The Response: Aflame — Jessica I really like what you said, Cheryl, about the conversation between books. And it does lead to fascinating connections, although sometimes, I must admit, it makes my head spin! When I picked up the book that my Dominican lay group will be reading for our next couple of meetings, I […]

The Call: Closed Circuits — Cheryl A long time ago, in what seems like a different life, I wrote a post (or two) on my homeschooling blog about conversations among books and readers. I was able to find an excerpt that seems especially pertinent to the connections I’m experiencing now, as everything I read seems […]

The Response: Color and Shape — Cheryl I used to be very concerned about people understanding my intentions, but I finally realized that misunderstandings occur no matter what. We bring our own experiences to our interactions. There’s simply no getting around that. Perhaps I’ve swung too far in the opposite direction, but now I’m all […]

The Call: Formless Shapes — Jessica The problem with photography as an art form is that it can be very hard to be ambiguous. Why would that be a problem? Remember our discussion about metaphor: here and here? Basically, my thinking boils down to this: art is metaphor and metaphor (especially visual metaphor) relies on […]

The Response: Fire Within — Jessica Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. ~ Aristotle So, maybe holiness would be perfecting the jobs that don’t bring pleasure – like vacuuming or ironing.

The Call: Give Me Pearls — Cheryl Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything. —Eugene Delacroix (1798–1863)

The Response: Paper Flower with Stars, No. 1; a Flower as a World —Cheryl She [Georgia O’Keeffe] painted flowers as no one else painted them: in enormous close-up. You feel the flowers pressing against your face; you smell them; you sense the silky petals. The flowers are partly realistic … and partly abstract. … The […]

The Call: Sun and Shadows — Jessica Because I find it so poignant, I’m posting the quote I used to make the call. “In the end, the mystery of mysteries may be that only in paradox and ambiguity can truth be glimpsed.” —Gregory Wolfe

The Response: Arrangement in White — Jessica I do believe that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I have been struggling to figure out and create an image like Valda Bailey’s since I first looked at them. But if I just stop at imitating, I haven’t really created anything worthwhile. Now that I know […]

The Call: Beauty of Words — Cheryl Artistic growth is, more than it is anything else, a refining of the sense of truthfulness. –Willa Cather My studio is now covered with glitter. Of course, that makes Stella and me happy. Today, when I ventured out for some errands that included haircuts for the boys, I […]

The Response: Revelations — Cheryl Sometimes the truth smacks you in the head; sometimes it simmers in the back of your brain; most of the time, it fractures your carefully constructed world.

The Call: Homage to Cubism — Jessica I’ve been pinning Cubist paintings lately, dreaming of a way to incorporate that fractured look into a mulitple exposure. That was the goal here. As a side note, I had a hard time deciding color or black and white. In fact, I’m still not decided but my eleven […]