Souvenir from Cluj linocut bookmark

One of my linocut projects is inspired by my hometown of  Cluj-Napoca, in the heart of Transylvania, Romania. I have not yet seen artistic souvenirs from Cluj, so I thought of creating one, both practical and pleasing: a linocut bookmark inscribed "Cluj" and decorated with a few elements of medieval architecture that, in my opinion, nicely render the atmosphere of the old city centre (namely one of the specific historical monuments, the house where the great humanist King of Hungary Mathias Corvinus was born).

Cluj linocut bookmark by Atelierul de istorie

The linocut series is available in my online shop, Atelierul de istorie, for now in a single color variant - brown typographic ink on beige printing paper, signed by the author - AGruia. Check out all the history-inspired bookmarks, both linocut and handmade leather projects, HERE.

Linocut detail - Cluj town centre and its medieval and Renaissance architecture

Cluj bookmarks, original linocut by Ana-Maria Gruia

 

New batch of handmade leather wallets

A new set of leather wallets is now available for sale by Atelierul de istorie. As its best selling model, they are decorated with the ancient war standard of the Dacians, the so-called Draco (dragon in Latin), a mythical half wolf half serpent creature that the feared Dacians carried in battle to frighten the conquering Romans.

The differences reside solely in the colors of these wallets, some monochrome (black), some with mixed colors (red) and two block-dyed according to our previously described technique (black and brown). The inside pockets are either black or dark brown, assorted with the outside.

Draco leather wallets by Atelierul de istorie

Tooled leather handmade wallets by Atelierul de istorie

Leather dyeing variants by Atelierul de istorie

Wallets insides by Atelierul de istorie

See the description of the block-dyeing technique HERE.

See the Mjolnir-decorated wallets also created by Atelierul de istorie HERE.

And the collection of skull leather wallets available internationally by the same team on Etsy, at the Proper Leather Studio HERE.

Vintage enamel bangle bracelets

The latest addition to my Etsy shop the Transylvanian Trove consists of  a set of three vintage cloisonne bangle bracelets that can be stacked for a Bohemian effect. These beautiful, yet small and inconspicuous bracelets are decorated with Oriental-style enamel floral patterns and inlay. They are probably made in China, as I inherited them from my mother who had bought them during the Communist Regime in Romania (around the 1980s).
The three items vary in diameter and are rather small, suited for young girls, teenagers and women with delicate wrists.
Red: inner diameter of 6 cm (2.3 inches)
Blue: inner diameter of 6.5 cm (2.5 inches)
Green: inner diameter of 6.5 cm (2.5 inches)
Ready to send, ready to wear. 

Set of 3 metal bangle bracelets, stacking bracelets, vintage cuffs, cloisonne enamel, Oriental flowers, inlay bracelet, colorful jewelry

Chinese cloisonne metal bracelets

Detail of the decoration

Alchemy and pharmacy interferences

Numerous apothecary jars and specialized works, pharmacopoeias and dispensatories, include alchemical symbols. Still, they only indicate categories of substances of preparation procedures, the most obscure symbol being „arcanum”, used for either toxic or secret ingredients that the pharmacists did not want to label.

Signa pharmaceutica usualia

Balneum Mariae (Mary's bath) is a process of controlled heating in a pot with liquid (double boiler) that has been attributed to he alchemist Maria Prophetissima (3rd c. A.D.) The process was nevertheless known before, during the Roman period for example, and became common in cooking, chemistry and pharmacy.

Balneum Mariae, 16th c. illustration

Gold was used in pharmacies to coat some pills and as ingredient of cordial waters (alcoholic drinks with gold flakes). Cordial waters are based on the idea of the alchemists’ Aurum potabile, pure gold liquefied according to secret methods, considered universal medicine (panaceum) and a true Elixir of Life. Alchemists believed gold to be a pure substance, thus its consumption could only benefit the body. Still, some 15th-16th c. texts mention intoxications with gold and even deaths.

Nicolas Culpepper, 1565, Aurum Potabile

Discover more connections between pharmacy and alchemy in Transylvania visiting the Alchemy and Pharmacy temporary exhibition on display at the History of Pharmacy Collection in Cluj-Napoca (July-December 2017).
Join the Facebook event HERE.

History-inspired block-dye leather wallet

The Proper Leather Studio and Atelierul de Istorie present their latest block-dye leather wallet inspired by history. The decorative motif is the ancient half wolf - half snake of the ancient Dacians, the so-called Draco (dragon), while the method has already been described before HERE: the motif is three times blocked with Tandy Leather Resolene (acting as both sealer and blocker), carefully applied with a brush; after properly drying the entire outer cover is dyed with black Eco Flo Gel Antique; and then the background is sponge-dyed with leather dye, leaving a nice gel halo around the wolf. I particularly like this latter detail as it renders the image more artistic and discretely stresses the main decorative motif.

Black block-dyed draco wallet by Atelierul de istorie

Detail of hand sewing and edge finish

20x20 cm painting format

Most artists prefer certain techniques and formats for their works. Some are miniaturists by default, working in great detail on small format supports, while others are more impulsive and feel comfortable on very large canvases. Still, this apparent division only applies to (some) of the modern artworks, as in the past great attention was paid to large paintings as well. We are often surprised to discover, when visiting museums, how small or large some iconic paintings actually are, so the format of artworks is well worth discussing.

I confess preferring small and average-size formats myself. I am not confident enough for large formats, nor do I use a big enough studio :) For larger canvases, up to 1 m, I used a mixed technique - linocut, collage, acrylic - in which I actually get to do puzzle with my own smaller linocut prints, thus cheating a bit on the matter of art format.

But this technique also applies to the recently-discovered 20 x 20 cm canvas. These paintings are easy and fun to make, they are easily shipped and displayed in smaller apartments, either individually or in pairs/groups.

20x20 cm canvasses by Ana-Maria Gruia

All of these works are available on my Etsy shop, the GoddessGruia, HERE:
In clockwise order:
1. Acrylic painting "Ode to Cluj", unique work of art, green and orange, ready to hang collage, Goddess Gruia, Transylvania, Romania
2 Original acrylic painting, contemporary miniature, gold leaf, "Golden network" medieval architecture from Transylvania, Sibiu, Romania art
3 Contemporary art, original acrylic painting on canvas; "Medieval story", mixed technique painting, linocut, acrylic, collage art
4 Acrylic on canvas original painting Return home; mixed technique - linocut print, paint, collage, contemporary art, ready to hang, miniature

5 Medieval scene from Transylvania, fortified church in Calnic, Virgin with child and St. Catherine of Alexandria, original collage, linocut
6 Art collage, original painting, mixed technique (linocut, acrylic on canvas), "Life in the city" ready to hang European art, architecture

Leather crocodile vintage pendant

Another lovely item has just been listed today on the Transylvanian Trove shop on Etsy. The leather pendant is crafted in the shape of a crocodile. This unique pendant is entirely handmade out of natural colored leather, created as to resemble a green crocodile with large red eyes. It is sold attached to a black leather cord. Like all pieces of jewelry made of natural leather, this item is light and warm against the skin, a pleasure to wear. Only one item available, ready to send, ready to wear.
Dimensions: 5.5 x 2 cm (2.1 x 0.7 inches).

Crocodile medallion, natural leather pendant, design jewelry, green and red crocodile, animal jewelry handmade on leather cord, unique art

Detail - crocodile eyes

Size compared to one's palm

This is a vintage item, but I remember its maker's explanations of how it was done. She collected colored leather second hand clothes and rolled together the desired pieces to form the shape of each animal, gluing each new leather to the previous ones. After the animal roll dried, she cut fine slices through it, revealing several identical shapes and the intricate colors inside.

Detail showing the pendant's height

See HERE all the unique pendants available from the Transylvanian trove.

And do not miss the 10% reduction available until the end of July 2017 with coupon code TEN PERCENT.

Alchemical laboratory tools in the old pharmacies

Apothecary laboratories included a series of instruments and containers that any alchemist would have easily recognized, especially the alembic, retorts and crucibles. Many of the processes were also similar: distillation, fermentation, separation, calcination etc.

Alembic – distillation still consisting of three parts:

-        the cucurbit, a heated pot that contains the liquid to be distilled

-        the ambic, covering the cucurbit like a cap, collecting the vapors and leading them down a descending tube

-        the receiver, holding the condensed distilled liquid

The term comes from Arab (al-anbīḳ), a borrowing from Greek (ambix), meaning cup, beaker. 

Depiction of an alembic in a medieval manuscript

Retorts were also used for distillation and they had the cucurbit and the ambic joined into a single piece. Retorts are in fact spherical bowls with a very long, descending neck.

Retort and receiver

Crucibles are small containers made of metal or refractory materials in which various substances were heating to high temperatures. The term comes from Latin, where crucibulum designated a pot used for melting metal.

Lot of crucibles discovered in the alchemical lab from the Oberstockstall Castle in Austria

Discover more about the links between alchemy, iatrochemistry and pharmacy visiting the "Pharmacy and Alchemy" temporary exhibition on display until the end of 2017 in Cluj-Napoca, at the History of Pharmacy Collection, part of the National History Museum of Transylvania.

Join the Facebook event HERE.

Alembic and retort in the reconstructed laboratory of the History of Pharmacy Collection in Cluj-Napoca

An Etsy seller's experience

I opened my third Etsy shop, the Transylvanian Trove, less than one year ago, hoping to have learned from the strategies and failures of the first two and having a chance to try a different approach.

My first shop, the Goddess Gruia, was opened in 2015 and focused on my artwork. As painting is just a (serious) hobby for me, I have little time to organize exhibitions, go to art camps, and collaborate with galleries (anyway few in numbers in my home town of Cluj-Napoca), as I did before getting a full-time job. Considering these time limitations, the decorative character of my paintings and linocuts, and the affordable prices I believe are right for them, Etsy did seem like a good solution. Still, two year and 8 sales later, it proves that the platform is not really the best to sell art and promoting one's listings is equally time consuming than all the things mentioned above that I was trying to avoid.

I then tried a shop with a different profile and promotion approach - the Proper Leather Studio. The handmade leather manufacture started with my husband worked rather well in Romania, so we though about making special items for Etsy as well (the design is different for wallets, for example, as the Romanian ID card is rather large and requires a special pocket). We decided to take this second shop easy, not invest time in promotion games but rather pay for Etsy marketing and not stress about having enough listings, long descriptions and all the rest. It was indeed very stress-free, but we  had only two sales in over a year and concluded that a bit more involvement is required, at least in the number of listings :)

Print screen - the Transylvanian Trove - July 2017

The third - and I believe my last Etsy shop - the Transylvanian Trove, brought me the greatest joy. The strategy was to sell items I already owned (vintage accessories, retro jewelry, unique prints, collectibles, some older creations of mine, other made by friends or bought over time) so production seemed to cost nothing and I got to free up some space :) I also set aside only small objects for this shop, things that could be send as correspondence, thus not requiring me to take longed trips to the international postal office (for larger packs) and reducing the cost of shipping that buyers certainly appreciate as well. At the same time it seems that cheap nice things sell better and more often, and this makes sense as well. Selling a pair of 6$ earrings - packed in 5 minutes, shipped in 24h hours and received and reviewed in 1 week, often made me happier than selling more expensive, but larger and much more difficult to pack and ship paintings.

Selection of design accessories and collectibles from Transylvania

I also decided to learn more and use the promotions tools available - partly paid, mostly free- such as relatively frequent shop updates, correct tags and titles, longer descriptions, variables, team work games, social networks, related blogs etc. With more time invested, the 10 sales so far have bough me greater joy than those made with the other shops - even if the prices were so much smaller :)

Earrings, leather tooled bracelet, leather coasters and vintage necklace from the Transylvanian Trove

I am (still) committed to all three shops on Etsy and I believe all can be improved to lead to more sales and better visibility. It is also a matter of perseverance and stubbornness, but one also makes a habit out of checking the shops daily and being active on the platform just for fun.

Ancient loom weight modelling

The most recent experimental archaeology meeting at Camp Virtus, near Cluj-Napoca, Romania, part of the "Labirinth through time" project, has partly envisaged the modelling of ancient-type loom weights. According to archaeological clay weights discovered on the territory of present-day Romania, we have created a series of tronconical weights, perforated in the upper part, that shall be integrated, subsequently, into a remake of an actual vertical weaving loom.

See HERE a brief presentation of weaving in Antiquity [in Romanian, but illustrated]. 

All pictures from the meeting held July 1st are available on our website HERE.

Raw clay weights modeled at Camp Virtus

Volunteers enjoying pottery making

Perforated loom  weights

Teaching clay modelling by Virtus Antiqua

Paintings by Goddess Gruia that fit the palm of your hand

Miniature paintings feel like a separate art category, as there is something magic about small-size formats that squeeze reality onto sub-nature-size artistic surfaces. My Etsy shop, Goddess Gruia, includes several such works, acrylic on cardboard paintings inspired by architectural elements from Transylvania and Slovakia. These paintings are shipped unframed, rendering transportation fast and affordable, but one can adapt them to various display areas. My favorite method is to combine a generous passepartout and a simple frame, but there are other options as well, such as combining several small works inside a single passepartout and frame and thus creating a larger final artwork or using lavish, ornate, wide frames, without passepartout for each individual work, fitting narrower walls or corner areas of your home.

Small painting inspired by the old town center of Brasov, a Saxon town in southern Transylvania, in Romania. 9.5 x 10 cm (3.7 x 3.9 inches)

 

Small painting depicting one of the preserved medieval street corners of Brasov/Kronstadt, one of the leading Saxon cities in southern Transylvania, Romania. 5 x 5 cm (1.9 x 1.9 inches)

Unique cityscape fragment renders the atmosphere of the medieval cities of Transylvania, with their red roof tiles and prominent chimneys. 5 x 5 cm (1.9 x 1.9 inches).

Tiny acrylic painting, depicting the architecture of Bratislava. 7 x 8 cm (2.7 x 3.1 inches)