Sunday 12 January 2014

Cats on postcards - paintings and drawings

I like postcards with painted or drawn cats more better than photos. These pictures are small art species too. I have expressed my enthusiasm for this kind of cards in my profile therefore I receive cat cards fairly often. I show some of my favourites here.
Painting by Anna Hollerer-Wischin is so cute. These two adorable kitten are similar to my sweet cats, Zingiber and Pimpinella. I would like to get more card painted by A. Hollerer-Wischin! I didn't found any information about the artist. The card was sent from Turku, Finland by an lovely woman marjakaarina in September 2013.
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Other card with a similar black cat arrived from Germany (Veronika) in December 2013. It has a title: "Philipp on the Farm". The black tomcat Philipp seems to like watching and hunting wild birds. Information about the artist Kathia Bereger can't be found.
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An old favourite from Russia is "The Cat and the Ship" by Tatyana Glushchenko. This cat is a real proud night street-fighter living in the harbour. It is free and full of confidence. Tatyana Glushchenko painted more beautiful pictures about black cats: RU-1343229RU-1458503. She is a Russian artist, designer and writer. She lives and works in Moscow. The card (sent by Darya) arrived in February 2013.
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I got a great card from Taiwan in May 2013. There is from postcard series "Cats and Railway". Jiufen is a small town in Taiwan. It is a popular weekend getaway for Taipei residents and a tourist attraction. The four cats in front of the old Chinese buildings are wild homeless felines. Fifi, the sender of the postcard helped me to translate the title of the picture. Thanks!
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Beautiful card from Japan was received also in February 2013. It was painted by Yumeji Takehisa. I like it because of presenting a black cat and being typical Japanese. Yumeji Takehisa (竹久 夢二, 1884 – 1934), was a Japanese poet and painter. He never studied drawing in any painting school nor under any teacher formally. He hated the concept of the "artist", feeling they were rather pretentious which unsurprisingly upset many of the artists of his time, leading to poor reviews from the so-called elite. Mitsuyo, a very active postcrosser sent me this nice card.
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Last card in this post is a lovely postcard from Belarus. Yes, I love white cats too! The "Fluffy Bliss" is a pastel drawing by Annet Loginova. Loginova likes to draw cats and other adorable animals. Alena, who sent me this postcard, is in Postcrossing not active yet.
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Tuesday 13 August 2013

Perfect day!

Many postcrossers are on holiday. I think some sent postcards arrived but they are not registered because of the recipients are not at home. This Monday was a perfect day. One of my sent card arrived to Japan. It is a lovely cat card with two cute red tabby kittens.
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I'm at home and I wait every day for postcards from all around the world. Today I have found four postcards in my postbox. All four cards are from my wishlist. The first one came from Belgium.
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It is an interesting card. There is a sculpture of Damien Hirst, an artist from United Kingdom. He was born in 1965. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the Young British Artists (or YBAs), who dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. He made the series "Medicine Cabinets". These sculptures are glass-cabinets packed with pharmaceutical packaging. "Sinner" is the first work in Hirst’s series of "Medicine Cabinets". There is portrait of his grandmother, Eileen Brennan, taken through the drug packaging she left to him, on his request, on her death. Three great stamps are on the Belgian postcard.
Spotted Nutcracker - fenyőszajkó (Nucifraga caryocatactes) occurs in Europe and Asia. Ginkgo biloba is a special tree and a popular medicinal plant. I have written about this plant in my post on 10 January, 2013. Third stamp was issued on the 100th anniversary of Institut Royal Météorologique de Belgique (31 July, 2013).
Second card is from Germany. It is a funny painted cat. There isn't any information on the back-side about the picture.
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Lot of stamps are on the card. Two of them are colourful flower stamps. There are Crocus and Pulsatilla.
Third postcard is a Flower Fairy card. I like these series very much. I has a post (29 January 2013 ) about lovely Fairies of Cicely Mary Barker. This picture is from the book Flower Fairies of the Wayside, 1948. Rush-Grass and Cotton-Grass Fairies are two little boy on  adventure expedition.
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There are beautiful stamps on the lovely card from the Netherlands.
All four colourful stamps are related to children books. 1st and 3rd are from series Child welfare, 1980. The 2nd one is a funny Christmas stamp from 1991. The 4th one is from series Child welfare, Joost Swarte comics, 1984
I received the forth postcard from Finland.
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The picture was painted by Rolf Lidberg. Troll kid studying his water-wheel moved nailing hammer. So cute! Rolf Lidberg Jonas, (1930-2005), a Swedish artist and botanist. He was best known for his paintings and books with paintings of trolls depicting old life at Indalsälven, before the river was extended. Lidberg great interest was botany, especially orchids and fungi. He traveled around Europe to paint and draw of vegetation. My 2nd Lidberg card with a nice flower stamp was sent from a Postcrossing meeting. 

I got earlier an other Rolf Lidberg card from Finland. Theme: trolls studying a wild-orchid. Depicktion of the orchid is very realistic.
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Monday 12 August 2013

Cats on cards - photos

In November of  2011 I found two black kittens on the street. They suffered from hunger and cold. I made a home for them in November 2011. The start of our “family life” didn't go easy, because they were very afraid of humans and didn't know toilet etc. Now they are totally domesticated.  They got their names after the Latin names of two medicinal plants. The both cats have a “spicy” Latin names. The sweet she cat is Pimpinella (anise) and the naughty tomcat is Zingiber (ginger). I love my cats and I like postcards and stamps with cats and kittens.
Tomcat Zingiber (2012)
She-cat Pimpinella (2013)
It's no wonder I like cat cards very much. Above all paintings and drawings with black cats. There are my cat cards received by Postcrossing. 
The first one is one of my favourites in spite of it is a photo. Title is Simon. He is a beautiful old style Siamese. My parents have a very similar cat. His name is Simi and he is 19 years old. Every day with him is a present for my mother. My father also love him very much. This card came from the Netherlands. I like it!
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I like not all cat cards. Artificial photos like the second cat card received in January 2013 from Japan is too kitschy and not so lovely.
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This photo received from Finland is also artificial:
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The next card is kitschy too, but the kitten on it is adorable. I got it from Sweden. It will be better without text.
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This photo of a tabby kitten from Germany is more natural.
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This simple photo of a Siamese kitten and a tabby cat is lovely. The card is from Germany.
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The last postcard of this note is my absolute favourite. It is a retouched photo from Germany. Eyes of a beautiful black cat like my dear Pimpinella. Oh, sooo great!
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In my next note I will show painted and drawn cats on postcards.

Monday 22 April 2013

Kalevala cards

I read the  national epic of Finland Kalevala in my student years. I found it great! I like its archaic text with alliterations and parallelisms. Most beautiful verses are words of Joukahainen's mother when she hinders her son for killing Väinämöinen. It is difficult to translate it. I hope its wonderful message can be understand.

Anyja tiltja meglőnie,                             His Mother forbids her son to shoot him,
Legott tiltja, tántorítja:                            She try to keep back him:
„Vejnemöjnent meg ne lőjed,                 "Don't shoot Väinämöinen,
Kalevhonit el ne öljed,                            Don't kill the man from Kalevala,
Vejnemöjnent ha lelőnéd,                       If you shot Väinämöinen,
Kalevhonit ha elölnéd,                            If you killed the man from Kalevala,
Vége világunk örömének,                       The happiness of our world would come to end,
Kivesz földünkről az ének.”                    The song would die out in our land."

It is no wonder I like Kalevala illustration cards very much. Fortunately Postcrossing is in Finland very popular. Therefore I have received numerous Kalevala cards.
My first Kalevala illustration was painted by Akseli Gallen-Kallela  (1865–1931). He is one of Finland’s most important artists. From the very beginning of his career he captivated the attention of the art world with his naturalistic, unromanticized renderings of ordinary people. Later, his great works on subjects from Finland’s national epic the Kalevala made him the supreme interpreter of Finnish character as expressed in myth and the leading exponent of nationalist feeling in painting.
Title of the picture is "Kullervo departs for the war" (1901). Kullervo, son of Kalervo with blue foot cloth is riding and sounding his horn.
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My second Akseli Gallen-Kallela illustration was "Vengeance of Joukahainen". Joukahainen challenged Väinämöinen to a singing contest which he lost. He attempted to gain his revenge on Väinämöinen by killing him with a crossbow. On this picture is the moment when his mother try to talk him out of his plan.
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My third Kalevala card is a modern drawing. The Postcard was published by Finish Red Cross. The sender, Marjatta has written there is Väinämöinen's self-built boat.
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I have the left and right panels of Aino-Triptych painted by Akseli Gallen-KallelaIn exchange for his life Joukahainen promised his young sister Aino to Väinämöinen. On the left-hand panel can bee seen "The first meeting of Aino and Väinämöinen". This card was send by Angeltie, a very nice Finish woman. After receiving of my postcard she send me 22 great cards. Among them were four Kalevala illustrations.
The right panel the triptych depicted the scene: Aino laments her woes and decides to end her life rather than marry an old man. This postcard was send by postcrosser Smabbe. The stamp is also great!
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The three other Akseli Gallen-Kallela postcards from Angeltie are also beautiful. "Lemminkäinen's mother" (1897) is a harrowing scene. Lemminkäinen was a handsome, arrogant and reckless man. He shares a very close relationship with his mother who revives him after he has been drowned in the river of Tuonela.
"The defense of the Sampo" (1896) depicts Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen and Lemminkäinen fighting against Louhi the Mistress of the North. The three heroes sailed to Pohjola to recover the Sampo. Louhi conjures a great army, turns herself into an eagle and fights for the Sampo. In the battle the Sampo is lost to the sea and destroyed.
"Fratricide" (1897) is an illustration for the Kanteletar a collection of Finnish folk poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot. It is considered to be a sister collection to the Kalevala.

Miért véres éles kardod,                          Why is your sharp sword bloody,
kedves fiacskám?                                     my sweet son?
Testvérbátyám meggyilkoltam,                  I have murdered my brother,
drága jó anyám.                                        my dear mother.

Other painters like Riitta Nelimarkka (1948– ) are inspired by Kalevala. On this picture she represented also the  plunder of the Sampo. I have received this card from a Finish lady Elina on 12 Apr, 2013.
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On 22 Nov, 2012 I received a big envelope from Finland. There was a beautiful folded card in the envelope.  The sender Raisa-Hannele wrote: "This card called "Playing of Väinämöinen" has been waiting quite a while in my box of cards. I wanted to send it to someone that knows just something about Kalevala." I am happy to be this someone! One of the earliest artists to depict a scene from the Kalevala is Robert Wilhelm Ekman (1808–1873). He was a significant teacher and painter of the Finnish romantic portraits and early national romanticism. I don't speak finish but I think the picture is the illustration of these verses:

Vanha viisas Väinämöinen
otti kantelon käsille,
ilon itsensä lähemmä.
Jo kävi ilo ilolle,
riemu riemulle remahti,
tuntui soitto soitannolta!
Tikä ollut olentoa,
ku' ei tullut kuulemahan
tuota soittoa suloista,
kajahusta kanteloisen.
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I like the beautiful winter stamp on the envelope too.


The last postcard for today is a Marimekko card inspired also by Kalevala. The bird is Sotka the pochard, from whose egg the world came into being. I like this modern picture very much. It is an interesting stamp on this postcard.


Wednesday 30 January 2013

Four postcard sent outside of Europe

Last week I got lot of addresses outside of Europe. I like to send postcards to remote countries. This birthday card was sent to the USA on 22th January. "Boldog születésnapot!"
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To Indonesia I sent a beautiful card with a picture of Alfons Mucha on the same day. I like his painting very much! It is from the series "The Precious Stones"; title is “Rubin”. I will write soon a note about sent and received Mucha cards.
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Two days later to a new Chinese postcrosser was sent a card with the entrance of “Móra Ferenc Museum", Szeged. The photo was taken by Béla Duscha, a photographer living in Szeged. I will write a note about his photos too. He makes not simple tourist cards. All his pictures are masterpieces.
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There are not a lot of Postcrossers from Arabic countries. This multiview card a sent to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It had a very short travel time: 5 days. There are some important sights of Szeged on it.
1. Rectorate of University of Szeged
2. Dom square with the Roman Catholic Votive Church, the symbol of Szeged
3. Reök Palace, a building in Art Nuevo style for artistic exhibitions
4. Water-slides of "Bath Sunshine"
5. The City Hall
6. The oldest water tower
7. Festival on the bridge over the Tisza River
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This card was sent with a new stamp. There is the Synagogue in Baja. Baja is a pleasant small South Hungarian town near the Danube. The Synagogue was built between 1842 and 1845. Jewish people from Baja and the surrounding area were deported during the second World War in May 1944. Only a few of them returned, the chapel wasn't used and the ownerless building’s condition was getting worse. The building was purchased by the city in 1985 and was renovated and remade for the needs of a library.

Tuesday 29 January 2013

Flower Feries

On 26th January I received my 5th flower fairy card. He is Ragged Robin Fairy from the book A Flower Fairy Alphabet, 1934. He came from Portland, Oregon (USA). The sender is the 15th on most postcards sent from USA but she is not a Postcrossing machine. Flower fairies are so lovely and I would like to collect all.
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There are nice stamps on this card. With the first one the U.S. Postal Service celebrates the bobcat (Lynx rufus), a member of the feline family found across the United States. In this bold, graphic depiction, the bobcat's golden eyes and pink nose make a striking contrast with its fur, rendered in shades of brown.
Flower fairies were painted by Cicely Mary Barker (1895-1973). She was an English illustrator. Her first book, Flower Fairies of the Spring, was published in 1923. Similar books (Flower Fairies of the Summer, 1925Flower Fairies of the Autumn, 1926; The Book of the Flower Fairies, 1927; A Flower Fairy Alphabet, 1934Flower Fairies of the Trees, 1940Flower Fairies of the Garden, 1944Flower Fairies of the Wayside, 1948) were published in the following decades. Flower Fairies of the Winter was published posthumously (1985). Her sister conducted a kindergarten. The children in the kindergarten modelled for the flower fairies. Flower fairies are tiny creatures that live in the tree tops, marshes, forest floor, wayside and gardens. Wherever and whenever a seed sprouts, a flower fairy baby is born. Each flower fairy lives and sleeps in their chosen flower, plant or tree, and as this grows the fairy grows too. Each and every flower fairy is in charge of looking after their flower or plant; keeping it strong and healthy by making sure it has plenty of sunshine and water to drink, sweeping away dead leaves, and polishing flowers and stems. Flower fairies are nature sprites. Each fairy looks and behaves like an extra dimension of the plant it lives within and cares for. The evocative 'song' each flower fairy sings, helps convey the 'spirit' of her flower. The plants were painted from life, and if a specimen was not readily at hand, Kew Gardens staff would provide her the specimens needed. Barker designed and built the flower fairy costumes, and based each on the flowers and leaves of the particular plant to be illustrated.
My first flower fairy was the Winter Jasmine Fairy. He came from the UK in August 2011. I read the blog of nyassa, an English postcrosser and gave her information about a Hungarian postcard. She send me this lovely card as a thank.
This card was sent also with three stamps. The most interesting is the Mini, a British icon of the 1960s. This distinctive two-door car was designed for BMC by Sir Alec Issigonis.
The second flower fairy came from Finland in January 2012. She is the Lavender Fairy. It is lovely!

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One month later I received a new fairy: the Rose-Bay Willow-Herb Fairy. It was also a "thank you card" from Cleootje from the Netherlands.Sheliked my card (HU-44156) so much so she sent me this nice thank you. Nyassa and Cleootje are good examples for postcrossers who send and receives a lot of cards but they are not Postcrossing machines.
This card has a nice Postcrossing stamp on it.
I have one more flower fairy. She is the Snowdrop Fairy. It is a beautiful glittering card from Finland.
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It has a lucky  ice-hockey stamp.