Between yesterday and today, there has been quite a bit happening. Our instructors were very fortunate in getting a hold of a lady who is heading up the reconstruction project and management (I believe) of the Mansfield Traquair Centre. This is an old, old church which, after the original pastors all died, was sold to the Baptists who used it for a number of years. From that point, it was sold to a business corporation who, unfortunately, left it to rot. The neighbourhood stepped in, raised the funds and restored the church.
So, what’s so great about restoring the building? The murals inside. They were all freehand paintings done by one woman over a period of eight years. Nor are they the stereotypical religious murals that would expect to see. These combine some whimsy, humanity and a bit of sly humour. And they are incredible. The restoration of the paintings took a team some two years and in the end, there was only one section that had been damaged beyond their ability to fully restore it.
The National Portrait Gallery was the next stop. Some of the paintings we had viewed in class were on display. The photos, in no way shape or form, came close to the originals I saw in the gallery. The Oncologists, for example. It wasn’t possible to take photos in the galleries, but in the portrait, much more detail was visible and what could easily be taken as being creepy in the photos was actually sadness in the original.
This morning’s trek was to Arthur’s Seat. You can see all of Edinburgh from there. It was a bit of a go over for me and I didn’t make it to the top. I did get some nice shots, though and there’s a few of us that are going to go back up tonight for the sunset. I’m sure the sun will shine again while we’re here, but if it doesn’t……
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