Quilting

Anne asked if I had any photos of finished quilting pieces I had made, so I will put up a few that i have presently out in my home. Most have been given away as gifts and the others are packed away. Maui is on my mind these days so the stained glass window in the wedding chapel at the Grand Wailea is now back on my to-do list. Actually, I have already cut the template and pieces for some of the figures and flowers if you can believe it! That's just about how hard it is to find a chunk of time to dedicate to one sitting. So, thanks for being the impetus to kick start me again.

A little history: I began quilting as a way to be 'creative' while at home when my kids were very small. After they were asleep, I would work through most of the night and cherished this time for its quiet and peacefulness. I have been quilting for over 20 years. I made the decision of being a stay at home mom while my children were young, but it proved a difficult transition for me from being in a working, professional environment. Loved spending time with my children and sharing moments in their growth, but missed the autonomy and comraderie qualities of work. To compound this sense of isolation, we were one of the first houses in a newly built development in a fairly new community. I have always done artistic things so when my sister first showed me the Eleanor Burns way of 'quilting in a day', it was therapeutic. I moved to my style of a more contemporary quilting method. So these may not be the quilts you are familiar with. Thanks for allowing me to share some with you.

PhotoHunt; Dark

This is a stained glass window in the wedding chapel at the Grand Wailea in Maui. With the sun shining off the water, the window's colors are really illuminated brightly. I have been wanting for three years now to quilt some of the figures from these windows. Now to find the time......

Cat Stevens

Over on the 'social network', Barb posted this link, www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcgCdn8I8kU&NR=1, in our conversation about Cat Stevens. His music caught my soul in the 70's and I believe is still current today. He has surely led a rich, albeit provocative life to some people. His is truly an example of a life in flux which brought fulfillment, maybe contentment, in many layers.

His music is timeless; his lyrics heartwarming. It's too hard to pick one song that is my favorite. Think a revival today of his music would be meaningful?

PhotoHunt: Orange

I had a hard time deciding on which 'orange' photo to use. The ballooning one is from Sedona quite a few years ago but I just found my set of Sedona digitals. Yeah, I thought I lost them.
The other photo is from my sister's house in CT. I can sit on her deck for hours and watch the changing skies and river.

Baptistry of San Giovanni

Everyone is probably more familiar with the bronze gates (Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise) of the Baptistry, part of the triumvirate of the Duomo, belltower and Baptistry. My first trip to Florence was specifically to see the Gates of Paradise door. My second trip to Florence was to visit the leather shops and San Croce. On this trip, I was determined to visit the inside of the Baptistry.

Just prior to our departure, Ty and I found time to spend our ‘arriverderci’ walk around Florence. I spotted the side door to the Baptistry open with people entering it. It was daily Mass! So, Ty and I attended what was another one of our special moments of our trip. Not only was it an intimate setting, a ‘chicken skin’ moment to hear a Mass in Italian, but I couldn’t refrain from stealing peeks at the ceiling which glistened with gold mosaics in Byzantine fashion. The technique used here is similar to the mosaics found in Ravenna and Venice of ungrouted glass and gold smalti (which catch the light in different ways from different angles).
All the mosaics have a gilded background and were made between 1266 and the beginning of the 14th century by Byzantine artists with the collaboration of vigorous Tuscans like Cimabue, Giotto’s master – much earlier than the outside doors! Work began on the arch over the altar in 1225 and continued to cover the entire roof vault during the next hundred years or so. The mosaics show biblical scenes, arranged in six concentric rings centered on the roof dome. The first ring is decorative, the second shows Christ surrounded by angels. The outer rings have images from the Old and New Testaments.
The Baptistery floor is of inlaid marble, in red, green, black and white, in a wide variety of patterns. Also referred to as pietre dure, this incorporates thin sections of stone and semi-precious materials into pictures which are as detailed as paintings. This floor reminded us of the floor in the Cathedral of Siena.

The haunting wooden visage of "Magdalene" sculptured by Donatello and was originally exhibited in the Baptistery but it now housed in the Museo dell´Opera del Duomo.

Brancacci Chapel

The Church of Santa Maria del Carmine houses the frescoes of the Brancacci Chapel, built prior to 1386. The frescoes were begun in 1424, reworked, and restored. Brancacci met with some disapproval for allowing portrayals of some contemptuous people in the frescoes. Over time so frescoes were covered but later restored. The Chapel was not thoroughly completed until the 18th or 19th century.
Sometimes called the “Sistine Chapel of the early Renaissance”, Felice Brancacci, the patron, commissioned Panicale to paint his chapel. Panicale was assisted by Masolino and Masaccio but the frescoes were later completed by Lippi. The chapel is a plethora of vibrant frescoes. Twelve scenes beginning with The Original Sin and up to the Life of Saint Peter cover the walls and the dome of the Corsini Chapel is covered with frescoes by Giordano.
Masaccio was considered the first painter of his day to use scientific perspective, which he learned from his friend, the sculptor, Brunelleschi. Masolino and Masaccio used their paint in an unprecedented manner which evoked vivid energy and emotional realism that until that time had not been seen. Their use of three dimensionality was a trendsetter in Renaissance art. Flilppino Lippi, whose work is also in Santa Maria Novella and Lorenzo de Medici's villa at Spedaletto, is full of beautiful detail
There is a bit of controversy over which painter actually painted each fresco. Some were seemingly started by one but completed by another, making it difficult to attribute correctly the masterpiece to the appropriate master.
All the 14th century artists were greatly influenced by these scenes and used this cappella as a classroom to hone their skills. One such artist was Michelangelo, a regular to the Brancacci Chapel. It was here that he sharpened his skill by copying Masaccio’s works. It was also here that Michelangelo was assaulted by a rival sculptor who didn’t quite agree with Michelangelo’s critique of his work.
We only saw the chapel but my planning also mentioned a convent nearby which is also rich with masterpieces.

PhotoHunt; Miniature

The glass ball shows the house in miniature. Couldn't quite figure out how to get myself out of the picture and still get the house in it!