Beauty and the Beholder

Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T10:50:00.003-05:00

The memorial service for a friend of ours was this morning. I'm sad that she passed away but glad that because she believed in Jesus Christ as her Savior, she is with him in heaven right now.

As I think about how quickly life passes, I'm especially grateful this Thankgiving. Here are a few things I'm grateful for in no particular order:

* my husband and my daughter
* my family and friends
* a body that moves and breathes and performs countless tasks every day that I take for granted
* a mind that can think, learn and reason
* provision for basic needs and many, many extras besides
* holiday get-togethers with dear ones
* mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, and our family's favorite baked beans
* creation (you knew that would be on this list, didn't you?)
* medicine for laryngitis and sinus infections
* laughter, and lots of it
* beauty, of course
* the arts, especially visual and theater
* tears of joy, tears of sorrow, tears of compassion
* language, words, and the Word
* grace
* grace
* grace

Thank you for reading. Enjoy your Thanksgiving.

This Week

2009-11-19T09:58:00.002-05:00

I'm a little under the weather this week. I'll be back next week. As Thanksgiving approaches, let's be thinking about the beauty around us and what type of beauty we are thankful for and why (ex: music, dance, literature, creation, etc). If you have a minute, leave a comment about it.

In the Mountains

2009-11-04T20:54:00.007-05:00

I was in the midst of beauty last weekend. We stole away to the north Georgia mountains for a few days. Along the way up to the cabin, we drove across a small bridge over a stream that was rushing from recent rainfalls. We went through a narrow passageway with the leaves on both sides; the woods appeared to be on fire all around us. When we got up to our home for the weekend, we stood on the front porch and gazed at the mountains in the distance, with the trees below. It was gorgeous. We were grateful.

Inside the simple, comfortable, and newly-built cabin, the fragrance of wood paneling welcomed us at the door. Every window opened onto a different view of creation. Ahhhh...Whatever stress we felt before leaving home began to melt away until what was left was peace. Just what we needed.

A Few Things I Love about Fall

2009-10-28T21:01:00.002-04:00

"The day I see a leaf is a marvel of a day." ~Kenneth Patton (courtesy of my friend Bonnie Bruno)

A Few Things I Love About Fall:

leaves in full glory, giving glory to their Creator
pumpkins of every size as far as the eye can see
clear blue cloudless sky
little kids wearing orange
blue jeans and sweaters and rugged old shoes
apples
applesauce
apple cinnamon anything
fall festivals
the smell of a fire
chilly temperatures that turn noses pink
colorful scarves handmade by my nieces and my friend
flannel pajama pants on Sunday afternoons
cozy evenings at home
giving thanks

How about you? What do you love about the fall?

Painted Leaves

2009-10-22T13:00:00.004-04:00

"October is the month for painted leaves. Their rich glow now flashes round the world. These little leaves are the stained windows in the cathedral of my world." Henry David Thoreau

Fall is just now beginning to make her appearance where I live. Lately, we've had unseasonably warm temperatures and sometimes devastating flooding. I've never seen as much rain as we have had this last month or so. People have lost their homes to creeks and the river rising. The severe drought that I've occasionally written about on this blog is officially over.

But I don't want to write about rain as I sit enjoying the sunlight streaming through my windows today. Sunlight, sunbeams, sun's rays: all beautiful sights to see-- and by which to see. It seems as though the season of fall and the way the sun falls on the earth makes all the colors brighter and more vivid. Maybe it's just the chilly temperatures invigorating me or the anticipation of the colors of the leaves--"painted leaves", as Thoreau says.

We've had some leaves changing here. Our dogwood leaves put on a rich dark red last week and now they're wearing brown. But one tree stands out to me right now. The tree at the entrance to our neighborhood is on fire. It's one of my favorites in the fall because its gorgeous, flaming orange welcomes me home and reminds me of coziness, warmth, and family.

What are your favorite "painted leaves"? Do you have a favorite tree or memory of a tree in the fall? Tell me about it. Leave a comment.

Retreating at Camp WinShape

2009-09-16T07:28:00.004-04:00

Last weekend I attended my first CS Lewis Fellows Retreat at Camp WinShape Retreat Center. The retreat center was absolutely gorgeous. The buildings are done in a Normandy, France style with white-washed brick, dark brown wood, spires and arches. The indoor spaces were warm and welcoming, with exposed brick, high windows, and hardwoods. The view was gorgeous, with mountains in the distance and remnants of a dairy farm below. Aesthetically, I was in heaven.

And spiritually too! I spent most of my time thinking, talking and learning about the Creator. To be in that place with other people who are serious about pursuing God, about knowing Him better, made the surroundings and the weekend all the more beautiful.

Have you had a similar experience of finding a place even more beautiful because of the people you are sharing it with? Tell me about it.

My Daughter's Art Piece

2009-08-30T20:57:00.007-04:00

"What nature-lover's tongue can tell,
What golden pen portray,
The outpoured, flaming splendors
Of a bright September day?"
Charles G. Stater

Happy September! We've had so much rain this week we are feeling water-logged, but I am not complaining. We've been in severe drought these last two years, so I'm grateful to see, feel, and smell that wet stuff that falls from the sky. But right now, the sun is shining and for the moment at least, it is a bright September day. This is one of my favorite months because my daughter was born in September. It's also a nice transitional time between the heat of August and the coming fall.

Speaking of my daughter, right now I'm looking at one of her art projects that hangs in my office over my printer. A landscape done from pastels, this piece shows the sun setting over purple mountains with a green valley and blue lake below. The water reflects the fiery sun as tall water plants on the shore frame it. The blues, purples, and greens of this piece catch my eye and hold it. When I look at it, I think of her and of the Creator Who created the landscape and inspired the art (and the art teacher). And I give thanks for the beauty around me, both inside these four walls and out.

Have a bright September day.

A Softer Shade of Beauty

2009-08-27T10:27:00.003-04:00

School is back in session so we're getting up and out early. This morning, while I was loading the car, I could see pink through the garage windows. I ran to the ones that face the front of the house and saw some faint streaks of pink. That little bit of pink sifted through the trees onto the grass, the driveway, and the curled-up leaves on the driveway, and turned them all a softer shade of beauty. When I will realize that when morning breaks, I should be out on my porch drinking it in? I need to figure out how to carve out some morning minutes for that.

Summer Breeze

2009-08-19T07:40:00.002-04:00

"Summer breeze...makes me feel fine..." Do you know that song? Recorded in the '70s by Seals and Crofts, it was one of the first songs I liked as a 'tween (now I'm dating myself). I've heard it a lot recently. Our favorite restaurant plays a cover of it by a different, probably younger, group on their music track. They do a good job with it, I think.

I've had occasion to sing it to myself lately because I've been outside a good bit. Three weeks ago today, a stray dog "found" us--or found our front porch, rather, which she was using as home base when I discovered her. She's reddish brown, 30 pounds, and has a face like a fox. We jumped through all the hoops to find her owner, starting with checking her microchip, which had outdated information on the owner. We researched on the internet, posted flyers, talked to vets, and emailed area rescues. In the meantime, "Lucy" has been charming us with her sweet and gentle ways, and our dog seems to like having a playmate. Yes, we're in trouble.

Yesterday, while I was letting both dogs outside, I stood on the shady part of the deck. The August heat can be oppressive here, especially with the almost ever-present humidity, but a few days this week, we've actually had a breeze. Ahhh. It's amazing what a difference it can make. One morning, the breeze went through and rustled the leaves on the trees that surround our deck. The birds were singing and occasionally a poplar leaf would fall. Butterflies were feeding on the butterfly bush below and the dogs chasing each other at full speed from the yard, along the lower level of the deck, and up the stairs to where I was.

I thought about how my daughter starts school tomorrow, which signals the end of summer. Soon all the leaves will fall and the breeze will turn chilly. But for now, for the next six weeks or so, whenever I can, I'm going to enjoy that "summer breeze...makes me feel fine."

Heirloom Beauty

2009-08-06T08:55:00.004-04:00

When I was growing up, summer for our family meant tomato sandwiches. My grandmother had a garden for most of my childhood and my mother and sister and uncle would help her tend it while I watched TV game shows inside with Papa. I wasn't old enough to help, and he wasn't in good health. They would work and work and work and come in hot and tired with their bounty of vegetables, including big, red, juicy tomatoes. We'd eat a tomato sandwich for lunch and take some home with us, along with green beans, corn, and other veggies. Those tomatoes live in my memory as one of the staples of my childhood.

A few weeks ago, my daughter and I went to a small, organic farmer's market held weekly in our town. There we saw tomatoes of every size and color and shade: red, pink, orange, yellow, green. Little "chocolate" cherry tomatoes along with yellow cherry tomatoes that were shaped like tiny squashes. Small green ones for frying. And big beautiful heirlooms the size of my palm. The farmer spent several minutes explaining to us the characteristics of each color and type of tomato. Honestly, I had no idea there was such variety! My daughter and I bought two of the heirlooms, one green, a container of the cherries, and, because a pretty bouquet of pink and purple flowers.

I gave one heirloom to my parents because I knew they would fully appreciate it. When I sliced into ours, the juice and earthy smell were released and I was taken back to those summers of my childhood. Ahh...That was the best tomato sandwich I've had in 25 years.

Shakespeare

2009-07-29T06:39:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, we went to see A Midsummer Night's Dream with some friends. What a delight! It's been years since I studied Shakespeare, but it doesn't matter. The actors make the lines understandable by tone of voice and body language so even if you don't catch specifics, you understand the gist of what they're saying. The costumes and props at Georgia Shakespeare Company are always clever and the clown characters are hilarious. We laughed and laughed through the final scenes and have been repeating favorite lines to each other ever since.

At dinner afterward, my friend talked about the beauty of language, the gorgeous flow of Shakespeare's poetry over the audience. It made me think about what I've been reading in Luci Shaw's book about language and poetry and about the meditation on scripture that I've been doing. I want to fill the well, a term used by creativity book author Vinita Hampton Wright, with images from scripture so that when I write, the beauty of language, which God Himself created, flows over my audience as well.

Do you have favorite passages from a book, a poem, or scripture that flow over you? Please share it in a comment.

Beauty According to Luci Shaw

2009-07-22T07:27:00.006-04:00

I've been reading a fabulous book by poet Luci Shaw called Breath for the Bones: Art, Imagination and Spirit: Reflections on Creativity and Faith. She speaks to all artists but particularly to writers and especially to me. I've underlined passages on almost every page. I have to share a few with you from her chapter on beauty.

"Beauty is integral, so deeply a part of who we are and what we enjoy that we may take it for granted. Even flawed or marred or distorted as a result of human depravity and failure, it is still visible in the fingerprints of the Creator on the natural world.

"Beauty is perhaps one of the few things that constantly calls us back to God, that reminds us of an ideal of goodness and vitality...Beauty is redemptive. It can motivate us to turn a corner, to pursue a new objective. It awakens us because it is often so surprising" (pp. 22-23).

"Yes, beauty matters. It is important to God. Why else would he shape and color fish, birds, insects, rocks, plants, and people with such rich diversity?" (p. 24).

Shaw also points out that while beauty is personal, it's also universal. All of us gasp at things like waterfalls, glaciers, the oceans, mountains, sunrises and sunsets. Last weekend, under bright sun and blue sky, my family and I drove on the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway, a highway that blends into the environment while providing access to five mountain ranges, six major rivers, two states, and four national forests. The Blue Ridge Parkway draws people from everywhere every year. On it, we can see "the fingerprints of the Creator", as Shaw says, whether we acknowledge Him or not. It is a road to--and through--beauty and, ultimately, if we follow where it leads, to God. I can't wait to go back.

Quotations to Share

2009-07-15T07:45:00.005-04:00

"We must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle and mystery."- H. G. Wells

"That which is striking and beautiful is not always good, but that which is good is always beautiful." - Ninon de l'Eenclos, 1620 - 1705.

"Earth laughs in flower." Ralph Waldo Emerson

“People discuss my art and pretend to understand as if it were necessary to understand, when it's simply necessary to love.” -Claude Monet

"Our truest life
is when we are in our dreams
Awake."

- Henry David Thoreau
(got this from Brenda Leyland's blog, It's a Beautiful Life)

The Other Journal: Aesthetics Issue

2009-07-08T07:16:00.002-04:00

I'm going to do something a little unusual for this blog and send you somewhere else. The Other Journal's current issue is devoted to aesthetics. I haven't finished exploring it yet but so far have found a lot of interesting essays. Take a look.

And many of you on are vacation and/or taking a break from your computers, but if you're around this week, please leave me a comment about one of your favorite beauty moments this summer.

Alaska Memories, Part 2

2009-07-01T08:19:00.008-04:00

Alaska is so beautiful, it's almost other-worldly. I spent a wonderful week there with some writing friends and found much material for writing. I posted a lot of it last week but here are a few other things:

--“termination dust”: the first bit of snowfall on the mountains, marking the end of the summer (although it's too early for that right now)

--the long strips or ribbons of snow on the mountains that reach ground level, with trash in and around the piles at the bottom: former avalanche sites

--the native women’s tunic made of cheery fabrics with a hood, a drop waist, and a big muff-like pocket in the middle

--the booth at the market with extremely soft scarves made out of Qiviut (pronounced "kiv-ee-ute"), the downy-soft underwool from the Arctic musk ox. Rare and expensive. We touched but didn't buy.

--favorite things to do by Alaskans: fishing, fishing, fishing! Plus camping, hunting, cross-country skiing, ski skating and other sports, the Iditarod, and fishing, fishing, fishing!

--Hurricane Gorge, just inside Denali National Forest, with the river running through it. Our view was from above and what a view it was.

--Talkeetna Lodge, where the view from the deck is breathtaking. It was sunny and clear that afternoon, so we could see Mt. McKinley and other mountains in the distance.

--wildflowers I had never seen

--beauty everywhere

I want to go back, as soon as I can.

Alaska Moments

2009-06-24T01:36:00.003-04:00

Here are a few of my favorite things about Alaska:

--Exit Glacier, which looked like a frozen waterfall
--the train ride with my friends through gorgeous scenery
--hanging out of said train with one of those friends
--the little shop in Talkeetna where I bought the pink hoodie that would keep me from freezing the rest of the trip
--the moose mother and her babies in the yard next door
--the never-ending light
--long car rides and long talks
--the husky in the house named Corduroy
--the mountains everywhere, with strips of snow adorning the sides and clouds veiling the peaks
--the mud flats where those two black bears caught their lunch
--the ocean so close by
--the quick trip "up the hill" and the view of Anchorage below
--the worship service with music provided by a native family
--exquisite native crafts in the gift shop
--the large fuchsia with its blooms spilling over the pot
--chocolate chocolate chocolate
--the lilacs and my friend's love for them
--my hostess' excitement at sharing her beautiful home and surroundings with us
--God's handiwork in creation and in my friends

Monet's Water Lilies

2009-06-17T12:36:00.003-04:00

You might have guessed by seeing the background of this blog and my website that Monet's Water Lilies series is important to me. In a week or two, my family and I are going to visit an exhibition of four of Monet's paintings from this series. All of the paintings are from the Museum of Modern Art in New York. My husband and I have already seen them at MoMA but we have to see them again and this time, our daughter will be with us. I'm very excited about this opportunity to stand in front of those paintings, which helped get me started on the path of pursuing art and beauty, with the two of them by my side. I will be sure to post about the experience.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share the link for the exhibition with you, which includes information from other sources about Monet, his paintings, and his gardens.

Which painting or artist is important to you? Has a painting or other work of art ever moved you? I'd love to hear about it. Leave a comment.

A Few Quotations about Art

2009-06-10T08:58:00.002-04:00

As you probably know, I love quotations, and I post them often on this blog and my Christians in the Arts blog. Today I'm thinking about beauty in art and wanted to share these thoughts with you:

Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better.
--Andre Gide

We can't take any credit for our talents. It's how we use them that counts.
--Madeleine L'Engle

All writing is a form of prayer.
--John Keats

A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.
--W.H. Auden

I write with intensity, discipline and constancy, because this is the work that calls me, the vocation of my heart.
--bell hooks

Personal essayists converse with the reader because they're already having dialogues and disputes with themselves.
--Phillip Lopate

Never lose a holy curiosity.
--Albert Einstein

Strawberry Pickin'

2009-06-03T08:13:00.003-04:00

I love strawberries, and so does my family. Last Friday, my parents, my daughter, and I went strawberry pickin' at a farm near my parents' house. My folks had gone with my sister and her girls the week before and she had brought home big bags of berries. I wanted to go too--not just for the spoils but for the experience. My daughter and I have never picked our own strawberries before, and I wanted the two of us to have that memory with her grandparents.

The rows of strawberry plants went on and on. We chose two rows at random and started. Those first few berries, hidden under the leaves of the plants, were small, red, and perfect. I was surprised somehow. They weren't the huge, mutant-looking things we usually find at the grocery store. We worked our way down rows next to each other and then spread out a bit when we realized the berries in that area had been picked over. After about 30 minutes, my daughter started asking how much longer it would be. She reminded me of myself at her age. Whenever we gardened--whether at my grandparents' house or at our friends' place--I couldn't wait to go inside or go home.

Fortunately, before long, we had two large bucketsful of ripe red berries. As we went inside the building to pay for them, we passed a long bench full of kids under seven stuffing berries into their mouths with sticky fingers and sporting red-stained smiles. On the way home, the sweet fragrance of the strawberries wafted through the car, reminding me of a day well spent with my parents and my daughter, doing a little bit of labor for a lot of goodness. Making me grateful, yet again, for the beauty and variety and provision of creation.

Favorite Pieces

2009-05-27T10:23:00.002-04:00

To enjoy beauty, you have to be aware of it, and that's one of the purposes of this blog--to build awareness about beauty. We so often walk right by beauty without noticing it, especially if it's part of our everyday landscape. Today, to wake myself up, I thought I'd list just a few of my favorite items of beauty in my house:

* the "jar of clay" painting we bought on our first anniversary trip
* the multi-colored glass bowl he gave me for my birthday
* the "Narnia" painted door
* the purple frosted glass water bottle with the delicately-turned lip
* the tall vase with the Raku finish

Now, what about you? Leave a comment listing or describing some of your favorite items of beauty in your home. Look around before you do so and enjoy your things again.

Gold and Gems

2009-05-20T08:05:00.006-04:00

Last week, I went on a field trip with my daughter's class to the largest hardrock gold mine east of the Mississippi River, the site of America's first gold rush. During the excavation period in the late 1800s, approximately 4,000 tons of dirt, debris and ore were removed from the tunnel system. During the tour, our guide talked about the geology of the gold belt, including quartz and pyrite formations, where early miners found gold.

Before we took the underground tour, though, we did some gold panning and gem grubbing. My favorite was the gem grubbing, which involves taking a wooden box with a mesh bottom, filling it with sand, and dunking it into a stream of running water. As the sand washes away, it leaves gems behind. Apparently it's possible to find emeralds, rubies, and sapphires but I didn't wash up any. I did walk away with a bag full of colorful gems, though, including quartz, adventurine, sodalite, carnelian, citrine, blue calcite, a desert rose, a chunk of fool’s gold, and more. When she panned for gold, my daughter found nine pieces, the most of anyone in her class but unfortunately not enough to make a dent in her college fund.

My gems now sit in a small mason jar on my desk to remind me of a fun day with my daughter and my early fascination with rocks and geology. We're planning to go back and take my husband with us. Maybe next time we'll strike it rich.

Why Beauty?

2009-05-13T09:46:00.002-04:00

I try to seek out beauty wherever and whenever I can, and I want to help other people do that too. Click here to go to one of my first posts, which explains why. May your eyes be opened to the beauty around you. Thanks for reading.

To Openness

2009-05-06T15:43:00.003-04:00

So much escapes our notice. So much depends on our openness--openness to God and to the beauty He has created. I like this quote and thought you might too.

"There is ecstasy in paying attention. You can get into a kind of Wordsworthian openness to the world, where you see in everything the essence of holiness, a sign that God is implicit in all of creation." Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

The Hope of Beauty

2009-04-29T16:42:00.001-04:00

“This world in which we live needs beauty in order not to sink into despair. Beauty, like truth, brings joy to the human heart.” Pope John Paul II, “Letter to Artists,” Easter Sunday, 1999.

We are living in challenging times. Bad news seems to be all we hear and many of us are experiencing financial troubles, job loss, major illnesses, and other crises. When bad things happen to us or our families, what do we do? We focus on our circumstances.

But the Bible tells us in Hebrews to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” and to “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess.” Hope is defined in the dictionary as “to look forward to with confidence or expectation. To expect and desire.” We have confidence in God, the Creator of the universe (Who is bigger than our circumstances) and we have confidence in our salvation through Christ’s death and resurrection.

Years ago, I went through a difficult time. But as God was comforting me and reminding me that He was my help, He also gradually opened my eyes to beauty. I began to see it everywhere: in my home, in my baby girl’s face, in art, creation, music, words. Beauty had been there all along while I was struggling but I didn’t see it, didn’t fully appreciate it. When my eyes were opened to it, beauty reminded me of God, reminded me that Jesus was my hope, and it made me worship Him--my Creator, my Savior--even more.

Beauty can pull you out of yourself and put your focus on the Creator, who can comfort and soothe your aching heart. It can remind you of the hope you have in Jesus if you have committed your life to Him. And in spite of what’s going on in the world around you, you can know that because you are His, you have hope not only for the future in heaven but for life right now.

Beauty Sleep

2009-04-21T21:32:00.008-04:00

I wrote this last night and then forgot to post it. Proof of how tired I was...

It's late. It's been a long day. My dog is snoozing at my feet and she looks so comfortable. Tomorrow will be a busy day; I'm preparing to speak at a ladies' retreat on Saturday. The topic? The beauty around us.

As I sit here thinking through so many moments of beauty I've experienced and written about, I don't know if I've ever written about nighttime. Moonlight, yes, but darkness? No. The truth is, I don't often walk outside at night. We have coyotes in our neighborhood and, now that the weather is warming up, the snakes will be out as well. While it's true that coyotes and snakes have a certain beauty, I have no desire to meet either one in the dark (or even in the noonday sun).

But there are so many things I like about nighttime:
1. quiet
2. rest and rejuvenation
3. relief
4. reading (a ritual before "lights out")
5. pajamas
6. cool sheets in the summer, thick comforter in the winter
7. the gentle whirr of the ceiling fan
8. the end of the day
9. checking on my daughter while she's asleep
10. the art in our bedroom (the mixed media pieces over the dresser and the bed, the pencil drawing of my ballerina done by a friend, the metal cross sculpture)
11. the vintage furniture (Grandmother's chair and chiffarobe, a cedar chest, a lady's writing desk, an armchair I rescued and refurbished)
12. and last but not least by any means--my husband

But maybe the thing that's the most important is knowing that tomorrow is a new day. I'm not quoting Scarlett here but paraphrasing the Bible, Lamentations 3:23 to be exact: "God's compassions [mercies] are new every morning." Knowing that I can start over with Him every day--now that gives me sweet dreams, and, I guess you could say, true beauty sleep.