Is somesome stealing cats in my locale, or, have cats ‘en masse’ suddenly lost their skill to navigate back home?

In my 4 years of residing in the radius of Merode and Schuman transport lines, I’ve never witnessed so many ‘Lost Cat’ posters taped to lamp-posts and bins, pushed through my door mailbox, or as one lady did recently, taped to her own front door to catch passerby attention. The quantity of these posters could account for the high-walled gardens that are common in this area, where cats could find themselves slipping off the tiles and ending up trapped in the garden. However, I’m just not convinced that all these poster cases are such Rapunzelised cats.

As a cat lover, I figured this article may draw more attention to the issue, and, for all the missing cats out there, may help to bring light to their plight.

So where are all these these “lost” cats?

Well, we all know that just like humans, cats can leave home because they don’t like the attitude of their family anymore, or, they’re lured to the nice south-facing garden and tasty nibbles of a kindly neighbour…! Around this locale its plausible, particularly if your cat lives near Merode where a “cared for” possee of cats hang out and keep the public amused with their furry antics.

If these “lost” cats didn’t choose to leave home, then the other choices are less easy for a loving owner to stomach. When your cat doesn’t come home when expected, the worry becomes exponential. Thankfully, if a cat goes “missing” in Brussels then there are a number of resources at hand to help find them:

• Help Animals has a very useful page on lost cats and what to do
• The lost and found website Chat Perdu has a long long listing of lost / missing cats…. luckily, some ‘found’ cats are there too!
• The WAHF animal shelter has a lost and found page on their website
• This website has a very comprehensive listing of all the animal protection services in Belgium
• Auberge Feline (a pension for cats) and Cat Rescue may also be able to help
• Or maybe check the pet classifieds like, Vivastreet.be and expat websites like AngloINFO or Xpats
• Local vets are a good source for information too

And if these resources don’t turn up the “missing” cats then can we assume the worse…. that Belgium’s cat fur trade is making its rounds in our locale, again? Getting access to the commodity for this trade is very simple, as explained by an interviewed perpetrator when asked if he takes cats off the streets in Brussels and Gent to make them into rugs’. He answered, “Sure. We give people money to bring the cats here”. The furry bits of our missing cats would be seen later of course, draped over the limbs of some mindless mannequin.

The weekend included two full days of  “hands-on” bead lamp-working and inspirational theory/discussion, covering many of the techniques that beginners are recommended to master over time. Anusch shares her knowledge and passion with abundance, and, if you’re wide-eyed student like me, this encourages your creativity and a desire to do more!

Lampwork barrel beads on mandrels, Day 1

Lampwork elliptical beads, examples of twisting and raised dots, Day 1

On Day 1, we covered:

• Lamp-working studio safety, equipment, working space, kilns
• Glass types, attributes, behaviour, colours
• Holding the glass, mandrels, torch positioning, setting the flame
• Preparing glass rods, pulling stringers
• Methodology in creating a basic bead, shaping beads
• Creating elliptical and barrel-shaped beads
• Surface decoration (dots, poked bubbles, twisting dots)
• Studio wrap-up, preparing mandrels for Day 2
• Further reading, up-coming events,  setting up a studio

Lampwork cone and elliptical beads, examples of zig-zags and layering colours, Day 2

On Day 2, we covered:

• More advanced stringer creations and applied use in decoration (including filigrana stringers and twisted/ribbed canes)
• Creating cones, bicones, hearts, cubes, tabs
• Applying zigzags, swirls, layering colour dots/shapes (delicate stringer handling)
• Flame-polishing
• Using mashers, marvers and other graphite tools
• Basic encasing with clear glass
• Demonstration of using gravity and force to shape glass
• History of beads around the world

Lampwork barrel bead, example of layering colours, Day 2

After such an enjoyable and productive weekend, it would have been easy to continue through the night and into Monday…! In the meantime, as I think up the many ways in which I can set up my own studio (!), I collect my glass books and keep the dream alive!

Artemis student project: a glass paperweight

My first torchwork experience…

I have always been drawn to glass. When I look into glass pieces, I’m lost in a watery world so beautiful and calming. When I was a child, my father used to create all sorts of objects in coloured perspex – I was so fascinated with the layers of bold transparent colours and the colours created by overlapping them.

A few years ago, I found myself on a jewelry and wirework course. Besides studying the fundamentals of creating jewelry on this course, I developed a passion for glass beads and special lampwork pieces, finding ways to make the most of them by wire-wrapping and threading. My interest in actually creating a glass piece myself became something of a daydream.  In December 2011, my daydream became reality at Artemis Glass Studio in San Ignacio, Belize, under the excellent tuition of Paul Stevenson.

I’m probably not going to able to do justice to the experience in words. Suffice it to say that for me rotating molten glass in a golden blue flame is as pleasurable as drinking the best Belgian beer with friends, underwater snorkeling with stingrays and eating the best Yorkshire fish and chips in  newspaper on a cold cold night! Some things in life just take your breath away!

Artemis student project: glass jellyfish pendant

At Artemis Glass Studio you’re made immediately to feel at home. In Belize, the cup of tea is a gesture of warmth and this awaits you before you enter the world of Artemis!

Without giving too much away – because you should go yourself for the experience – this is a studio where you are free to explore your mind and creativity, under the reassuring guidance of an artist who’s passionate about glass.

Paul also has that rare quality which makes him a great tutor: despite so many years of experience he’s still in constant wonderment at his craft and he’s always searching for new ways to express that through his chosen medium.

Besides building many of his own workshop tools and machines – which in themselves are very clever – he works with his students in a very freestyle manner, blending good studio practices and safety at work

By the end of the first day, I felt really empowered by my new skills and just wanted to keep turning those punts through the night!

I was really fortunate to be invited to stay just a few hours longer than originally planned, to finish a small fishy project that encompasses all the skills covered in the day session.

My first glass fish ended up upside-down as I changed punts to work on the fish’s features. My second fish turned out the right way up, thankfully!

Artemis student project: glass fish

I enjoyed a very nice lunch with Paul and his family, and, there were plenty of cups of tea throughout the day to keep me refreshed! These were provided by Paul’s wife Terry, who also shares a passion for glasswork and engraving. The enthusiasm seems to be rubbing off on their grandson Kaleem: he’s a budding crafts-kinder so Belize may have a new talented artist on the horizon!

Farewell at Artemis Glass Studio (Paul, Terry and Kaleem)

Artemis Glass Studio also has a gift shop on the premises. I couldn’t resist a pressed glass Belikin beer bottle and a few of Paul’s own glass pendants in which, after my day’s workshop session, I had come to appreciate the technical skills involved to create them!

Artemis Glass Studio, San Ignacio, Belize

Whilst I could gaze at these mesmerising little squares of glass forever, I decided to develop Paul’s handiwork into unfettered pieces of jewelry.

Dichroic glass cabochons by Artemis Glass Studio

This does not take much time to do!  I mounted each glass piece onto a 13mm round antique copper bail to create the pendant, and for the necklace component, I added antique copper cord-ends, split-rings and a lobster claw fastening to lengths of black leather cord. Voilà! Simple et élégant.

Close up of dichroic glass pendants

Dichroic glass pendants on black leather cord

Homemade "Fish and Frites" (battered fish fillet, low-fat Actifry frites and pitta bread))

I found a great recipe from BigOven to satisfy those sudden desires for one of the Yorkshire staples, fish and chips! I use an Actifry to make super low-fat chips (or frites, as we call them in Belgium), for the fish fillet batter this recipe is perfect. I slightly modified it for taste. Note that other fish fillets can be used in this recipe in place of haddock.

Ingredients for the battered fish:

• 500 gr / 17.6 oz of haddock fish fillets (labelled as églefin (FR) or schelvis (NL) in Belgium). This batter recipe coated the fillets very well, with enough left over to coat another 250 – 350 gr of fish fillets
• 120 grams of Flour (sieved plain flour)
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 Egg, beaten
• Lemon pepper, or Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup of Water
• 2 tablespoons of Vinegar or culinary White Wine Vinegar

To make the batter:

1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl, then add the water and then the vinegar… lastly, add the beaten egg.  Mix to make a smooth batter.
2. Coat the fish in a little extra flour first all over. Get the oil hot in the pan* before dipping the floured fish fillets into the batter (coating all the fish) and putting them into the hot oil.  Shallow or deep fry the fish for about 15 minutes, depending on the width of the fillets and heat of the pan. If shallow-frying, flip the fillets over occasionally so that the batter crisps more evenly.
   

   Shallow-frying fish fillets in lemon-pepper batter

* I used a deep wok to shallow fry the battered fish in about 1.5cm / 0.6 ” depth of hot oil (pre-blend of 4 oils: rapeseed, linseed, olive and wheat germ oil)

It’s also good to buy responsibly and check the international fish stocks from time to time. As a real example, see
thefishsite.com/articles/893/haddock-stocks-in-the-north-sea

Low-fat frites made with an Actifry

Fish fillets in lemon-pepper batter, served with sweet potato mash

Montmartre Vineyard, Paris

Pleasures for the senses…

Vins rouges:

• Chateauneuf-du-Pape Les Galets Roulés, 2009, Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvèdre
• Sancerre La Clochette 2010 Jean Jaques Breton, Sauvignon Blanc
• Domaine des Hardonnières 2009 a.c. chinon, purchased Colruyt
• Domaine de la Charmoise Touraine, 2010, Gamay, appellation Touraine, purchased Woluwe Delhaize
• Labouré-Roi Morgon, 2010, Gamay, appellation Morgon, purchased Schuman Carrefour
• Domaine de la Valeriane Vieilles Vignes, 2009, Cotes du Rhone, Grenache-Syrah, purchased from Woluwe Carrefour
• Moulin Avent, 2008, Colline de Romaneche-Thorins, Grand Vin du Beaujolais, purchased Delhaize-Leon Mahillon
• Ogier Duc d’Aiguilhon Réserve des Templiers, 2007, Cotes Du Rhone, purchased Delhaize
• Vin de Pays de l’Ardèche, Gamay, 2008, purchased Paris
• Vacqueyras, Beaumes de Venise, purchased in south of France
• Vida Organica Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008, Argentina
• La Puerta Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008, Valle Central vino de Chile
• Chateau Terre Vielle, 2005, Bordeaux, Merlot-Cabernet-Sauvignon, purchased Delhaize
• Chateau Pontus Fronsac, 2009, Grand Vin de Bordeaux, apellation Fronsac, purchased Roodebeek Colruyt
• Chateau Saint-Aubin Cru Bourgeois, 2007, Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon-Cabernet Franc-Petit Verdot, purchased Delhaize-Leon Mahillon
• Kendermanns, 2007, Pinot Noir, purchased Delhaize-Froissart
• Refosco Friuli Doc,  2005, Bio, purchased La Saga in Etterbeek
• Chianti Colli Aretini Logge Vasari, 2007, purchased Delhaize-Froissart
• Mundo De Yuntero, 2008, Bio, Tempranillo-Syrah-Garnacha, purchased from La Saga in Etterbeek
• Domaine De Petit Roubie, 2007, Bio, Syrah, purchased La Saga in Etterbeek
• Torrae del Sale, 2004, Chianti, purchased Delhaize-Linthout
• Ambo, 2006, Umbria, Merlot-Cabernet Franc, purchased Delhaize-Froissart
• Chateau Du Fort Pontus, 2001, Merlot, purchased Delhaize-Leon Mahillon
• Tour De Bigorre, 2006, Bordeaux, purchased Delhaize-Leon Mahillon
• Chateau Des Judes, 2005, Bordeaux, purchased Delhaize-Leon Mahillon
• Beaumes de Venise, Cru des Cotes Du Rhone, 2007, Grenache-Syrah-Cinsault-Mourvedre grapes, purchased Nicolas
• Cuvee Haut-Campremier, 2007, Bio, Bordeaux, purchased from Colruyt
• Chateau de Parenchere, Cuvee Raphael, 2006, Bordeaux, purchased Delhaize-Froissart
• Syrah Cave de Tain, 2006, Syrah, purchased Nicolas

Vins dessert:

• Byzans Muscat de Rivesaltes

One brilliant curiosity I came across was the EggBot kit from Evil Mad Science, as shown here in the photo.

The amazing EggBot. Image from EvilMadScience.com

Every school should have these kits in their common rooms. As well as the sheer pleasure of robot-building, this is also a very cool art project for students. For the more technically-minded, its an opening into the world of open source thinking, and for the budding art student, its an opportunity to learn some free graphics applications and paint everything round!

Maybe this could even bring a smile to the most severe of physics teachers…?

One day I will have one… even if I have to buy a little chicken farm as an excuse to paint eggs all day!

A colourful facade of Trois Freres

Colour is everywhere in Montmartre; from the hazy shades left from the impressions of Impressionists to the decorative shapes drafted by anyone and everyone! Wandering the streets between Sacré Coeur and Pigalle, you can never be bored of the interesting sights, sounds and smells!!  Whilst your senses never tire of the streets of Paris, your feet often have different ideas after a while…

Shell of L'Escale, an attitude of colour

The shell of the former resto L’Escale is now a photographic backdrop of very colourful attitude, which is a posing opportunity no-one can resist! This location is also a little piece of film history, from the movie Ronin, found at the crossroads of Rue Drevet and the Rue des Trois Freres.

Copyrighted cat art in Montmatre

Anyone wandering the area near the Ateliers du Bateau-Lavoir has to be very careful not to fall into the popular Amélie tourist slipstream, where folks wander about with print-outs of web pages quoting film locations, sights and script! Perhaps one day in the future, tourists won’t know that several famous artists drank, partied and depressed themselves at the turn of the 19th century near Amélie’s local épicerie?

The Moulin Rouge is as red as ever; I thought it contrasted pretty well with the cloudy white canvas of a sky and beige exterior wall paint. As I window shopped from across the street, I wondered if anyone could look sexy in Rubber Glove Yellow panties…

Moulin Rouge in Pigalle

Another colourful find, and a place to grab a nice hot choc drink, is Halle Saint Pierre on Rue Ronsard. Their excellent temporary exhibition, Hey! Modern Art & Pop Culture, begins at the entrance of curtains through which you enter a bunker of dark thoughts and subdued colours celebrating the dramas of life.

I thought this exhibition was a remarkable extension of colour in contrast with the outside world, all of which I welcomed as a “wake up and smell the Parisian coffee”!

And if its wine you prefer to coffee, then take a little wander to the Montmartre Vineyard.

Montmartre could be just a cliché on a hill, but you don’t need to go too far to find that people are still as busy as ever writing and painting their own version of the present.

Louvre: a great shopping mall experience

Mona Lisa, "say cheese"

I so wanted to write an inspiring piece on the great Louvre, but some corporate-minded “visionary” spoiled all my fun. From the gimmicky glass pyramid, sightseers enter the busy shopping mall ambiance via stepped escalators. If you’re not careful, you will unwittingly fall into the zombie-like tourist slipstream following blu-tacked signage of Mona Lisa posters. The promise of her smile awaiting you can be too much for some as they jostle, push and shove each other with their cameras, bags and body parts.

As someone who loves a visit to an art gallery in a ‘free’ state of wander and thought, the Louvre was a big disappointment for that kind of experience.

At the luggage section I had to negotiate the storage of my bag and coat, which I found very unusual, as art galleries tend to prefer visitors to be as ‘light’ as possible with baggage.

Anticipating that an early morning viewing of the very knowing lady Mona would be a wise decision, we stepped into the Mona Lisa slipstream and slavishly followed the feet in front of us.

When I finally arrived at the holographic Mona Lisa, she was barely visible above the masses; even when I miniaturised myself to get to the front of the iGadget-distracted crowds, she was even more distant than ever. I took the obligatory photo to relish back at the hotel, but she still eluded me.

Mona Lisa hung in Louvre

At this point, now liberated from the camera flashing and bashing, we could begin our own carefully planned route of the Louvre, which included the beautiful Jean Fouquet illuminated manuscripts in a temporary exhibition, and my hunt for favourites like Dürer, Vermeer, G Tiepolo, and G B Tiepolo, as well as some finds like Raphael and Romano’s grisaille in Cérès, a small piece by Crivelli and several works by de La Tour, as well as a fabulous collection of pastel work by Delatour.

Il Minueto, Giandomenico Tiepolo

Cérès, Giulio Romano and Raphael

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, detail from a relief decoration

Painted panel from a polyptych, Ercole Roberti

Crivelli

I also came across an early 14th century Italian piece called Maestro degli Angeli Ribelli. Those vortexing devils are a frequent detail I am often drawn to in many paintings; are they to remind us of what may happen to the sinners in our world?

Maestro degli Angeli Ribelli, early 14th century

And I suppose no visit to Paris cannot be complete without Degas, which was a subtle addition to my recent visit to the special Degas exhibition held at London’s Royal Academy of Arts.

La Sortie du Bain, Degas

I will return to the Louvre again for the sculpture, and hopefully see the new Islamic antiquities section currently under construction.

The stained glass of La Sainte-Chapelle

Stained glass of La Sainte Chapelle

I love walking through the Île de la Cité and the Île Saint-Louis, even though most tourists have the same idea! On this occasion, we made most of the bright sunny autumnal afternoon to illuminate the half-finished stained-glass restoration work in La Sainte-Chapelle. I was not expecting to see too much, but when I reached the top of the spiral stone staircase leading to the upper chapel I was amazed at the sheer beauty of the glass work and colours, and the success of the restoration project.

Notre Dame de Paris also deserved a photograph in the unusual heatwave of October.

Notre Dame de Paris

And to say farewell to Paris for the second time this year, we saw the fabulous Pink Martini at the Olympia, Paris. Afterwards, I wandered down into the Metro underground quietly singing to myself.