Sunday, August 29, 2010

SundayStills - figurines

When I was in high school, we went on a school trip to Spain. It was my first trip without the parents and my first to continental Europe. I must have asked my mother if there was anything Spanish she would like me to bring back. All she said was do not bring any of that Lladro. I'm not certain I knew exactly what Lladro was, but she showed me those elongated figurines in a jewellery store and I understood.

But as soon as I saw her, I had to have her.
the face with her so delicate, perfect nose

the downcast eyes below exquisitely arched eyebrows

the hand, with the one finger, ever so gently holding on to her shawl


the detail of her shawl

...and the lovely calla lilies. two have broken stamens from the attempts to keep them clean.
I found out later that my mother didn't like callas, either.

But this figurine was for me. I fell in love with my 'Maria'. I later had fanciful ideas of collecting more, until I found out how much they cost outside of Spain. I still dream of finding her a companion.

And of going back to Spain.

18 comments:

  1. There's so much more to Spain than just the Costa this that and theother! A fascinating country. I'd love to go to the northern coast, its very beautiful, and a bit greener than the baked middle.

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  2. I have never been to Spain and would love to some day! Sigh!!! She is beautiful and I have always liked Lladro figurines. And I hope you will return and find her companion.
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  3. I LOVE Lladro!! Beautiful.

    When I had my ceramic shop many, many years ago I used to try my hand a the Lladro technique. :)

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  4. One man's meat is another man's poison - a hackneyed phrase but true. I hope you'll return to Spain one day and add a companion to your Maria.

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  5. Your Maria is quite lovely hope you go back to find her friend.

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  6. WoW! Thats cute :)
    ~WildBlack

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  7. It's good that even then you had a mind of your own and knew what you liked. Obviously you still do. Hope you get a companion piece one day!

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  8. She is lovely as is the story of how you got her..I do hope you get to go back again someday:)

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  9. It's funny how something will call out to your heart, as this figurine clearly did to yours.

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  10. She's gorgeous! I have an ice skater figurine from Lladro, and I love her to bits. I must take a photo of her...

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  11. I think she is beautiful. take care, glad you had a nice trip.

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  12. I remember when people collected these things in the 80's. They were very popular then. I knew someone who had a large collection of them. She had a lot of money to spend. I think they've gone out of fashion since them, but I'm not sure.

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  13. She is beautiful! But I do understand your mother not liking them in general. But this one is lovely and a great keepsake of your trip!

    Sandy
    From the Heart of Texas
    Statues for Sunday Stills

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  14. I just remembered what the sculpture looked like: the Virgin Mary we have in our Nativity Scene in my parents's house. My dad imported the whole thing from Italy. They take good care to create the right emotion on their Biblical characters, even for simple displays.

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  15. Sounds like a trip to Spain is in order. Nice photos.

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  16. I loved the detail in your photos. Funny how we often miss the details until someone points them out. I also like the explanation of the history and what it means to you. : )

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  17. she is lovely. and a trip to Spain would be lovely too.

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