Emilie Flöge and the Lady in Gold

In my last two posts, Beholding Beauty and Beads and Buttons and Books I wrote about our trip to Vienna (Austria). This post is also about our visit to Vienna, when we went to the Belvedere to see the work of Gustav Klimt - simply a must if you like the painters of the Vienna Secession. His most well-known painting The Kiss (The Lovers) and Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (The Woman in Gold) are admired by people from around the world.

Design by Emilie Louise Flöge

But not everybody is acquainted with Emilie Louise Flöge, who designed and made the dress for The Woman in Gold and for many other society ladies who were painted by Klimt! It is an extraordinary tale. Read about the multitalented Flöge sisters, how they became successful business women in the haute couture fashion world, how Emilie Flöge met Gustav Klimt and became his life companion, his muse and inspiration, yet stayed more or less behind the scenes and didn't live to see recognition for her work as she rightly should have.

A portrait of Emilie Flöge by Gustav Klimt was as ahead of the times as Emilie Flöge was herself:
"It is perhaps no wonder that Klimt's Portrait of Emilie Floge, painted in 1902, was the first to present its subject as a bejeweled icon, a gilded beauty whose decorative trappings constitute a metaphorical chastity belt. Directly anticipating the "gold" portraits of 1906-1907, the picture was exceedingly radical for its day, and perhaps for this reason neither Emilie nor her family liked it."

Emilie Flöge - painted by Gustav Klimt

Depending on where they live, designers these days are much less limited in their range of expressions. This is especially true in the field of fashion, including all types of textile crafts. I strongly believe that if you teach a child how to knit, you give that child a life-long gift of joy. The success of the textile crafts site Ravelry.com supports this view, so many adult members fondly remember the person who taught them to knit or engage in other textile crafts.

 A few more impressions of our trip to Vienna:

This store is called: "Viennese Culture"

At the Naschmarkt: Herbs and Spices anyone?

All fresh and tasty - fruit and vegetables offered at the Naschmarkt

A wide choice of vinegar!

See and read more on Vienna in these posts Beads and Buttons and Books and Beholding Beauty

Beholding Beauty

Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. What an ingenious and clever saying! Beauty is perceived individually, it  has many mothers and fathers. It gives us all a free ticket to love the perfect and imperfect, the wellknown and the almost forgotten, the sought after as well as the unappreciated and unrecognized.

Rose Garden (Hofburg, Vienna) Picture by Valerie Mader

It also means that if you do not see beauty in paintings such the mysterious Mona Lisa or golden bliss of The Kiss, it is perfectly acceptable. Instead you might prefer to see Goya's Black Paintings, or the work of Neo Rauch, you might want to listen to David Garrett instead of medieval music, prefer Mizzi Morawez' bold creations to the sleek Armani outfits. If it weren't for the liberty of taste, how poor would the art world be?

Egon Schiele (Tulln): I, the eternal child

Our recent trip to Austria brought this proverb to mind as we were visiting art-studded museums and galleries in and around Vienna. Egon Schiele was on top of my wish list:
We visited the museum in Tulln, his birthplace.

Egon Schiele Museum (Tulln, Austria)

The museum houses not too many of his paintings and they have not often been shown elsewhere, so do not miss seeing some of his lesser known paintings if you like Schiele!
Please visit ARTSY if you wish to know more about  Egon Schiele or Gustav Klimt. ARTSY is an association with the mission to make works of art available for viewing and buying on the Internet. Also of interest: Emilie Flöge and the lady in gold.                                                                                                                     

Egon Schiele

Vienna is always worth a visit. The Mumok is a major attraction for those you who wish to visit a museum of modern art, and for those who want to relax in those ingenious blue plastic recliners, eat a delicious icecream or enjoy Viennese coffee in one of its many variations, listen to street musicians or just look at the blue sky above.

Museum of Modern Art: MUMOK (Vienna)

Relaxing on the Museumsplatz (Vienna)

Here some quirky Viennese special events::

Do You Yodel? (jodel?) As of 28 May...

Clairvoyance? Boycott FIFA

Footwalker = Austrian for Pedestrian

Always helpful!

Hofburg  Palace- of Sissi fame (Vienna)

See and read more on Vienna in these posts Beads and Buttons and Books and Emilie Flöge and the Lady in Gold

Beads and Buttons and Books

Three of my four favorite things to have or work with start with a "B" - but this store even has another "B", a collection of badges. Recently, I visited Vienna (Austria) and chanced upon this incredible shop for buttons and beads and books and beautiful old things one would probably call vintage today. I hesitate to use that expression -

A wall full of shining buttons and beads

it is not just vintage in the present-day interpretation of the term, these items are truly classic in their style, their usefulness and practicality is still present as is their beauty of design - they are the very essence of form follows function. Exciting examples of how to use buttons and beads and ribbons and lace are found in just one click - the creations of Mizzie Morawez!

A few steps into the store and your eyes start shining...

The owner, Mr. Thomas (Heinrich Thomas, Burggasse 11/1, 1076 Wien, Austria, Tel. +43-664-3580701; speaking German and English) is still driving to markets all over Europe where buttons and beads and antiques are offered and sold - a true collector and a treasure trove for anybody who appreciates his collection -

Entrance to the store for buttons and beads and badges and...

and yes, you may acquire most things you see in the store, be it old textile craft items or other interesting books, china, glass bottles, dolls... click here another description of the store.

Vases and mirrors

if you love such stores, plan on spending a lot of time there, sifting through the treasures... (also see my last blog post about this store which includes some information like opening hours, tel. number etc.)

Spend a day in a shiny store!

And what do you think is in the envelopes at the top?

...gilded buttons, studs and badges, all in absolute mint condition!

b

Treasures - hidden away for a long time

One should turn this beautiful shop into a museum 

Below some pictures of beautiful china and glass vases just waiting for you to take to your home ...

A thermo-clad coffee pot - in the style of Art Nouveau Bauscher Weiden

Lovely cups that want to be held in both hands...

These decanters look like a still life painting

I am sorry but the lace found its way into my bag...

This stirs every lace lover's heart!

Heinrich Thomas (Vienna) - one more link - click here . 
Read more on our trip to Vienna in these posts: Emilie Flöge and the Lady in Gold and Beholding Beauty

Paths are Made by Walking

This quote is attributed to Franz Kafka and in my view it translates so well into the technique of Freeform. With every freeform creation new trails are made, no piece must resemble the one previous, shapes and colors in countless varieties and combinations. It is also like writing a book, quoting Kafka again: “Many a book is like a key to unknown chambers within the castle of one’s own self.”

Freeform Creation by Mitsuko Tonouchi (Copyright - All Rights Reserved)

Freeform pieces or scrumbles, single or joined, shaped into recognizable clothing styles or running wild, unpredictable and adventurous like the creations by Mizzie Morawez or the beautiful shapes and interpretations by Mitsuko Tonouchi  Freeform is a trail-blazing art, full of creativity and inspiration. 

Mitsuko Tonouchi is a renowned Japanese Textile Artist, especially her freeform work is met with a lot of admiration and high praise. Many of her fabulous imaginative pieces can be viewed on Pinterest. I posed two questions to Mitsuko Tonouchi with regard to her work

Wall Hanging - by Mitsuko Tonouchi (Copyright - All Rights Reserved)

Q: "Do you start out your project with a specific shape or color in mind, or an approximate design that you first put down on paper and then create with fabric or yarns?" 
A: "I start without a plan. I sometimes get something very quickly like in a flash. If anything, I conceived something from... a word, a photo and a connection... I look for inspiration (for example: popping up a picture book, looking at art magazines and go for walks to take photos...
Q: "Do the voids between the scrumbles / freeform pieces carry a meaning, or are they sometimes even the carriers of a message?"
A: " Sometimes, and I think I need to put a meaning or a message... I worry it would not have individuality."

Deep Sea Fantasy - Mitsuko Tonouchi (Copyright - all Rights reserved)

Please note that the 3 pictures above are copyrighted (All Rights Reserved) and belong to Mitsuko Tonouchi. Please respect the property rights.

My own freeform work is progressing all too slowly - my day job is in the way! The Wisteria scarf is finished and I found some lovely beads for it in a Button and Beads store in Vienna... here is a picture to give you an idea of how hard it was to leave that store: 

Buttons and Beads Store in Vienna (Austria)

If you can't wait for more pictures and happen to live in or visit Vienna, here's the address: Knoepfe und Perlen. Heinrich Thomas, Burggasse 11/1,1076 Wien, tel. +34 (0) 6643580701 - and the Opening Hours - note those whimsical Viennese distinctions!

For more information and pictures see the post: Beads and Buttons and Books