A bit After Medieval... Image of the Day :)

Jean Francois Millet: Young Sheperdess , 1870-1873. Millet died in 1875. I love his work. He has so many paintings of country life and those who worked outdoors. This is a beautiful painting located at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. I had the recent opportunity to visit while I was doing some work locally.



In this painting the young Sheperdess holds a distaff in one hand and a stick in the other. The distaff is dressed and the fiber is secured with a ribbon wrap. The question is what is she doing with the stick. I have gone back and forth on my own thoughts as to the answer. I have blown up the image to look very closely at the stick to see if the light areas are extension of the fiber or if they are light reflections on her skirt. I have looked at her face to see a distraction upon it. Truthfully, I think she is simply sitting on a hillock staring off into space... seeing something that she is dreaming about. Millet's paintings have the dreamlike about them in the midst of the practical. It is the romantic ideal.

The stick does not appear to be in the fiber or that the fiber is being pulled from the distaff by the stick. The light color near the mid level of the stick (where little stick protrusions appear) are not related to the fiber. There is no fiber being pulled there by the stick. The paint color and texture tell me this. At the tip of the stick there is a question. The texture of the paint and the color are similar to that of the fiber. Has our Sheperdess pulled a bit off the distaff? The other thought is that she is going to use the stick like a hook and perhaps spin off her leg. This is the fiber artist speaking. This is me supposing... But honestly even with these thoughts... I look at her and think about me being out on the hill under a sunny sky and I think she is dreaming and her hands are meandering doing much of nothing but holding everyday objects. It is my 2 cents and the art critics can correct as necessary. ;)




Well this has nothing to do with fiber, but it is visually intriguing. There is a fabulous exhibit of glass near the museum restaurant and bookstore. A million different images fill the mind. This is just a taste to inspire the heart and soul.

Let's remember folks that these are items that belong to the Museum, not to me. I place them here to discuss and to learn. Go visit and see them for yourselves.