It took me a couple of days to wash clothes, see family, catch up, go into town to check out a few galleries and see and exhibition on Sorolla and buy a few necessities. On Wednesday I was ready to tackle Toledo.
It is a half hour train journey from the capital and well worth a visit. The place is made up of layers of archaeology, from Romans to Arab to Visigoths to medieval and times of the inquisition.
There are archaeological sites always on the go and buildings have become structures, which have been remodeled and changed so much over time they are indecipherable warrens of stone, plaster and wood.
I was coming to see one man and his team who work on these structures and restore and conserve this amazing building. Enrique has lived here all his life and I was privileged to be invite to his house, the drive to work is jaw dropping. He showed me a couple of his current projects, which included this beautiful building. Set on Roman foundations, this was once upon a time the dwelling of an important family of the city. Now it was privately owned and made into a number of flats.
However under the plaster were remains of wall decorations painted on a film of lime and there where stone arches and beamed ceilings to uncover.
Other treasures where revealed like this post that had been imbedded in a later wall partition and medieval graffiti. I marveled at how the council, the conservationists and the owners agreed on what to keep and what to change. Enrique was a real mixture of bounding energy, eye for detail and a combination of respect for the old, but also keen on the new. Apart from this he is also a designer and craftsman in his own right and has won recognition for his innovations with plaster and glass.
His house is full of works by Enrique and his lovely wife obviously also has a big influence on his style. Their office was very sleek! Had to take a picture of it…
That took up all of Wednesday, it was such a hot day and I did not pay attention to my liquid intake that I really did let myself get dehydrated – silly girl!
On Thursday I went to see some one who has worked for Mark Whinstanley for eight years and Mark told me I would enjoy meeting Oscar. The bookbinding shop he has set up is wonderful!
It is a real show piece and quite unique for Madrid. The shop is also a gallery and you can see the workshop behind the counter.
As well as being a very good bookbinder he also makes exquisite sculptures out of ephemera like sea shells, bits of broken porcelain and recycled objects.
On Friday I went to see a foreigner living in Madrid. Anton is a very successful jewelry maker. He is South African, studied in the best jewelry college in Munich and ended up in Madrid. It was really interesting to get his perspective on Spanish craft and design at the moment.
Both Oscar and Anton agreed that Madrid was essentially conservative and that I would see more avant-garde in Barcelona.
The other interesting thing that happened to me is that I decided to see the new(ish) fashion museum. It is rather out in the sticks and it was another scorching afternoon, but worth a visit. I found out that the Centre of National Entomology was also based there. They are hoping to open a museum of their own in the net 3 to 4 years. This is the nearest thing I can describe the V&A as, it is looking at lifestyle throughout the ages in Spain. It really ought to be a combined with the Museum of Decoration and the Museum of Fashion.
I spoke to the Sub-director on the phone and although he said he was busy we ended up talking for over 40 minutes. We empathized over the demise of the traditional crafts in Spain, I had more hope than he about the future of them.Before I knew it the week was over, I was picking up a new car and heading south to the Costa Blanca!
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