Murano, art in colour
Friday, May 18th, 2007
Since ancient times, glass has been revered for the mystical, supernatural aura produced by the magical interplay of light as it hits the transparent material and turns crystal to liquid. Not surprisingly, magicians told the future with it, chemists and alchemists studied it and beautiful women desired it. Equally mesmerised by this versatile material, jewellers and artists started working with glass too, creating works of art that evoke every bit as much emotion and awe as gold and jewels. (more…)
The fertile Guadalquivir valley, which occupies the heart of the province of Cordoba, has been a prized agricultural region since classical times. In reality it is a mildly eroded floodplain with gently rolling hills that extend for miles, covered in a patchwork of colours and patterns created by the many crops that its fertile soils nurture. Thanks to the richness of this land, and indeed the vast expanses of orchards and olive groves that extend beyond its periphery, the white villages and towns that dot this landscape have developed a proud agricultural heritage and a reputation for producing some of the finest produce in the country. In recent times, the region has faced the uncertainties of European agriculture by focusing increasingly on organic production. Unlike the countries of Northern Europe, however, the Cordoban producers regard this not as a trendy new form of production, but rather as a return to age old traditions.
Fátima Quesada was scarcely out of school when she left her hometown Madrid to search for artistic inspiration among the bewitching monuments of old Granada. Thrilled by the ancient mosaics of the Alhambra, she developed a fascination for the mysteries of ceramics and promptly enrolled in classes. The next year was spent learning the basics, such as the physical and chemical characteristics of clay, production and colouring techniques, and artistic design. It was a formative year, marked most of all by her personal discovery of ceramic art, for it was when she moved to the Alpujarras that Fátima’s training commenced in earnest. “I was really fortunate to come into contact with so many outstanding experts—in the Alpujarras of all places. From Japanese master craftsmen to former NASA scientists probing the possible applications of clay ceramic products, I learnt more from watching them, talking and working in teaching courses with them than I did from official courses.” 
When first seen at the Detroit Auto Show earlier in the year, Jaguar’s Advanced Lightweight Coupe stole the show, capturing the attention as few cars have in recent years. With its sleek, sensual styling, powerful yet sophisticated stance and exquisite interior design, this is a car that brings out the best in modern design and engineering—coupled with tasteful retro touches from the golden age of the sumptuous sports car. With such credentials, it’s not surprising that people spoke of the new E-Type, for while the ‘ALC’ itself was not quite a production model yet, it formed the basis for the new Jaguar XK, launched at the Frankfurt Auto Show last month.
You can always tell when a car was primarily designed to be one thing and then adapted for other uses. As a result, hatchbacks with a boot often look ridiculous and many a sumptuous open-topped roadster has been joined by a rather awkward looking hardtop version. The BMW Z4 defies this logic, however, with the new hardtop coupe actually outshining the already attractive Z4 roadster. Rather than a rigid roof artificially superimposed on the body of a 2+2 roadster, this new model not only adds to the overall beauty of the Z4’s design, it has actually helped to solve some of its design flaws. 