Katy Rose Collection: Art, Words
Keepsake Travel Journals for Children
I love traveling with my family! To help remember adventures, I always try to squeeze in some journaling and encourage the kids to as well. (Some are more excited about this than others.) My favorite possessions from childhood are probably my travel journals!
On a recent trip, I brought along a mini photo printer that prints straight from your phone. Each person could pick out a photo they loved at the end of the day and tape it in their journal with a few notes. Such a wonderful little keepsake from the trip.
Watch the video for a little more information!
When I Peeked Into A Writer's Window
It was a bright morning in Maine when we snuck around the side of the old house, peeking in windows. We hadn’t planned to stop at Harriet Beecher Stowe’s home but a historic marker sign told us to. I didn’t know much about the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin except that she did something revolutionary with her words when she saw repulsive things happening in America. It’s funny how I tend to picture legendary people – somehow endowed with more insight into how things really work, with more hours in a day, and less real life to tend to.
But through the old window was a different picture. The sun streamed onto the wood floors where Harriet’s shadow had once been instead of ours. A displayed letter to her sister read, “Since I began this note I have been called off at least a dozen times – once for the fish-man, to buy a codfish – once to see a man who had brought me some baskets of apples – once to see a book man…then to nurse the baby – then into the kitchen to make chowder for dinner and now I am at it again for nothing but deadly determination enables me to ever write – it is rowing against wind and tide.”
The same woman who had been credited with the outbreak of the Civil War due to her book’s exposure of slavery, also nursed the baby, bought groceries, made dinner, and wrote to Sister.
When she was a young teenager, there was a pivotal Sunday when the words of the pastor, who was also her father, struck her. “As soon as father came home and was seated in his study, I went up to him and fell in his arms, saying, ‘Father, I have given myself to Jesus, and He has taken me.’ I shall never forget the expression on his face as he looked down into my earnest childish eyes…’Is that so?’ he said, holding me silent to his heart as I felt the hot tears fall on my head.”
She knew the joys, as well as the excruciating pain of parenthood. She raised seven children of her own, witnessing the death of four due to various tragedies and illnesses. She suffered and cried out to God and kept on writing, a line here and a page there. By the end of her life, there were thirty books and countless articles, poems, and hymns.
When Harriet rose at 4:30 in the morning she sat in the silence, watching the darkness fall away as the sun rose. She listened to birds begin to sing and she read scripture. This hymn was inspired one day by Psalm 139:17-18.
Still, still with Thee, when purple morning breaketh,
When the bird waketh, and the shadows flee;
Fairer than morning, lovelier than daylight,
Dawns the sweet consciousness, I am with Thee.
Now, I'm far from Maine. I've read more about Harriet's successes and struggles. I hummed her words this morning and thought about how I use my precious minutes and days until I reach Glory on this pockmarked road. As she says in the last line of her hymn:
So shall it be at last in that bright morning
When the soul waketh and life’s shadows flee
O in that hour, fairer than daylight dawning,
Shall rise the glorious thought, I am with Thee.
Sources: Then Sings My Soul by Robert J. Morgan
Painting in France & at Home
Impressionism
Bonjour! The way I often describe this style of painting to my children or the ladies in my art class is this:
Before the invention of the camera, it was important for paintings to be much more realistic, almost like record-keeping. Painstaking detail was used with great technical skill. With the invention of the camera, artists began branching out a bit into new ways of expression. This was, of course, met with much opposition at first and the art of people like Claude Monet was considered bad and unappealing. But Monet liked what he created and kept at it, basically inventing a style that was not realistic, but gave the “impression” of the scene he wanted to convey. His style was loose and free, and not very realistic.
Early on, I created much more realistic art, but I’ve grown over the years to really prefer Impressionism. It’s unique to the artist, stylized, and forgiving.
These are the reasons I love to create this style with my children, and with the women who are new to art in my class.
While it’s a bit more “free” than realism, it still works within boundaries, with attention to perspective, light, color, and contrast.
Monet painting from the streets of Honfleur
Honfleur, France
My husband and I traveled last fall with our friends to this dream-like coastal village of Honfleur, where Monet came to do much of his painting, along with many other Impressionism painters.
From the Normandy tourism website:
“Honfleur’s beauty has long attracted artists, with works of art to be found in the town’s many museums and galleries. Honfleur takes particular pride in its Impressionist roots – Claude Monet’s mentor Eugène Boudin was born in the town, and Monet and his contemporaries would often set up their easels at the Ferme Saint-Siméon on the hill above Honfleur, to capture the beautiful light of the Seine estuary.”
What an idyllic place.
Wouldn’t it be amazing to take an outdoor painting class in this spot with so much art history?
I’ll leave here a few words I often pray before creating:
Lord, may I shine your light,
point to your peace,
And declare your goodness in all I create today.
If art communicates, may mine communicate your love.
Lord, may I not envy another's gifts,
or accomplishments,
or methods.
Keep my eyes and heart focused on what you have called me to do.
And ultimately, may my work reflect less of me and more of you.
