Childhood Memory #2
Not very far from Lisbon, about one hour driving, on the road between Mafra and Ericeira, we come across a magical place.
The name of the place is "Sobreiro" and the name of the man who made it magical is José Franco.
Who is José Franco? A potter. And an inventor. And a dreamer. And a lot more things, the kind of things great men are made of.
This man has a gift, he can give form to almost anything with clay.
I remember when I was a kid the joy I used to feel whenever we'd go to Sobreiro.
José Franco has recreated lots of traditional scenes from Portugal in his little haven, the Museum itself is like a miniature typical village, with a castle, school, shops and houses.
But those are not just little statues and houses, they are magical! Or so they seem.
Using water, wheels, strings, pipes José Franco created animated toys. When you look at one of his miniature sets you don't see a static scene, you see people working, moving.
Going there with kids nowadays brings back the time I was the one who'd want to stay there for hours.
posted by DCveR at 8:43 AM
12 Comments:
It's easy to get lost in even the static photo, this is truly awesome.
I'm that kid too.
I joined the Army dreaming of going to Europe and seeing real castles, instead they had a thing called 'Desert Storm' and I went to Iraq. Very inconvenient.
Recently I reminded myself some places I loved as a kid. Meadows, flowers, train tracks... colours, sun, grasshoppers. Everything at my grandparents. This place doesn't exists anymore (railway company took it over and built-up). Eh, I feel a bit shattered but I have wonderful memories.
I'm so glad you can go back to your place and feel it again.
Every time I visit a small village like this one, it inflates my ego!
Just for a second I become gullible or was it Gulliver?
chill daddy: There is still time for you to come to Europe. The kids would love it too, you know...
shyha: The truth is many of the places I used to go when I was a child have changed too, and not for better I'm afraid. But there are also new things so it all balances up. It's good to have nice memories, it's great to revive them sometimes, but everything changes.
isis: And he started as a simple potter. No art degree, not even art school. Even the mechanisms are all fruit of his mind and of the knowledge he had gathered about windmills' mechanisms.
cream: Gully what? You're just a kid! Same as chill daddy and I!!!
:P
Antonio's told me about this place...those things are much tinier than he described it. I wonder if his memories are skewed because he was a kid when he last went.
portuguesa: LOL It actually comes in three sizes, sort of. There are the actual houses in the Museum, regular size houses. The play houses, where kids can go into. And the miniatures, like the one in the photo.
Very beautiful. Naples is famous for its clay reproductions if villages and towns. During Christmas the streets are lined with hundreds of shops selling them. Truly magical.
tacit: And yet one you look at the guy working it seems all so easy.
phoenix: I've heard about that, I've seen stuff from Naples, I even got gifts from there, but I was never there yet.
tall glass: Almost everything I can remember about my childhood is nice. Well, except for the fact that I was grounded most of the time since I was 10, become I was a real pest... and even that seems funny now.
You know, now I have a real destination if I ever visit Portugal! What an enchanting place!
Portugal is a lot like Santa Fe, new Mexico. Everywhere you look is a picture.
I like people like Jose Franco, people who can spin and weave and turn clay into works that bring joy to everyone.
natalie: You have an entire country full of beautiful things to see! And this is not a biased opinion... ;)
kris: For the most part this is still a very nice country, in spite of the lousy politicians we have.
GG: You'd love to see him work. Everything seems so effortless.
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