Several days ago I reported on the somewhat puzzling British response to the current virus crisis of buying up extra supplies of toilet paper. This afternoon I came across a report that in the USA there have been queues to buy guns! Given the choice between living in a country that is mildly eccentric and one that is just plain crazy, I think I’ll stay with eccentricity.
Regular readers of this blog might possibly remember that after Christmas I posted a couple of items about the old English custom of “wassail”. At that time I began to explore in a tentative way the possibility of some kind of artistic response to this. I did some research, and made some sketches, experimenting with the possible use of mono printing. Then another idea came along, and because the printing was turning out to be rather recalcitrant I set it aside and became involved with a couple of other pictures. Having reached a hiatus with the second of these, and being compelled to pause for thought before going ahead with my original concept, I have found my mind turning back to wassailing again.
The wassail idea is turning in a different direction, and one that seems to be rather more promising. It has involved reflection on ideas about national identity and culture, and the important but neglected difference between a sense of being “British” and a sense of being “English”. I am at a loss as to how a concern about the availability of toilet paper might have any relevance to this….but you never know. On several occasions I’ve remarked on the fact that I do like to experiment with different supports. Surely there must be limits to this.
PS: This corona virus thing is starting to register as a seriously disruptive factor. My normal Tuesday climbing session had to be cancelled, and the Friday language class is off. The Thursday evening life-drawing class is still expected to meet. Pretty tough, these models!