Bullet Point Blessings for February 14, 2020

Artists are different. 

Artists are in a perpetual search for inspiration... for beauty, joy, light, magic. 

Artists are inventive, expressive, adventurous, and intuitive with an overwhelming desire to share their world. 

I am such an artist. _____________________________________________________________________________________

♥  Amorini and Putti

Who among us doesn't remember paper, dime store Valentine's featuring naked, little cherubs with quivers of arrows or heavy garland swags and the captions, "Be Mine" or "Be My Valentine" inscribed in a scrolly font?  I even remember the old shoe box decorated with tissue paper sitting on my third grade desk waiting to be filled with notes and candy on the afternoon of our Valentine's Day party. On this day Erica Rhinehart, an adorable strawberry-blonde classmate would take each of the girls in the class to the back room where our coats were hanging on hooks and our lunchboxes sat above on shelves, and she showed us a small, gold heart-shaped locket on a chain given to her at recess by another classmate. I can't remember his name. Was it Mike? Maybe.

In the artwork of the Renaissance and Baroque periods these chubby angels thrived. They were known as Amorini which is the diminutive of the Italian word Amore, or love, and Putti which is from the Latin Putus for boy child. But their origin goes back much further. On sarcophagi of the fourth century BC, you'll find flocks of these winged baby angels called Erotes who protected the living and then escorted their souls to Heaven. 

What would Valentine's Day be without them??

 

♥  Jane Austen's Sanditon

It defies belief, but I've never read a Jane Austen novel. Yet lately I've come to appreciate Ms Austen and all her heroic and wacky, and somewhat rebellious characters.

It all started with Sanditon, an eight-part period-drama adaptation of Jane Austen's final, yet incomplete, novel written only months before her death in 1817. Rose Williams (from Reign) and Theo James (the handsome Mr. Pamuk from Downton Abbey) play the lead characters of Charlotte Heywood and Sidney Parker.

The story follows Charlotte as she moves to the quiet fishing village of Sanditon for a fresh start, only to meet Sidney, a charming man who has ambitions to turn the tranquil seaside residence into a luxury resort.

With only 12 chapters and 2400 words in Austen's original work, the story was completed by Emmy award-winning writer Andrew Davies for British ITV and began airing on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre on Sunday evenings in January. And I can't get enough. 

♥  Sunday Haus Cottages

Sunday Haus Cottages, or Sonntagshäuser, were small second dwellings maintained near a church as a weekend place of residence. They became popular in the late 1800s among farmers and ranchers who lived in areas too remote to permit commuting to services.  According to the Texas State Historical Association...

The families owning such houses normally left their farms and ranches Saturday morning, journeyed to town, took care of shopping and business, attended an evening dance or party, and spent the night in the Sunday house. On Sunday they attended church in the morning and either returned home in the afternoon or attended Sunday school in the afternoon, and then spent a second night in town. Sunday houses were also used when a member of the family needed to stay in town to conduct business or receive medical attention.

 

Some Sunday houses became the residences of retired ranchers when farming of their land was passed to their sons.

 

Although in Texas Sunday houses were almost exclusively confined to Germans in the Hill Country, particularly Gillespie County, the phenomenon was not unique to Texas. Similar houses were used in the 1660s in Middlebury, Connecticut, and a counterpart to the Sunday house exists in the Pennsylvania Dutch country.

 

Sunday houses were small, usually having only two rooms, and often made of frame rather than rock. Some of them had 1½ stories, with a gabled roof to form an attic, usually reached from an outside stairway, that served as the children's sleeping quarters. The roof was pitched at a little less than forty-five degrees and covered with handmade cypress shingles. Some of the houses were embellished with millwork in the door and window casings and had ornamented stair rails, newels, and transoms.

 

The ground floor usually had a single room with a lean-to kitchen behind and a slant-roofed porch in front. Occasionally a second room was added. The houses were furnished for light housekeeping with a fireplace to provide heat and a place to prepare meals. There was no running water.

 

♥  Lost in Kisstory

Lost in Kisstory is an Instagram account dedicated to historic photos of kisses. What's not to love? (IG: @lostinkisstory)

 

 

"Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves."

~ Albert Einstein

 

"There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart."

~ Jane Austen

 

"I must learn to be content with being happier than I deserve."

~ Jane Austen

 

"Beauty is the pilot of the young soul."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

____________________________________________________

We have lots of Painting Classes coming up in February. Grab a friend or loved one and spend some time making memories and masterpieces.

Yellow is a magical color. It is the color of optimism, and conveys youthful, fresh energy and enthusiasm. It is the color of sunshine which slightly adds yellow to every object it falls on. Yellow is uplifting, illuminating, and the color of confidence and success, optimism and spontaneity.  Yellow stimulates the left side of the brain and aids in clear thinking and decisive decision-making.

Yellow is a happy color. "It is capable of charming God," said Vincent Van Gogh.

In February, the students in the Creative Spirits painting class will take a deep dive in studying the affects of Yellow in painting.  And in March we will be painting studies of Monet paintings that feature the color yellow. Join us!

Creative Spirits Weekly Painting Class in Acrylics

Perfect for the artist who would like further instruction and designated painting time each week.  This class also enjoys "Art Dates."  In February we visited Oaklands Mansion and toured the historic home and the "Wedding Gowns through the Decades" exhibit.   We also have the opportunity to exhibit our paintings at area businesses and currently our paintings are exhibited at Square Market Cafe in Columbia, TN, through the end of February.

Or book a PRIVATE PAINTING LESSON for Instant Clarity and Results

Please call me if you have additional questions or would like to purchase a gift certificate or register for a class:

615-668-8263

 

 

Links you may be interested in...

My ETSY Shops...

Colorful and Charming Art and Postcards from the Dimple of the Universe

Do you enjoy receiving a personal, hand-written card in the mail? Do you know someone who would, maybe a friend or family member away from home or now living in Assisted Living or a Nursing Home?

Postcards from the Dimple of the Universe is my Etsy shop that offers a subscription of 1-, 6-, or 12-handwritten cards, one each month, depicting an object or scene from my hometown, Columbia, Tennessee, aka the Dimple of the Universe or from around middle Tennessee, and delivered in a colorful envelope with a delightful US postage stamp.

It's a charming and unique gift for yourself or someone you love. 

 

 

Recommended Supplies lists...

Supplies List for Creative Spirits Classes, 

Supplies List for Aspiring Masters Classes,

Adventure Awaits Supplies List, 

 

Back Issues of Bullet Point Blessings at Creative Spirits Soar! blog.

 

The Whole Kit & Kaboodle List of Lists