Come and See

Leonardo da Vinci's Philip in The Last Supper
by Makoto Fujimura

Yes, I had seen reproductions of Leonardo's The Last Supper. But I never had stood under it. So I came to Milan, Italy to stand-under a painting.

"If you want to 'understand' something," said my friend Bruce Herman, "you have to be willing to 'stand under' it." Bruce, an art professor at Gordon College, went on to cite C.S. Lewis' Experiment in Criticism:

We sit down before the picture in order to have something done to us, not that we may do things with it. The first demand any work of art makes upon us is surrender. Look. Listen. Receive. Get yourself out of the way.

Why is it important to experience a work of art firsthand? If we base our conclusions merely on what an 'expert' has said, or on our own limited assumptions, we will never be able to 'surrender' to the work and discover for ourselves what it has to say.

Here's what I discovered standing under The Last Supper: the most important visual catalyst for the painting is not the effeminate John, nor Judas, nor even Jesus himself. The key figure in kick-starting the visual movement of the painting is Philip."

Books and Culture, November/December 2006
(FYI: The new issue is not yet linked.)

If you are interested in reading more about Fujimura, his website can be found here.

The entire article can be found at Mr. Fujimura's blog here.

In celebration of the nap

The modern world killed off the nap: A tribute to the soft pleasures of dozing, backed up by hard science
by Kurt Kleiner

"To be an enthusiastic napper in 21st-century North America is to be out of step with your time and place. In most of the industrialized world, a nap is seen as a sign of weakness, either physical or moral. The very young and the very old nap. Sick people nap.

Bums nap. Healthy, productive adults do not nap.

We are a culture that celebrates action, doing, achieving, an attitude that leads to a disdain for sleep in general. We stay up late and get up early. We pull all-nighters. We'll sleep when we're dead, and in the meantime there's always a Starbucks on the corner.

It's a misguided attitude. A good nap is one of life's great pleasures, and the ability to nap is the sign of a well-balanced life. When we nap we snatch back control of our day from a mechanized, clock-driven society."

Toronto Star, 21 October 2006

Accidental treasure

It was a quick minute stop at the library book sale table. I make a habit of scanning the piles for treasures before I head to the racks inside, and this week my habit paid off. I had no time to spare, but I saw a beautiful burgundy leather binding with the name Shakespeare on it. A quick check of the wallet confirmed that I had two dollar bills, so I stuffed them in the cash box and moved through my library list of to-dos.

Days later, I finally cleaned out my library bag and found this new friend waiting for me:

Its binding is a bit fragile, but the writing has been a pleasure. From his thoughts on Lear:

"We wish that we could pass this play over, and say nothing about it. All that we can say must fall far short of the subject; or even of what we ourselves conceive of it. To attempt to give a description of the play itself or of its effect upon the mind, is mere impertinence: yet we must say something. It is then the best of all Shakespear's plays, for it is the one in which he is most earnest. He was here fairly caught in the web of his own imagination. The passion which he has taken as his subject is that which strikes its root deepest into the human heart; of which the bond is the hardest to be unloosed; and the cancelling and tearing to pieces of which gives the greatest revulsion to the frame. This depth of nature, this force of passion, this tug and war of the elements of our being, this firm faith in filial piety, and the giddy anarchy and whirling tumult of the thoughts at finding this prop failing it, the contrast between the fixed, immoveable basis of natural affection, and the rapid, irregular starts of imagination, suddenly wrenched from all its accustomed holds and resting-places in the soul, this is what Shakespear has given, and what nobody else but he could give."

It was not a treasure I sought; I am happy, nonetheless, to have found it.

My world is filled with leaves

A cat's view of the driveway

Birthday photo session in the woods

"I caught a falling leaf, Mom!"

St. Crispian's Day

October 25th, 1415: the Battle of Agincourt.

October 25th, 2006: what better day than today to watch

Branagh's Henry V

and to calligraphy in one's journal these words:




What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.

(the entire speech can be found: here.)


Non Nobis Domine Non Nobis Sed Nomini Tuo Da Gloriam

(Not To Us, O Lord, Not To Us, But To Your Name Give Glory)

William Utermohlen: Self-Portraits 1967 - 2000

Self-Portraits Chronicle a Descent Into Alzheimer’s

When he learned in 1995 that he had Alzheimer’s disease, William Utermohlen, an American artist in London, responded in characteristic fashion.

“From that moment on, he began to try to understand it by painting himself,” said his wife, Patricia Utermohlen, a professor of art history.

Mr. Utermohlen’s self-portraits are being exhibited through Friday at the New York Academy of Medicine in Manhattan, by the Alzheimer’s Association.

The paintings starkly reveal the artist’s descent into dementia, as his world began to tilt, perspectives flattened and details melted away.

HT: The Blogless Patty in WA

John Adams

"I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study paintings, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain."

~John Adams

HT: Seasonal Soundings

Autumn Reading Challenge Update

Done

The Small Rain by Madeleine L'’Engle
There was a lot about Small Rain that said "first novel" to me, but she is a favorite author, and I did enjoy it.

The Letters of John and Abigail Adams
I love letters of favorite authors and historical characters. This particular volume reminded me that our founding fathers sacrificed much of their own personal comforts for the sake of our new nation.

King Lear by Shakespeare

Wow. I had never read Lear before, and it is incredibly powerful. I will still choose Hamlet as my favorite Shakespeare tragedy, but this is great.

I have seen the Ian Holm Lear; any other movie version recommendations?

Three new mysteries:
A Long Shadow: An Insprector Ian Rutledge Mystery by Charles Todd

The Dark Assassin (William Monk novel) by Anne Perry

Not actually new, but a favorite to re-read: Original Sin by P.D. James

In the midst of

Jane Austen by Elizabeth Jenkins

Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer

Three Short Novels by Wendell Berry

Standing by Words: Essays by Wendell Berry

Still to come

Gilead
by Marilynne Robinson

Christian Reflections by C.S. Lewis

The Whimsical Christian by Dorothy Sayers

My reading lists are ever-expanding, so of course I have a couple of additions to make. My purpose in joining these reading challenges is to keep myself focused on certain reading I have been wanting to accomplish for a long time. Both summer and autumn have helped that focus immensely. As a sort of reward for my focus I expand the list. And, you ask, what "must reads" have I added to the pile?

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield The cover alone was irresistible, as was this M-mv recommendation: If you indulge in one contemporary book this year, let it be this "love letter to reading." In process. Not a book you can comment on mid-stream.

The 36-hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for Persons with Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementing Illnesses, and Memory Loss in Later Life by Mace and Rabins

I studied gerontology in college, but I have been deep in the land of young people ever since (I graduated seven months pregnant with my first child.) I now have dear friends whose parents have Alzheimer Disease, and I have felt the nudge to get back to reading and thinking about these issues. The older baby boomers already qualify for AARP discounts, so the gerontological issues in our country are getting ready to explode.

I Feel the Winds of God Today

I feel the winds of God today; today my sail I lift,
Though heavy, oft with drenching spray, and torn with many a rift;
If hope but light the water’s crest, and Christ my bark will use,
I’ll seek the seas at His behest, and brave another cruise.

It is the wind of God that dries my vain regretful tears,
Until with braver thoughts shall rise the purer, brighter years;
If cast on shores of selfish ease or pleasure I should be;
Lord, let me feel Thy freshening breeze, and I’ll put back to sea.

If ever I forget Thy love and how that love was shown,
Lift high the blood red flag above; it bears Thy Name alone.
Great Pilot of my onward way, Thou wilt not let me drift;
I feel the winds of God today, today my sail I lift.


Notes from Cyberhymnal:
Words: Jess­ie Ad­ams, 1906.
Music: Kings­fold, Eng­lish mel­o­dy; ar­ranged by Ralph Vaugh­an Will­iams, 1906

HT: Brandywine Books, with congratulations on the safe delivery of a dear baby girl.

The best autumn cookie yet

Chinese Five-Spice Oatmeal Cookies
From Sunset

Prep and cook time: About 1 hour. Notes: To toast almonds, place in a baking pan and bake in a 350° oven, shaking often, until golden under skins, about 15 minutes. When cool, whirl in a blender until coarsely ground. Store the cookies airtight for up to 2 days.

1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons Chinese five spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 cup coarsely ground toasted almonds (see notes)

1. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

2. In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, five spice, cinnamon, and salt. Stir or beat into butter mixture until well incorporated. Stir in oats and almonds.

3. Drop dough in 1 1/2-tablespoon portions, 1 1/2 inches apart, onto buttered 12- by 15-inch baking sheets.

4. Bake cookies in a 350° oven until golden, 12 to 15 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking.

5. With a wide spatula, transfer cookies to racks to cool. If hot cookies start to break, slide a thin spatula under them to release; let stand on pan to firm up, 2 to 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Note: Nutritional analysis is per cookie.

Yield: Makes about 45 cookies

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 119(44% from fat); FAT 5.8g (sat 2.8g); PROTEIN 1.8g; CHOLESTEROL 21mg; SODIUM 85mg; FIBER 0.7g; CARBOHYDRATE 15g

From a favorite magazine and my mother's former employer: Sunset Magazine. Especially good when working upstairs and the fragrance slowly makes its way into your room, swirling its magic around and around. Just one, with a hot cuppa, is perfect.

The current theme: vision

From one corner of my universe I am learning these terms:

Hyperopia (farsightedness) Understood, as that is my reason for wearing glasses.

The rest is foreign turf for me (us):

Ocular Motility (eye tracking)
Accomodation (focusing)
Fusion (eye teaming) -- subcategories Convergence Insufficiency and Divergence Insufficiency (which mean an inadequate amount of, you guessed it, convergence and divergence, respectively.)
No understanding on those three at this point, but we're getting there.

Very cool glasses arrived for the patient last week; tomorrow he begins Vision Therapy (while the support staff hangs out at the cafe across the parking lot.) Things are looking up for a very weary pair of Great Books reading eyes.

From the other corner of my universe, I am learning these terms:

Macular degeneration (dry in the left eye - potentially bad news; wet (as in a pool of blood blocking vision) in the right eye -- really bad news)

Gerontology tip: If your mother gets hit with the news that she has macular degeneration and she loves to read, sew, people watch, etc. be prepared for rare tears in those struggling eyes. And, for the record, the shot in the eye hurts. Of course. On the bright side: this doctor was one of the kindest and gentlest doctors I have ever met.

As we walked out of the doctor's office, Mom was holding on to my arm. My strongly independent, "I can do it myself" mother was gripping my arm and needing help up the stairs. I felt a deep sadness creep over me, settling in for an afternoon visit. As we climbed, the bright yellows and oranges and reds of the falling maple leaves caught my attention. I could see every vein in their fall outfits, I could see the subtle differences in the colors, I could identify strange creatures in the puffy clouds overhead.

Can you understand why seeing is suddenly very important to me? I want to watch, see, look, gaze, and stare. I want to celebrate colors, memorize the look in a child's eye that means contentment or disappointment or fear or pleasure. I want to count the gray hairs in my husband's beard and watch the candle light flicker as we read Black Fox of Lorne. I don't want to forget any of it, just in case...

And I long to calm my mother's fears and reassure her that everything will be okay. But I can't. And that is very, very difficult.

Art recommendations

Fine Art Studio: Drawing by Jim Bradick

From Amazon: With a 6-inch artist's mannequin that can fully pose, textured drawing paper, portable sketchpad, 5 specialized pencils, smudging and erasing tools, and pencil sharpener, this unique art kit is designed to help novice and seasoned artists alike.

Fine Art Studio: Sculpting by Kenneth Greg Watson

From Amazon: This handsome book-and-kit combo contains everything needed to get started: four blocks of modeling clay, six plastic cogs, nine armature wires, two shaping tools, a modeling poster, and a 40-page book of instructions.

The unexpected hiatus

Sorry about that, dear and faithful readers. I put my nose to the grindstone, worked hard each day, looked up and two weeks had passed since I last posted here at A Circle of Quiet. It wasn't planned, it wasn't something I felt I needed, it just happened. In the name of sleeping and educating, I have been unable to sit long enough to finish a post.

Not to say I haven't been writing. I have a string of posts queued up like a line of airplanes on the runway on a foggy day. Rather than cancel those "flights", I will just finish them as I can, and I will post them with their original dates so that I can continue to make note of life's lessons in a chronological sequence. Look for miscellaneous musings as they appear below in the next couple of days.

And also: thanks for missing me. It's nice to know I am appreciated.

Two gifts

In the last week, I have received two unexpected and much appreciated gifts.

First, this mug came in the mail. No note, but a familiar return address. I laughed so hard when I pulled it out of the box, and it has become my favorite mug. Added benefit: it does not blend in with any of my decor, so I can find it quite easily. (I leave mugs all.over.my.house. It's genetic.)


Instant Human: Just add coffee

Then I received this poster from a dear friend (scroll down the page and click on A Bit of Heaven.) "I saw it and I thought of you," she said. Wow. I can smell the water, I can feel the book in my hand and the birks on my feet, I can even feel the wood slats from the chair on my back. I really love the tranquility of this picture, and I am honored that someone thought of me when they found it.

I've read a little bit about love languages over the years of marriage and parenting; my joke is that my love language is "Dump Run." When the van leaves, filled with junk from the property, my love cup overfloweth. But the joy these unexpected gems have brought makes me think that gifts speak love to me loud and clear. Thanks, ladies.

Inspired

I've written about my love of art journaling before (here). Recently, though, we've become re-inspired. We heard a speech on the benefit of nature journaling at our classical home school group, and that was all we needed to pull out the journals and supplies, collect some items, and get drawing. Leaves, acorns, seed pods, sticks, birds, or fences can all bring pleasure to the artist's eye and beauty to the page of the journal.

Pictures from our endeavors:


My daughter's subject


Voila


My spot


My personal art challenge right now is to learn some fast sketching techniques. The biggest reason I don't always draw is that it becomes an unmanageable time commitment. With some fast sketching under my belt, I will be able to catch a scene or a portrait quickly. I really like the look of accomplished quick sketching, but I am not very happy with the look of mine...yet.

A welcome guest

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You, too? Thought I was the only one."

C.S. Lewis

One of the disadvantages of doing coursework through online tutorials is that you get to know people who live far away and you don't get a chance to meet in person. Through a visit to the beloved tutor's home last summer, our daughter was able to meet several of her classmates and make real friendships. And now we have all had the added bonus of a six-day visit from one of these dear girls. There were the big events: a labor-intensive tea party, a visit to a local tea house, and an autumnal ball complete with other online classmates and decorated with Christmas lights across the back patio, thanks to death-defying placement by a younger brother. They also had quiet moments of reading aloud, practicing piano, translating this language and that, and picking lavender. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the quiet sound of girls' voices making their way to my room. It was like having another dear daughter.

Some pictures from our fun:


Reading time (The Hawk and the Dove, of course)




The backyard ball



"Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can
meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes,
is certain for those who are friends."
- Richard Bach

God-speed, dear girl.

A little of this and a little of that

Semicolon has a great list of writing contests for adults and children.


I couldn't attend the Celebration of Knowledge conference put on by CiRCE, but the set of CDs just arrived in the mail. They will be my fair companions in the van, on the treadmill and during dinner prep.


Two new games at our house. We recommend them highly:



The Settlers of Catan



Blokus

(I think I owe Mrs. M-mv another thanks for this recommendation. Am I right?)

And, finally, from my Autumn Reading Challenge list:


Standing by Words: Essays by Wendell Berry

"Two epidemic illnesses of our time - upon both of which virtual industries of cures have been founded - are the disintegration of communities and the disintegration of persons. That these two are related (that private loneliness, for instance, will necessarily accompany public confusion) is clear enough. And I take for granted that most peole have explored in themselves and their surroundings some of the intricacies of the practical causes and effects; most of us, for example, have understood that the results are usually bad when people act in social or moral isolation, and also when, because of such isolation, they fail to act.

What seems not so well understood, because not so much examined, is the relation betweeen these disintegrations and the disintegration of language. My impression is that we have seen, for perhaps a hundred and fifty years, a gradual increase in language that is either meaningless or destructive of meaning. And I believe that this increasing unreliability of language parallels the increasing disintegration, over the same period, of persons and communities."

Carnival of Beauty

This week's Carnival of Beauty theme is the beauty of autumn, and it can be found at The Autumn Rain. How appropriate!

Thanks for the honorary link, my honorary niece.

Shakespeare and M-mv

For an excellent post on Shakespeare (recommendations for listening and viewing, an excellent bibliography and plenty more) see this post at Mental Multivitamin.

My husband and I have been going to Shakespeare together since our honeymoon, but M-mv's posts on Shakespeare have been the best thing to help me learn and pass on a love of Shakespeare's works to my children.

Autumn