A Different Pencil Name

     A lot of pencil companies are named after people -such as Faber-Castell, Dixon and Conte'- while others may take place names like Cumberland, but one manufacturer has a different name altogether- Koh-i-noor. I've used the pencils - even have a lovely big set of coloured pencils, but I didn't think too much about the name until I got into this whole research on pencil names (see previous posts). Koh-i-noor is the name, from Persian for "Mountain of Light" of the famous large colourless diamond that is now part of the British Crown Jewels. The pencil company was founded in Vienna around 1790 by Joseph Hardtmudth. Variations in spelling of his last name appear on pencils today. In 1848, he relocated to Ceske-Budejoivice in the Czech Republic where the company remains a private company to this day.
      The diamond's story began back in the 13th century when it was found in India and after changing hands many times,  ended in the possession of Queen Victoria after the British conquered the Punjab region in 1849. Following a fairly perilous sea voyage, the diamond arrived in London and became the "got-to-see" item in the Great Exhibition at Hyde Park, London in 1851. Jostling crowds complained that it didn't really sparkle as sunlight was not really catching it.  Prince Albert was also unhappy with the dull irregular gem and in 1852 had it cut down from 186 carats to 105.6 carats. Some size loss was because of the discovery of flaws, but after 38 days of cutting, the diamond emerged 42 percent lighter in a dazzling, oval-cut brilliant.  It was worn in a brooch by Queen Victoria. After her death, it was set into a crown for Queen Alexandra and is now in the Queen Mother's crown on display with the other Crown Jewels. There is still some dispute about the real ownership but Britain claims legal ownership under the Treaty of Lahore.
     Obviously the diamond would have received a lot of attention  around the time of the Exhibition and the re-cutting so it must have been around this time that the Czech pencil company adopted the name. Interestingly, Koh-i-noor  was the first pencil company to paint their pencils yellow- a colour now quite common for pencils. The photos above are of an art supply store in Cesky Krumlov in the Czech republic. The doors of most shops are double-doors for security. Then,when the outer doors are opened for business, wonderful decorations are often shown. This art store features interesting sculptures that combine fingers and paint-tubes. And, yes, they also sold Koh-i-noor pencils.

No more news-

Well, here's towers at Cesky Krumlov - the church tower with its weathered copper roof in the foreground and the clock tower of the castle behind- but no more word - even after a Google search -on the floods in the Czech Republic. It seems they have peaked and abated in Prague - but no more word on Cesky Krumlov even 'though it is a World Heritage Site. Funny, a person realizes how limiting our news sources actually are. You can certainly understand why people have subscriptions to hometown newspapers ... although one wonders how long that will go on, given the cost of mail. Maybe it will be possible to have all the newspapers on the internet after awhile. I hope this medieval town did not suffer much damage. It is quite a magical place.

Towers at Cesky Krumlov

I took brochures for DoorsOpen over to Nooch today and was told that people were enjoying the paintings. So I'm continuing the "stories" that go with them. This one is also in the Czech Republic - in Cesky Krumlov. In some ways, it is like a miniature Prague - castle on the hill, town square, same river curling around the town, red-tile roofs and interesting old buildings. However, it is medieval style buildings where Prague is baroque. One thing that made me smile was that a lot of older buildings were "updated" a way back when - with false fronts just like towns you see in the old Western movies. Well, not the same style, of course - but the same idea. Another interesting thing was the doors on the shops - when opened, many had display cabinets that then became street-front displays. Our pension had a breakfast at 9 am - which was too late if you wanted to be at the castle at 9am - so we got a discount and then found a great cafeteria on the town square - where the locals ate. Regular food was in one part and the coffee was in a separate Art-Nouveau style area that also had incredible pastries - and so, we created a special-to-Cesky-Krumlov tradition of "breakfast dessert". The two towers in this painting are the clock tower from the Castle - which is big enough to go up and walk around - and the church tower in front. The turquoise roof is oxidized copper- such a beautiful complement to the red tile roofs.

Happy Holidays!

I put Happy Holidays on my cards this year because it can apply to everyone - no matter what their religion. This year, the transit buses flash Happy Holidays in between telling their destinations. It makes a happy greeting when a person is out driving.
This year I used "Towers, Cesky Krumlov" on my cards. There is the clock tower from the castle and a church tower down below. Memories of last years "happy holiday".

Rooftops-

More rain this weekend and all the more reason to think of sunnier times. One painting that I finished of Cesky Krumlov is up at Omega Gallery (27th and Dunbar) and will be part of a group show, opening December 7th. Cesky Krumlov is more medieval and Prague is more baroque but Cesky Krumlov is still like a smaller version of Prague - the river loops around it, the castle is on the hill, the old town is centered on a town square... and the rooftops are mostly red tile . This was fun to paint -including the chimneys with their own little roofs. One of the things I like about acrylics is their layering ability - so getting the sun and shadow on the roof tops was an exercise in glazing as well as building up texture. A lot of the buildings had false fronts added - reminded me of the Old West towns with more important looking facades tacked onto an old building. Because I was looking at the rooftops from the other side, some of the decorative fronts can be seen poking up at the fronts of the buildings. I don't think I'm finished with rooftops yet!