We spent the weekend clearing spaces in the house and garage for the arrival of our goods from storage next Tuesday (they've been in since May2015!) With the arrival of more shelving , I wasn't able to go sketching in London this week so rather than 'Drawing Tuesday' ,I had 'Drawing Monday' at the
Roman Museum in Canterbury while I waited for new lenses to be fitted in my specs.
A small museum, hidden in a back street, you go downstairs to find the Roman
mosaic discovered during WW2 with reconstructions of shops etc built around it and excellent interpretation linking finds to where they were discovered. It's very popular with families and school groups but was very quiet when I visited. No sketching stools but the steward kindly found me an office chair - luxury!
Lots of
Roman glass , how could I resist the flagon below which was found in Faversham!
Yesterday, in between waiting for the doorbell for deliveries, I was sorting through my
stash, repacking it into bigger plastic boxes ,making discoveries, moving bookcases, constructing more shelving. The scene before (above) and after (below).
The 'Phoenix' cube storage system from Argos bought because the shelving was discontinued looks like it will be prove to be very useful - there's another set of 4 to go where the boxes are in the picture above . I really like Ikea Ivar shelving and boxes but the quality has declined drastically since these I bought 25 years ago hence the search for alternatives (the temporary black plastic shelving has gone out to the garage). I might finally get my African textile pieces on the wall - having inspiring but neutral coloured artwork in the studio works well for me.
These fabric covered shelving units are proving useful for smaller boxes. I can construct one in 20 minutes now and as I add to the row, my aim is to drop the covers down, and use as the basis of a design wall ( along with boards propped up on Ikea wooden footstools, that indispensable studio item)The
sewezi tables are also proving indispensable - I can quickly set up my sewing machines in all kind of positions in the room and it adds flexibility to changing
studio space.
This large bear was in the theatre. As it was raining there was no need to sprinkle water on to bring the colours to life! 
Threequarters of the site is underground and these are where the most spectacular mosaics are found: like this portrait in the House of fishing
And Venus and Cupid riding dolphins in the House of Amphitrite. Stunning!
Among my favourites mosaics was this fragment of pears (or gourds?) - I could happily have taken it home
There was a whole room of peacock mosaics, many with brightly coloured shiny glass in the 'eyes' 
The tesserae used were very small and the makers skilled in graduation of colour. Ian's favourite was one of a boar being brought down by 2 lions ( detail) above ) the blood was very realistic . I admired less gory examples!
The Bardo Museum in Tunis is rightly acclaimed for its impressive collection of Roman mosaics. Probably the most famous is the one depicting Odyseuss and the sirens (there was even a copy of it at Tunis Airport!) The story goes that Circe warns Odysseus about the dangers he will face at sea including the Sirens. In the adventure of the Argonauts, Jason and his men faced the danger of the Sirens with the help of the singing of Orpheus. Odysseus has no Orpheus to drown out the lovely voices, so he orders his men to stuff their ears with wax and tie him to a mast so he can't escape, but can still hear them singing.
What I loved about many of the mosaics was their domesticity - depictions of houses , gardens, foods and pets( or is that food?!) abound
On a corridor floo r , I was rather taken with this abstract wavy pattern.
