Hues

 I have started a new quilt kit from www.ConnectingThreads.com. It is called CONNECTED.  There are lots of various yellows and various blues in 2 1/2 inch squares.  Have you ever thought about how many hues there are of blues and yellows as well as all the other colors of the rainbow?  I am really glad there are so that each of my quilts or knitting projects are varied in color and pattern.  I love that Father in Heaven has created our world and us with so many variations that no two are alike.  I am continually learning to cherish the various hues in others - not just color but all the differences we have.  

I have a friend that likes to be an observer in a group, yet she is so talkative and lively when we are one on one or a small group.  I have a son who is so cheerful and playful he lightens the room wherever he goes.  Another son is quiet and yet his gentleness lightens a room, too.  My grandchildren are so varied, too.  Some are so helpful, some so warm and snuggly, some are loud, some are quieter, some are quick to converse and others take a while.  Then there is myself.  I am varied in hues, too.  I love a group of friends and I love to be alone;  I can be noisy and chatty and then again I can be an observer and quieter;  I like to stay home and other times I like to go out.  No one's hues are the same all the time.  That is what makes life and making quilts so fun.

The Sense of the Beautiful

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 

Impressionism

 Impressionism is the theme for my music studio this year.  This musical period only lasted a few decades, 1870-1920.  A group of young artists abandoned the accepted school of realism in favor of a new movement in painting which was deemed revolutionary.  These impressionist artists maintained that for their purposes, realism played no part in achieving an artistic result.  The aim was to create the general "impression" of the moment made by the subject on the artist.  Monet, Manet, Renoir and Degas are among these Impressionist artists.

Since music is essentially an 'abstract' art form, it has also been ideal for projecting Impressionist images. The orchestra and the piano predominate the compositions because of the many 'musical colors' the instruments can produce.  Some of my favorite Impressionist composers are Debussy, Ravel and Faure. A few dominating musical features of Impressionist music are:  1. Modal influences help music escape from the major/minor box. 2. Whole-tone scales were used in the music of the Far East of which the composers were fascinated by.  3.  Pentatonic Scale  is played on all 5 black keys and/or the C,D,F,G,and A.  These 5 tones were popular in Chinese music as well as folk music of Britsh Isles. 4. In  Impressionist Harmony the chord became an entity in itself.  5.  Parallel motion became proper in moving the voices in comparison to the classical contrary motion. 6.  Lastly, the harmonies in Impressionist music gave the impression of having 'Escaped" to another tonality.  They are neither prepared for nor resolved in any traditional sense, they simply 'evaporate.'  The students and I are in for a delightful treat experiencing and learning the Impressionist way.

As I was sincerely praying for a family member recently, the Spirit gave me a lovely insight.  People are impressionist paintings.  When we look up super close it is easy to see the flaws, simpleness, and odd individual colors and we tend to worry about that.  When we stand back we can see the 'whole' person; meaning seeing others as children of our God.  All the colors working together, the good strokes and bad strokes just blend together and become a beautiful whole with the grand impression that God is in charge and only He can make us whole.