Saturday, December 20, 2014

Vardo the Romani wagon

Recently I've been watching Peaky Blinders, it has rekindled my love for little traveling houses. As a child I remember falling hard for Mr.Toad's little yellow gypsy caravan. At one point I vaguely remember owning a toy

Sylvanian Families gypsy wagon, or I may of looked at the image in the catalog so often that I imagined I owned it. It also could of been a Fabuland caravan. These guys were the cutest!


http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2012/oct/07/modern-british-childhood-toys-pictures

http://bensbargains.com/thecheckout/awesomeness/the-weirdness-that-is-lego-fabuland/



As I got older my idea of a Caravan faded from the minimal decor of a Lego interior to the intricate patterns bright colors and textures of the gypsy wagons depicted in Carnivale. I often imagine my caravan could double as a painting studio or maybe a traveling art gallery. Below is the lovely art caravan by Marie Meier.


 

Someday I could imagine having a home with one of these lovely painted wagons in the back yard.

Circa 1902 Hearst Family Estate Gypsy Wagon


There are a few movies I watched in hopes of getting some good caravan imagery. I remember carnival having some great caravans, but most of the scenes were very dimly lit. Carnivale has this great mystical, Twin Peaks feel to it. The characters are all awesome and the imagery is beautifully rich and grungy. They travel in wonderfully restored caravans. If you search you tube you can find a video of one of the un-restored German caravans that they bought for the show. For more beautiful wagons check out http://gypsywaggons.co.uk .


This show also sparked my interest in Tarot cards.