The house has much writing on it; in Icelandic, Swedish, Spanish, Italian and even some English. There are a couple of sections from Havamal, Oden’s book of wisdom. Havamal offers advice on so many useful things still to this day. Worth a read, you can google the whole text.
The blue writing in Icelandic on the Art Retreat translates roughly as: Better a small home than no home at all. Everyone is king in their own cottage. Even if you only own two goats and a cabin with bark roof it beats begging. The Art Retreat is not large so I felt it was suitable advice, even though I have no goats.
The gold leaf text in the top tower circles the room, effectively setting it to music. It is the opening lines to the classic old tango Por Una Cabeza, Carlos Gardel.
In the Art Retreat, again text circles all of upstairs. It is the opening lines to August Strindberg’s Red Room. I painted it an evening in May, just as the text says.
And some opera. As I was painting these ceiling panels, I was listening to opera so I quoted some. Feel free to burst into song.
Sconsigliata! Batti batti bel masetti! Fermati, scellerato! Sprecato! Mozart’s Don Giovanni.
Here we have a little strip in gold leaf, “Notte e giorno faticar” toiling night and day. From Don Giovanni again. It’s a good opera and really appropriate text, because I do.
Did you ever see the film The French Dispatch? Can’t say that I remember anything of the plot but good grief it was stunning visually, droolworthy. The text NO CRYING is from the film. If you know you know.
Another Havamal text, this one is advice to hosts. Fire needs he who has come and become cold about the knees. Food and clothing the man needs who has traversed the mountains.
As a host, I will endeavour to light a fire for your cold knees, and food is not a problem. Clothing I can fix too as long as you only need a hat. I have those.
Hanna fran Arlov. This is part of a song lyric about a strike against bad working conditions in a laundry. That is my laundry, incidentally. 1974, Nationalteatern. And that seems to be Susan the horse’s, nose to the right in the image.
The kitchen ceiling is too long and insane to relate here, it rambles. It entertained me at the time, if you can decipher it I think it will entertain you as well. It is in Swedish but old, before we had started writing with the letter s. Instead, we used f. Thif meanf that af you read, you automatically ftart to lifp. I adore this. Thif.
There is a bedtime story painted on the ceiling boards above this bed. It’s an old folk tale and in English so I don’t need to translate.
Sister George Daylesford 