Art! - Friday Five

Over at RevGals, Pat has posted a great reflection on the importance of art, and concludes with these questions:

1. Do you have a favorite piece of art in your home? Was it made by you or someone you love? Was it a gift or something you decided to purchase?

It would be difficult to choose a favorite, but for today I'll go with the prints we purchased on Bainbridge Island last summer.  The artist is Brett Varney, and the three pieces said Spring, Summer, and Fall to me.  Last winter we finally got rid of our 30-year-old wallpaper with the tiny country print and painted the walls to create a more contemporary backdrop for art and family photos.  These paintings clearly were meant for the space above our fireplace.  (I'm really enjoying this week's flowers, too, so I'm posting two pictures.)

2. What do you think of the the art in your place of worship? Does it enhance the worship experience? Would you add to it, take away from it, or otherwise change it?

One of our congregants and her daughter make absolutely gorgeous dried flower wreaths for the walls and arrangements for the chancel; they represent our rural area and natural setting beautifully.  We are in the process of repairing and cleaning our stained glass windows, so for several weeks one side or the other has been removed, leaving us with clear glass. Although I am a great aficionado of stained glass, I've enjoyed the summer and now autumn light streaming into the sanctuary and  the opportunity to see the space in a different way.  

I would love to see us house some small exhibits of local artists.  One of many possibilities tumbling around in my head.  The Old Stone Church, where I did my seminary internship, has an art gallery in which some fabulous exhibits have found temporary homes.

3. What public art have you loved-- or hated?

I love the light shows on the cathedral and in the city of Chartres during the summer.  Some people hate them, but I think it's a lot of fun to wander the city late at night looking for the scenes lighting up ancient buildings, and, as with our own sanctuary, I enjoy seeing things differently; in the case of Chartres, the stone of the cathedral in color.

4. What piece of art (famous, infamous, personal, or very, very well known masterpiece) speaks to your soul?

This one of Mary Cassatt's: me with any one of my small blonde people, on hundreds of mornings of my life:

5. When is the last time you created something beautiful, just for you?

Just for me?  I'm realizing that it's been a loooong time.   But when I was making a silent retreat summer before last, I destroyed the art room in the process of making a collage based on the Suffering Servant passages.   In terms of skill, we're talking first grade.  But I do love that collage.

Great Friday Five, Pat - thank you!