Long Enough to Take It In...

"There is a very real sense in which the ambition of art simply consists in the valiant effort to seize some small piece of the world and to hold it still long enough for us to take it in."

• Cameron McAllister

"Weeds are flowers too,

once you get to know them."

• A.A. Milne

Finally got another page filled in my nature journal! It was a workout on a less-than-optimal day, but also amazing to study these details of one of God's creations up close.

A Simple Way to Encourage through Happy Mail

I love sending and receiving real mail! How about you?! Snail mail may be out of fashion, but it is still so meaningful that I find it worth the extra effort.

And I love tucking a little gift into cards or letters... something that can continue to encourage long after the letter is read and set aside.

My go-to gift for years now has been a scripture art-sticker. So I encouraged my sister to turn some of her beautiful, loose floral watercolors into stickers I could send to friends for daily encouragement on their water bottle, phone case, computer, or anywhere. 

She did it!

Her newest design features Isaiah 33:6, which is so timely in this unstable world. I also love sending her other two designs and look forward to more in the future!

Who could you encourage with a bit of beauty and truth in an envelope?

Find Elsa's art on Instagram @handmaiden.elsa and on Etsy: Here

All the More Beautiful

This week brought to a close my 19th year of teaching piano students. Family and friends gathered for a cosy evening recital with a dozen fun, short pieces by my three young students as well as a chance for them to turn the tables and quiz me on keyboard skills as I had done so often in their lessons through the year.

A couple days later I came across this quote by a Victorian English missionary who gave up what promised to be a career at the top of the art world of her day in order to show people God's love in difficult places.

 

"All the more beautiful will be God's triumph when it comes. The highest music is not the music where all goes on simple and straight and sweet, but where discord suddenly resolves tensions with harmony."

~ Lillias Trotter (12 February 1905)

 

This reminds me how my young students comment from time to time on how a note or chord in their music "sounds wrong." They hear discord and want to "fix" it... not understanding why a composer would ever purposely choose to stray from tuneful harmonies.

But to those of us who have lived longer with great music, it is easy to hear the purpose of dissonance - to set off the beauty of harmony far more.

The same goes for dark shadows in art and the climax of crisis in good stories.

Yet, no matter how many years of experience we log in this world, sometimes we may still find it not-so-simple to accept the various trials that come throughout each day, as well as the bigger ones that last for years.

And so we remind ourselves along with Lillias "All the more beautiful will be God's triumph when it comes."

And with an ancient author we say,

Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”

~ Lamentations 3:21-24

Blind Contour Sketching

Have you tried Blind Contour Sketching? I had not... until today. And it was fun! 

✒️ How freeing to know it won't turn out much like the subject but to enjoy the process anyway! 

✒️ How clearing of a full mind to sit and stare at interesting shapes for 30-120 seconds without glancing away!

✒️ How therapeutic for an injured brain to make connections straight between eyes and hand!

✒️ And how healing to finally look down at the paper and laugh!

What Christmas is All About

My nephew's favorite book the day I was visiting was a good choice for December! Three times he pulled "A Charlie Brown Christmas" off his shelves to bring to me, climbing onto my lap and pointing to each character in turn.

I remember when we bought this story on animated video. Through all the years since, one part has hit me with goosebumps, chills, tears, or some sensation of joy. It is when Charlie Brown in despair yells, "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"

And then Linus steps forward

"Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. Lights, please? 

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 

"And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' 

"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'

"That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

Watch a 30 second video of the sketching/painting process accompanied by Linus' quote by clicking HERE.

Picking up a Brush Again

Watercolor has really gone into a slump around here the past few months - as can be seen by what I turn out when picking up a brush again.

I do realize that the high inflammation and pain levels which hit me each autumn play a big part in disconnecting brain from fingertips. Creativity can't be forced when it is hard to simply draw breath or sit normally due to pain. But more closely observing a bit of beauty while watching the flow and mingle of watercolors is still so therapeutic that I want to push through this slump and see what can come of it.

The first Sunday afternoon of December marked the start of this experiment. When a quick attempt at our first amaryllis of the season failed miserably, I turned to a favorite tutorial by Camilla Damsbo to gain inspiration again. 

It forced me to loosen up, speed up, and use more water... which was much-needed in our bone-dry winter home. And while the results are still far from what I envisioned, it brought some joy back to the process.

Then a Monday afternoon walk to the compost pile through the cold, crunching snow gave me a sunset view to try. As subtle as our winter skies can be, it was fun to try a mix of techniques for this little landscape.

The second Sunday I tried adding ink lines to the Damsbo poppies piece (as shown in the tutorial here)...

...before tackling our favorite succulents for a second time. 

Not happy with the results (rough, hard edges and too dark on the lightest values), I went back to knitting my handspun wool for the rest of the afternoon! 

So, though it still takes a strong will to pull out the paints and brushes, knowing I won't find even the so-so results I was used to some months ago, I hope to keep finding ways to make the process more enjoyable again.

Spread Your Sails

"I am seeing more and more that we begin to learn what it is to walk by faith when we learn to spread out all that is against us: all our physical weakness, loss of mental power, spiritual inability - all that is against us inwardly and outwardly - as sails to the wind and expect them to be vehicles for the power of Christ to rest upon us. It is so simple and self-evident - but so long in the learning!"

Lilias Trotter (22 August 1902)

Isabella Lilias Trotter (1853-1928) was poised to be the top artist of her time when she left it all to follow God to the mission field of Algeria. To see samples of her work and read or watch some of her story, visit:

https://liliastrotter.com/

Instagram: @liliastrotterlegacy
https://www.instagram.com/liliastrotterlegacy/

And, yes, we did get sailing once more this summer! Elsa was my "first mate" for a relaxing cruise last week.

Looking Ahead

Have I mentioned that my Auntiehood is growing?! We are anticipating another little gift in December to love and help disciple. While we wait, we pray for a safe time of growth and development.

As soon as I heard about Baby #2, I splashed out a little watercolor sketch in my excitement. While Maren may not look that big until the trees are bare and lakes freezing over, Joseph is certainly looking more and more like the confident explorer leading the way in my sketch.

Photos by Elsa [Reaching to the Skies]

Delphiniums

Pencil and ink were all I could handle for yesterday's Sunday Sketchout, but that completed my page of the amazing Delphiniums from our garden.

The plant was at least 6 feet tall this year before rain broke most of the spikes for us to then enjoy indoors.

I was particularly amazed by the unusual patterns of the leaf veins!

I know many people don't like to get into such tiny details in their nature journals, and that's fine. I don't always either. But I'm not going for quantity at this point in my life.

Rather, on the days where my chronic symptoms are getting too loud, I can find such therapy in looking closely at a bit of God's intricate creation and trying to copy some of what I notice. All the little wrinkles, folds, and subtle but complex colors make me happy and distract my brain from the pain as long as I can focus.

Four-Hundred Fifty-Six Months

Yes, another birthday rolled around.

I lowered my treatment schedule for a couple of days to be able to feel better through the celebrations than last year.

Joseph was just as enthralled with candle-flames this year...

... and much more disappointed when they were blown out.

Since we celebrated at Maren's house, we got to use the special tea-set which was bought on one of her overseas birthdays.

We enjoyed a flower-bed tour with so many plants we don't grow. How many different kinds of hosta would you guess a hosta-lover/horticulturalist has around his little yard in town?!

And I've loved Lady's Slippers long before I came to raise orchids. They remind me of state parks in June.

Our little guy was nearly 19 months that day (437 months younger than I), so it was time for his first watercolor lesson!

He was so into it, and we love having his art join ours on the fridge!

Later, Auntie E got him interested in stickers. They could have engrossed him all night!

After that photo overload, what can I say but...

Out of all the amazing gifts my family gave me for my birthday, the family members themselves are still some of God's best gifts to me!