" La Meduse ! La Meduse ! "

I hope that is how the title is spelled. French and I have a very passing acquaintance. " La Meduse!" was what a French friend of mine used to shriek when she saw herself in a mirror. We were all quite taken with it and it could be heard around the house for a number of years until the last female child left the nest. It popped into my head the other day when I had a quick glance into a mirror to make sure I wasn't wearing any of my lunch. That is what happens when you are alone for great rafts of time and tend to read while you eat. The mirror is my little friend in that respect but gosh ! Talk about Medusa ! Normally the sight of my face is just the sight of my face but perhaps it was the light that day. Whatever it was it brought to mind Johanne's shrieks of La Meduse. Now this could be a problem as I am starting work on a self portrait at the atelier where I study the human form once a week and usually wish I didn't as it is a very dry course full of measuring and other non artistic stuff. I find that I am bored to my back teeth but plod on anyway in the hope I may learn something. That's when the idea of a self portrait struck. Next week we start with a sketch and the week after that the painting begins. Now I can't get the idea of the Medusa out of my mind. Could it be the promptings of the Muse ? Could it be the thought of staring at my own mug for hours on end ? Who knows, but be sure I will let you know how it progresses. I can be accused of many things and often am but vanity is not one of them.