Ernst Kreidolf's illustrations for Der traumgarten - The Dream Garden - Switzerland 1912

I was introduced to Ernst Kreidolf's illustrations by Christa. She told me about his work after I had featured a Cicley Mary Barker flower fairy video on one of my posts.

Ernst's illustrations are not sweet and pretty like Cicely's but have a mystical, surreal, quality to them. However, all of his flowers, butterflies and insects are real and very recognisable. 

Whilst I was looking at Ernst's illustrations Burl Ives song from The Ugly Bug Ball kept playing in my head

  Once a lonely caterpillar sat and cried,

to a sympathetic beetle by his side.
"I`ve got nobody to hug,
I`m such an ugly bug." 

Then a spider and a dragon fly replied,
"If you`re serious and want to win a bride,
come along with us,
to the glorious
annual ugly bug ball." 

Come on let`s crawl
gotta crawl, gotta crawl
to the ugly bug ball
to the ball, to the ball
and a happy time we`ll have there
one and all
at the ugly bug ball

While the crickets clicked their tricky melodies
all the ants were fancy-dancing with the fleas
then up from under the ground
the worms came squirming around

Oh they danced until there legs were nearly lame
every little crawling creature you could name
everyone was glad
what a time they had
they were so happy they came

Everyone was glad! What a time they had!
they were so happy they came! 

Come on let`s crawl
gotta crawl, gotta crawl
to the ugly bug ball
to the ball, to the ball
and a happy time we`ll have there
one and all!
at the ugly bug ball. 

Then our caterpillar saw a pretty queen
she was beautiful in yellow, black and green
he said, "Would you care to dance?"
their dancing led to romance. 

and she sat upon his caterpillar knees
and he gave his caterpillar queen a squeeze
soon they`ll honeymoon
build a big cocoon
thanks to the ugly bug ball 

Come on let`s crawl
Gotta crawl, gotta crawl,
to the ugly bug ball
to the ball, to the ball
and a happy time we`ll have there
one and all!
at the ugly bug ball!

Ernst Kreidolf born 1863 - 1956 in Germany, an illustrator and poet but moved to Switzerland during WWl. Whilst he produced lifelike portraits, his work illustrating flowers, insects and butterflies are what he is best remembered for. He created a world in which every plant is animated and every garden inhabited by kindly generous fairies.

This is the caterpillar garden of Herr Hermelin, the white moth on the lefthand side. He visits the pen every morning before breakfast so that he can admire the caterpillars wonderful colours and designs and stroke their backs. He wants to be sure that his beauties are getting their favourite vegetation and feeding well. Although the gaudy caterpillars look as if they must be products of the illustrator's imagination, all of them are actually found in nature. Notice the dung beetle going about his business!!! and the insect flicking water over the caterpillars using a dandelion seed head.

The ringmaster wears Tiger Moths wings - Tiger Moth's bodies are very brown and furry like a bear

Solomon's seal and deep pink columbine both of which live in my garden. Without actually knowing the story it is difficult to understand exactly what is going on here.

Love in a mist - a flower I featured in a quiz

Shepherds purse - I used to love finding these heart shaped seeds when young. I am assuming that the young girl is learning the ropes from the senior Shepherdess.

I would love to find the book and read the stories, but  so far it has eluded me

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Konya and Whirling Dervishes

Konya, the cradle of Sufism, sits within the mighty plains of the ancient region of Anatolia. In biblical times it was known as Iconium, one of the greatest Christian communities of its time. It was here that the Apostle Paul and St.Barnabas headed in AD 46 - 48 when they were driven out of Antioch.

Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi 1207-1273

Mevlana, born in Persia was a poet, jurist, theologian and Sufi mystic. As a young man he travelled to Konya and met the Dervish religious leader, Shams-e Tabrizi. A strong friendship and spiritual understanding linked the two men, and under Shams influence Mevlana became an ascetic. Mysteriously Shams disappeared, leaving Mevlana inconsolable. He expressed his emotions through writing poetry, one of which, 'spiritual couplets' is considered by many to be one of the greatest works of mystical poetry. He also began performing the whirling sema dance.

If you are like me, and do not understand the sema dance, perhaps my explanation, learnt as a result of my visit, will help to clarify it. Like most people I was aware that it was a meditative state with a religious significance.

Mevlana's seven principles

1. In generosity and helping others, be like a river.

2. In compassion and grace, be like the sun.

3. In concealing others faults, be like the night.

4. In anger and fury, be like the dead.

5. In modesty and humility, be like the earth.

6. In tolerance, be like the sea.

7. Either exist as you are, or be as you look.

The beautiful cylindrical drum of the Green Mausoleum, Konya.

Beneath these domes lies the 13th century sanctuary of the Dervishes. It houses the tombs of Mevlana, his family and his disciples. 

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Mevlana's tomb 

The above two pictures do offer, in part, an explanation surrounding the sema dance.

Contrary to Islamic orthodoxy, poetry, music, and dance are central to the faith of the Dervishes. Serenely reconciled with the notion of death, the Dervishes cast aside a black cape symbolising the tomb to dance in a long white tunic (the shroud) and wear a camel hair turban representing the tomb's headstone (as photos above). The music is celestial and the dancers spin round and round like heavenly spheres. As they dance the right arm and hand is gradually turned upwards to receive God's grace and the left arm and hand turned down to pass it on immediately to mankind. Musicians chant mystic hymns as the dancers whirl into a trance for almost an hour. There are seven parts to the sema each symbolising a stage on the mystic journey to perfection, called ascension.

Removing the black cape symbolising the tomb and revealing the white gown symbolising the shroud.

We were not allowed to take photos during the sema and in fact it would have been totally inappropriate to do so. However, five minutes after they had finished the seven stages of the ceremony and had left the room, they kindly returned and whirled for us so that we could photograph them.

The dance creates a very moving, mystical, and unforgettable experience for the viewer, which we felt was a great privilege to witness.

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When I returned home from Kent, it was so lovely to read all of your very kind comments on the previous post - thank you very much.

On dark winter evenings

The Regency Pump Rooms, Cheltenham via wikipedia

On dark winter evenings I am most definitely an indoor, stay at home person. However, a good friend invited me to join her at a concert. The internationally acclaimed Takác String Quartet from Budapest were playing at Cheltenham.

A Christmas market was in full swing as I passed through Cheltenham - it is surprising what is going on whilst I am safely tucked up in my 'Hobbit hole'.

The dome inside the Pump Rooms - the concerts venue via wikipedia

The source of the famed mineral water via wikipedia

If you fancy a sulphuric glass of water it is still possible to freely take the waters for your health!!!

The first piece of music played was unknown to me - Schubert's Quartet no. 13 'Rosamunde'. Now this was rather a coincidence - my friend for the evening traces her ancestry back to "Fair Rosamund".

Fair Rosamund painted by John William Waterhouse in 1905 via wikipedia

Rosamund Clifford 1137 - 1176 called Fair Rosamund or the Rose of the World because she was famed for her beauty and was the mistress of King Henry ll. She was the daughter of Lord Walter de Clifford. The legends concerning her life are many but few hard facts are available.

images source

Today it is possible to stay B/B at Frampton Court which is still owned by the Clifford family. 

It is a grade 1 listed 18th century house built in 1730. Built to possible designs by the Bristol architect John Strahan who was a pupil of Sir John Vanbrugh. The house displays a mixture of Baroque and Palladian architectural styles and is built of Bath stone.

This exquisite 18th century Orangery sits in the grounds of Frampton Court.

The Orangery has been converted into a charming holiday retreat for 8 people.

It was described in Pevsner's Buildings of England as one of the most unusual examples of Strawberry Hill Gothic architecture in the country.

During the musical interval we strolled around the colonnade of Ionic pillars under the glow of a full moon, and I was happy to have ventured out into the dark winter night.