Another Weird Quote From My Brain

This morning, as I was on the edge of waking up, I heard two dream people (at least I hope they were dream people!) having the following conversation: "Remember what our metaphysical parents said, "Fire Aces Art every time." (And, yes, those caps were clearly in that sentence.) Now I do not know what a metaphysical parent is, but I can think of a lot of directions that remark about Fire and Art could go.

 

Fire could be considered as a source of light and heat, the first source of control over those factors that humans had. Without fire, heat and light had to come from the sun, moon, and stars. Although humans have always had that inborn creative urge to make things of beauty, or just to make art as a way to record the facts of their lives and history, light and heat are essential for basic survival. To be able to control or create a source of heat and light whenever and wherever it is wanted or needed, does ace art.

 

The other, vastly different, interpretation of that statement could be that of fire as the great destroyer. Fire burns where there is fuel. It does not matter whether that fuel is a carefully constructed campfire, a forest, dry prairie grass, a house, or a piece of priceless art. It is all just fuel for the flames, and Fire Aces Art.

 

From there one could philosophize about the impermanent nature of the works of man. Many sermons have been preached about this. Jesus said in

Matthew 6:19-20New American Standard Bible (NASB):

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal...."

In the treacherous world of today's Middle East, Muslim groups bent on world domination have blown up (another form of fire) ancient archaeological  artistic treasures, because they picture the "gods" once worshipped in the far distant past. These are no longer objects of worship, but elements of history. This wanton destruction makes me sad and angry. But, once again, Fire Aces Art.

The practical uses of fire actually help promote art. I think about those caves where people long ago left drawings of animals and prints of their own hands. These caves are so deep underground that they have no natural light at all. In my imagination, I see some people as torch bearers who make it possible for the artists to decorate these lightless rooms. These artistic remains are absolutely priceless links to our ancient ancestors. Without fire, they could not have been created in the pitch black of the caves. Without the deep caves, these art works would not have survived the millennia.

In today's world, good lighting of many types is priceless to artists. And painting light and shadow is one of the great artistic talents.

Fire may ace art. Fire, in all its many forms, can aid art. I would hate to live in a world or society that lacked either of these.

Fire a necessity for quality of life. Art a necessity for quality of life. I want both.

I snapped photos of some of the art on my cave walls:

This is a painting by my sister Grace Baker.

 

These pictures are from my granddaughter, Megan, starting about age six. She still draws constantly, and I need to talk her into giving me a new, frame-worthy work.

These paintings were all done by my mother-in-law, Emma Russell Wales. Sorry that it is not a very good photo.

 

This watercolor is by my brother-in-law, Lyle Stewart. I did not notice until I had the photo on the computer that I created an inset reflection of myself taking the picture. I am to lazy to redo the photo!
 

 

 

 

 

The Gift

Sunday evening my granddaughter Megan was working away in my office for quite a long time. I didn't know what she was working on.

Finally she emerged, handed me a sheet of paper, and said, "You can keep this."

Now, Megan loves to draw. If she is watching TV, listening to the book we are reading aloud, sitting in church, or. . .well, you get the idea. She will have pencil and paper and be drawing. Her favorite subjects seem to be animals--both real and imaginary, with or without appropriate backgrounds--but she also likes to draw anime style "people." Her favorite medium is pencil, and she is a master shader.

I often admire something she has drawn, but she rarely let's me keep anything. I think that to her eye the drawings don't perfectly match up to her inner vision and so she won't let anyone have them.

I was very pleased to see that the paper she handed me Sunday evening was a drawing she did for me. It is also different than her usual style work. I do love flowers, and a flower is what she had drawn. This one I'll frame!

Here it is.

By Megan Rose, July 8, 2013.

(It's hard to get an exact color match, or to show the real delicacy of the shading, on the computer. The green isn't quite right, but it's as close as I can get it.)

Father's Day

Yesterday was a beautiful Father's Day. The sky was clear, the temperatures were warm, and everything was green and growing. At church it was Darryl Lynde’s last Sunday as the Interim Pastor and, as usual, his sermon was touching, apropos, humorous, and emotional. He expressed some of the "Dad guilt" he felt, wishing he'd been a more perfect father. I think every parent feels that way. Looking back we see the things we could have done better, but, the truth is, most of did the best we could with what we knew and what we were at the time. I know Jerry always thought he should have done better--his kids thought he was a wonderful dad. They adored him, looked up to him, respected him, and had fun teasing him. 

What better gift for Dad than a good hug!

Megan's gift to her Dad. She draws a lot
of dragons, which in her fantasy realm are
companions to humans. This one is shown with
reins for its rider's convenience.

Chad is the dad in our little family circle these days. He and his daughter, Megan, are close and he is teaching her a lot of practical things. He is also very creative. Megan is constantly drawing and thinking up projects to make; there is creativity in both her parents. I wish I had taken a photo of a gift Chad just finished for a friend. He took a collection of tools, war medals, buttons, photos, and other items from a mementos box of her father's, and made a shadow box of these things that illustrated her father's life. It is way cool!

For Chad's Father's Day it didn’t really seem quite fair, but he bought Father’s Day dinner—he was in the mood for Kentucky Fried Chicken and With It. So, nobody had to cook and we had a relaxed meal. 

Later in the afternoon Megan made a red velvet cake topped with slices of strawberries from her own plants, which we enjoyed. (Anne Marie made a gluten-free chocolate cake for herself, so she wasn’t left out.) There were plenty of leftovers, so no one cooked for supper either!