Marveling this Monday morning, as I scroll through a hodgepodge of photos from our Baltimore trip last week.
NATURE
ART
Even our cutlery at lunch in the Mount Vernon section of Baltimore was sort of artsy.
I believe that if we attend to our lives carefully, we will see much to cause us to pause and MARVEL.
Today Robert and I visited the Walter Museum of Art in Baltimore. Our favorite exhibit was one called “Saint Amelie.”
SAINT AMELIE
Kehinde Wiley (American, born 1977), 2014
Saint Amelie is one of a series of twelve freestanding stained glass panels by Kehinde Wiley that depict contemporary portraits of young Black residents of Brooklyn, New York. It mirrors the form, composition, figural pose, and framing of historic stained glass windows from the medieval and Renaissance periods, and specifically a window titled Saint Amelie by the French Neoclassical painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867).
Wiley honors his subject, Kern Alexander, whom he used as a model in multiple works, by depicting him in a context traditionally reserved for Christian saints and religious contemplation.
Like much in Wiley’s work, Saint Amelie explores the invisibility of Black people within the traditional art historical canon.
Hand-painted stained glass, mounted on lightbox with aluminum frame.
A beautiful exhibit!
A blog category about finding “art” in unexpected places and situations.
So recently HR (“Husband Robert,” come on now, you know that) made a simple but yummy breakfast of scrambled eggs and sausage patties (from local fresh-from-the-farm-meats 920 Cattle & Company, up the road from us).
“Neal, it’s ready.”
I morning-stumbled to the table … and almost instantly SAW THEM.
Twins. TWINS! Dressed in casual but elegant Sunshine Morning Yellow Rompers.
I sat down. Asked their names.
“Lisa and Liam, sir. Yours?”
“Neal.”
“You both look so cute,” I gushed. “And you smell just SO good!”
“Thank you,” they hesitantly responded.
“Are you a cannibal, sir?”
“Enclosed”
A blog category about finding “art” in unexpected places and situations.
One of my Father’s Day gifts this year was a beautiful box of nuts and dried fruit.
I made a yummy trail mix out of the nuts and some of the chopped-up dried fruit. (OK, maybe with one bag of plain M&Ms thrown in for good measure.)
And then, this morning for breakfast, Robert had bought some fresh cantaloupe. When I saw it on my saucer, I realized it was frowning at me, but his face was sadly incomplete.
Dried fruit to the rescue. Two dried plums and a beautiful, sweet green kiwi for the nose.
Happy breakfast for all!
A blog category about finding “art” in unexpected places and situations.
So the other morning, I was finishing up HR’s yummy breakfast of local country ham, soft-scrambled eggs (one of his specialties—I don’t like hard scrambled!) and black raspberry-covered toast …
… when, Lo and Behold, I looked down and saw him :
But who is he? A character from Finding Nemo or The Little mermaid? Or what?
A blog category about finding “art” in unexpected places and situations.
So the other morning I sat down to Robert’s yummy breakfast of English muffins, black raspberry jam, and some kinda seasoned stir-fry potatoes.
I was still trying to wake up, but immediately saw some artistic possibility when I popped a couple of dollops of jam onto the two halves of the bread.
Oh, and when I Piled the Potatoes beneath the eyes, I knew I had a breakfast Masterpiece in the Making.
Doesn’t he look a bit like a walrus or maybe Burl Ives in the iconic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?
Chef-d’oeuvre!
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. Pretty purple blossoming in Savannah squares.
2. Courageous lawmakers who will heed the will of the people in our democracy.
May other states follow Washington’s lead.
3. Metal man hiding in the bushes near us.
4. Our incredible skin which envelopes our bodies and protects us so spectacularly.
5. Packing up our little gay gray car for a weekend trek down to Seminole State Park and the SAM Railroad to Plains, GA.
May your weekend be packed with good!
“Big-headed”
NealEnJoy 