The other day I read an article about an art collector and I love the heart behind his art collection. Part of his collection is being shown at a community library. The owner of the paintings has amassed the paintings for a reason far different than for it’s monetary value. It goes much deeper than that. Here is a link to the article, and it is well worth reading because it explains what is at heart of the gentleman’s collection. Click here to take a few minutes to read this short article.
Words are not just words laid down on a page to a writer and paint is not just paint to an artist. Paint and words are the mediums used to create the story. And it is much more difficult than many realize.
Color and light is important to interpret what the plein air painter sees before them. A writer makes every attempt to create a vision of color and life for their readers by choosing the right words which helps the reader clearly understand the picture and invest in the story.
When I set out on my daily walk sometimes I do mental gymnastics. Maybe I’ll look at an abandoned house or a stonewall or a field of flowers trying to make up a scene about what I am seeing. What was life like inside the house? What is the history behind a stone wall that has been there for many a decade? What is a skittering squirrel doing while running through a field of flowers all full of activity? It may sound very strange, but a writer is always composing stories.
When I get caught up in the story and haven’t noticed I am walking is when I think I might be onto something.
If you were the writer, what words would you use to create a story around this scene?
Do you ever have those days where you need an encourager to walk the road with you? The other day I found such a person in a very unexpected place. She was up on a roof and completely unaware of the impact she was making.
Here’s what happened. About a week ago, I walked slowly through the streets of a neighborhood, my pace was slower than usual because it was only 7:30am and it was already hot. That day it reached 93 degrees. Most people with common sense would probably not purposefully venture out in it. But, I was determined to get my daily steps in.
As I neared a house, I heard a woman’s voice and I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. Finally, as I grew nearer, I identified what it was. A house was being re-roofed, and the only female of the crew, was singing a spiritual song, it’s rhythm syncopated with the banging of the hammer.
Songs in the workplace have long been part of many culture’s history – from those of the industrial workers making garments, to sea shanties of fisherman, to field workers pulling tobacco for harvest, to those who sang “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.”
As I walked on, I considered the singing worker’s role. Was the woman the spark that helped drive each and every worker? Was she innately called to be an encourager? Were the spirituals she sang deeply ingrained in her from her ancestral history? Her song motivated me to keep moving forward and gave me new perspective on the task I had set out to do in the heat of the morning. Surely it was not as hot for me, as it was up on the roof in the blaring sun. I was able to dip in and out underneath the shade trees lining the street, but it was not to be for her and her working companions.
“Some of the greatest sermons that have ever been preached were preached by the singing of a song.” —Spencer W. Kimball
Nature’s Perfumery at Ladew Topiary Gardens – it’s located in the corridor running between the Great Bowl and the Tivoli Tea House. As I sat on the garden bench in the corridor on Tuesday, a slight breeze carried the beautiful scent right by me where I could well appreciate the lavender’s healing properties of calm, peace and tranquility. What a gift it is that our Creator put such plants on Earth for the benefit of us human beings.
Photos: Corridor of Lavender now July 3, 2024, a then April 2024
Happy Birthday U.S.A!
Every 4th of July my faith in our country is restored when I see all the American flags and banners of red, white and blue and hear the patriotic tunes. It leads me to believe there are many in our country who have the same American spirit of faith our forebearers had when they built this new country.
So, tomorrow on America’s birthday, celebrate the independence we have as a nation and all it stands for. As President Herbert Hoover once said, “Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity.”
On both sides of the aisles and
our patriots serving near and wide.
No matter how we play it is freeing to let go even if it is wild and crazy – especially if it is wild and crazy! That means one truly has let go of inhibitions.
Even though I am now a grandmother of two, wrinkled, scared and all, I’m still plenty agile enough to climb a tree and haven’t lost a playful spirit. There is plenty of life left in me and I am so grateful for that.
What caused me to climb a tree? I took one of my most loyal reader’s suggestions after she read my recent post about my summer’s writers nest and how it may inspire me to one day write something profound. She said “You may even start climbing that tree to go out on a limb!” And so I did and I felt free as a bird. We are all at liberty to create any kind of fun we want for ourselves.
‘It is a happy talent to know how to play.’ – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The Golden Spiral Tree” pictured at the top of this post is by artist Gustav Klimt (1862 -1918)
Literary and visual artists can be great companions and both involve forms of self-expression. 
Both types of artists are essentially all about the story, yet the methodology is different in how it is relayed to the audience. When one looks at visual art, words are used to describe it. When one reads a narrative, visual images come to mind, such as what a character, place, or scene looks like. The co-mingling is there. The process of how the brain assimilates the two is understood by a few. It is so complex and how words and images are interpreted is different for each of us.
The visible and invisible worlds are inexplicably intertwined…once you’ve opened your mind to this, you can dance between them. – Alberto Vilaldo
Today’s post is not quite as short as a tweet, but its about a sweet little thing that I am very grateful for!
I have a cool new summertime writing space, which gives me a bird’s eye view and I couldn’t be more pleased with it. So, how I view life and the nature of people who exist in it is coming to you from a new vantage point. One day I might even be led by the spirit to go out on a limb and write about something existentially profound.
It is a good day to settle in and ponder what that even means!
I want to enter into the world of L.M. Montgomery. She’s an author whose home and whole universe existed on Prince Edward Island in Canada, one of the places on my life’s “want to see list.” In her Green Gables books, Lucy Maude Montgomery’s imagined characters and her descriptions of an idyllic, bucolic real place opens up a view of tranquility and serenity not found in many places today. It is brought to her readers through her apt, uncomplicated writing. I like her penchant for simplicity and wholesomeness found in life and nature. Fans of L.M. Montgomery return to her book series time and time again for escape.
Lucy Maude Montgomery mentions the good company she finds among her dreams and her visions which as a writer I can relate to through penning my cozy Neighbor to Neighbor fictional series which includes Sew the Heart and Heart of Community. Someday I’d like to bring book #3 to my readers but, my visions for my self-created community within those books keeps changing and as a writer I am mindful of the fact that the “words we use, shapes the culture we create.”
It’s not what the world holds for you. It’s what you bring to it. ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery
Happy 150th Birthday, Lucy Maude Montgomery! You left the world a better place for your contributions to the literary world.
I am feeling most appreciative for time spent writing a memoir for an inspirational woman. As her memoirist, it was my duty to get at the heart of her life story and I hope I have adequately done so. There is a certain level of trust which goes along with this honor and privilege.
Yesterday one proof copy of the book arrived on my doorstep, which will give me one last chance to go over it before it goes to print. Hopefully, between myself and the editor, we have found all the oops between the dots and the dashes.
My client’s request for privacy is important to both of us, so the publication will not be sold in the market place, but, I’d like to give you a little insight into her story. So, I will share the summary which appears on the back cover.
My takeaway from her narrative is exactly as John Dewey stated it, “…education is life itself.” I gained insight into how very important it is to keep learning new things and growing throughout one’s lifetime.
All Things Fulfilling 