Jack of all trades...

...master of none.  I love this expression, which doesn't exist in French (tthere are equivalents, but they don't have the same punch), as it describes what I am perfectly. I thought about this when Gwen commented on my recent post about mayonnaise. She was generous enough to say that I was a man of many talents.

She may be true, but I never developed them fully. I am a specialist in almost nothing. I am a medievalist, but never taught medieval literature. I know how to make mayonnaise and I am very good at it, but otherwise I am a limited, even terrible chef. My cakes are often so terrible that I even gave them a name: catastrophy cakes. I do think I am naturally talented as an actor, but I never developed it enough to make it a profession. And I have a beautiful singing voice, but again, I haven't really worked on my voice to grow it it into a professional one. I never even took the risk to become a failed actor, a failed baritone, a failed writer...

Well, at least I can make good mayonnaise, I can sing and given the proper preparation I can go on the stage and be a character. I like the extended version of the expression, which cheers me up: "Jack of all trades, master of none, though often times better than master of one". I think I might ask this one to be written on my tombstone.

Dreaming about writing

Two little anecdotes got me musing tonight. The first: my blogging friend Gwen Buchanan blogged today with a stunning/gorgeous picture her library, which made me quite envious (who wouldn't?). It reminded me about those posts I made from time to time about places to write. I would love to write in a place like that. The second: one of my cousins published a book of short stories. My mum told me yesterday, (half) joking: "now you must write a book too". Well, I did get published, but I think she meant fiction.

And I think I would love that. I lack time and discipline. I am an artist, or an artist wannabe, I find it easy to rehearse lines and play a character when I get my mind into it (as I once said here), but writing is more difficult. It is a more intellectual art (acting is more intuitive, to me at least). But I would love to find the discipline to write at least a short story here and there.

Spinning wheel

I was reading Gwen Buchanan's blog recently (which I found because she made a beautiful portrait of Anthony Burgess) and I noticed a pic of a spinning wheel that struck me. It reminded me of one I saw in the Keswick Museum, which you can see pictured on the left. I don't want to make her blush or anything, but I admire Gwen and consider her a true artist because she can take simple objects and show their aesthetic aspect, turn them into artistic creations: a stone wall, working tools, etc. Back in keswick, I took a picture of this spinning wheel because I thought it looked good, without understanding exactly why I thought so. It is a simple object, it was a long time ago a useful one, but it also has strong symbolic associations with the passage of time and death (I think among other things about the Norns in Viking mythology, even though they did not have a spinning wheel). But I just love it as an aesthetic object.