br/2013/02/updated-gallery-wall.html#comment-form

Here I learnt about her previous mistakes, learnt about photo matting (in Portuguese it is called passepartout, well that's French, really), saw how it would look like above a sofa, and gracefully found almost the identical frames in a shop at Copacabana.

The shop is called Arte Palha and is in a shopping mall on the Siqueira Campos: http://www.artepalha.com.br/ They're a helpful lot and it is worth the time you spend going through their dusty stock getting your hands all grey and black (there is a skin at the back where you can get them washed).

Thus it started to develop.

These two little beauties I also found in their shop (which by the way is their specialty, not the ready-made frames), and with the help of my sogra (mother in law) managed to get them painted in a lovely golden hue, thus. I am pairing these two plaster frames side by side and placing in each a photo from the mid-80's where both my husband and I - on the opposite sides of the globe - are gaily surrounded by our siblings. A great remembrance of who we were, where we're coming from, and how lucky we are to be together.

The photos will not be shown here for privacy's sake. Thank you.

As to the specifics, I have kept a distance of 5cm from each frame edge to ensure consistency. And for those of you who live in Brazil, do not order your prints online: just go to a kodak kiosk and get them done yourself. You'll save yourself one hell of a nightmare on SAC, especially if you're aiming UOL Revelação Digital.

Enjoy!

Valmont

Ontem a noite assistimos este film dos anos '90, com Colin Firth na parte central de Valmont. Um filme incrível. Vale a pena assistir, está também disponível no Netflix.

Aqui alguns fotos lindas que tirei do imdb.

"Trechos de Óperas: Uma viagem no Tempo"

Ontem fui para este concerto mencionado a cima. Foi ótimo! Adorei as escolhas do Regente Cláudio Henrique Ávila (que, observe-se, é o Regente do Coro Coral cujo eu faço parte). As minhas peças preferidas eram: Il Barbiere di Siviglia interpretado por Jessé Bueno e Romeo e Julietta interpretada por Paola Soneghetti. Todos interpretaram muito bem a música selecionada, mas eu destaquei esses duas interpretes porque conseguiram obter um bom relacionamento com o público. Os dois têm uma ótima presença no palco, um certo rounded filling presence (uma presença completa/arredondada) que deixa o público pasmado, seguindo tudo pelos emoções e histórias contadas pela música. Foi fácil sentir ontem a noite todo mundo se apegar-se a cada nota da música.

Importante notar também os sotaques que interpretaram os cantores. Esses fazem uma diferencial relevante entre os diversos interpretações. Interessante foi também escutar a peça da ópera "Die Lustige Witwe" (The happy widow) que foi interpretada em português. 


Foi uma noite inesquecível! Parabéns, jovens cantores! Boa sorte!

An interesting collection: "The Four Seasons of Life"

A beautiful gift from one of our wedding guests was a set of what my mother named "wall plugs", or so I understood. With some good research online, I learnt that these beauties as figured below are called plaques. They form part of the prominent collection of Royal Copenhagen, which is a Danish porcelain manufacturer, set up no later than 1775! So yes, anything with the Royal Copenhagen mark on the back (three wavy blue lines) is truly a collectible's item, one to be treasured.

"Autumn"

Unlike typical RC pieces, which are usually white and blue porcelain plates, our wall plaques are picture reliefs on white biscuit earthenware. They have a very delicate countenance about them and are to be handled with great care. I was indeed quite jittery about stuffing them onto my handluggage and travelling cross the Atlantic with them. But they made it home safely.

Well, as I was saying, some good research has led me to learn more about these plaques. Our giftor has charmed us with two of what seems to be a collection of four plaques which together make up the "Four Seasons of Life" Royal Copenhagen Collection. These plaques depict Spring as a nubile maiden attended by putti and young boys with wreaths and baskets of fruit lie in abandon. Summer is a pair of lovers, scythe in hand, amidst a field of corn, an older woman shears the sheathes. Autumn is a domestic scene: the mother with baby at her breast, man bringing home fruit and game that he has hunted and gatd with his dog at his side. Whilst winter is depicted as an old couple warming themselves at a fire while laundry hangs on a line and a cat hogs the best spot next to the warmth.

Most exquisetely, we received Spring and Summer, so fitting for a wedding gift, and now Hus. and I are willing to embark on the voyage for the rest of the plaques as the years wear on.

I also had some questions about the way these delicate plaques could decorate our home. After having exhausted some home decor forums, I concluded that the best option would be to mount them on some blue velvet material, so as to contrast the white ware, and them frame with some fitting old golden frame, as so...

Hope you liked this post as much as I did writing it out and researching the topic. Good night!

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@ Urca, Rio de Janeiro

Belezas pouco conhecidas do Brasil: A Cadeia Vítoria-Trindade

É isso que gosto quando leio artigos e faço pesquisa de lei marítima, sempre acabo descobrindo lugares novos ou cantos meio-desconhecidos desta terra incrível! Aqui um post só pra dar aquele gosto da beleza deste lugar

Hoje estamos deparando um encanto submarino: a cadeia Vitória-Trindade, em inglês, Vítoria-Trindade Chain. A CVT, como é melhor conhecida, é uma cordilheira de edifícios vulcânicos marinhos localizados em frente à cidade de Vitória, capital do estado do Espírito Santo, Brasil. A 1.160 quilômetros do continente, surge a ilha volcánica chamada, Ilha da Trindade, e que fica no extremo oriental da cadeia dessas montanhas marinhas, com uma história de aproximadamente 3 milhões de anos. Junto com um outro rochedo chamado Martim Vaz, este arquipélago mede uns 9 quilômetros quadrados.

Trindade foi ocupada por portugueses e ingleses e hoje em dia está sob domínio brasileiro desde 1910. Já recebeu visitas de piratas, pesquisadores e prisioneiros políticos, como Marescal Eduardo Gomes. Desde 1957 é guarnecida pela Marinha do Brasil, com cerca de 40 homens, que permanecem na ilha por períodos de quatro meses. 

A coleta de dados apontam ao fato que esta ilha é o maior sítio reprodutivo brasileiro da tartaruga verde (Chelonia mydas (Eng. green sea turtle)) e área  de alimentação da tartaruga de pente (Eretmochelys imbricata, (Eng., hawksbill sea turtle)).

Aqui um retrato dessas espécies: 

Chelonia mydas

Eretmochelys imbricata

Até 1850, a ilha era coberta por uma floresta de árvores Colubrina Granulosa, hoje quase inexistente. 

Aqui um vídeo da beleza marinha do lugar:

Para mais informação, veja: http://tamar.org.br/base.php?cod=38  e http://professormarcianodantas.blogspot.com.br/2013/07/a-ilha-da-trindade-e-o-arquipelago-de.html

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@ Urca, Rio de Janeiro