Posts Tagged ‘beauty’
this afternoon when I lifted the window …
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, colors, Inspiration, leaves, nature, Photography, sunlight, urban landscape, windows on October 8, 2015| 1 Comment »
in this morning’s light
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, tagged art, beauty, color, Inspiration, light, Photography, ripple glass, storytelling, urban landscape, windows on October 8, 2015| 5 Comments »
Yes, through the rippled glass. The landlord recently told me that he had specifically selected that rippled glass. A carpenter, he had found the glass in a building being demolished. And when he assembled the windows for his home, he used the rippled glass.
in alabama …
Posted in Inspiration, Music, tagged African American history, Alabama, architecture, art, beauty, black history, civil rights, history, Inspiration, Katherine Lamb Tait, music, negro spirituals, Photography, religion, Robert Moton, slavery, stained glass windows, storytelling, Tuskegee on October 7, 2015| 3 Comments »
… there was a school and on the campus there was a chapel and inside the chapel there was a stained glass window known as The Singing Window.
photo by Carol M. Highsmith
Sources and Additional Readings
Learn more about the photographer Carol M. Highsmith on the Library of Congress website: Carol M. Highsmith Archive.
Learn more about Tuskegee University including its tours and the history of the chapel.
zoe langosy: fashion as art and inspiration
Posted in Guest Contributor, Inspiration, tagged art, beauty, design, family, fashion, fashion magazines, fashion week, illustration, Inspiration, magazines, Photography, storytelling, style, Vogue, Zoe Langosy on October 4, 2015| 3 Comments »
Remember the hand of the budding artist? Well, mom is artist Zoe Langosy. Recently, she mentioned how important this period of fashion weeks around the world had been in her artistic growth and I asked her to share more through her words and images …
When I was 14, the fashion world became a magic kingdom to me. Fashion took me on a journey through music, pop culture, the arts… I couldn’t get enough. Already developing into a figurative artist, my drawings became filled with long-legged, often tragic looking, beauties. All my characters were adorned in lavish attire made from a patchwork of fabrics and colors. As this was before the internet, the way I kept up with my new found passion and muse was either on TV or through magazines. My teenage bedroom began to overflow with Vogue’s from all over the world, Harpaar’s Bazaar, The Face, Sky… Nothing ever compared, though, to the September issue of American Vogue.
Each year seemed to compete with the year before… More pages, more looks, more exclusive inserts from designers. Each year, as summer drew to a close, my sister and I would check newsstands every day anticipating its arrival. The first issue I purchased was in 1991. Linda Evangelista donned the cover, smoldering with red hair and tartan. I must have turned the pages of that issue a thousand times, and yet somehow kept it pristine like only a true collector could. Never letting any hands on it but my own.
24 years have passed, and I still feel a buzz when the September Vogue appears on the newsstand. It remains a guilty pleasure of mine, still inspiring my art … Of course, I have other inspirations these days as well.
These days, I’m okay if the cover gets scratched or my one-year old tears out a page. Now, it’s become so ingrained in my world it’s like buying a new set of pencils. Something I’m prepared to destroy and use purely as a visual playground that will set my imagination running.
Follow Zoe’s creative journey …
it happened again
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged abstract, beauty, colors, glass, Inspiration, nature, Photography, ripples, urban landscape, windows on October 1, 2015| 1 Comment »
I was racing about the house, rather blindly, thinking about all of things I needed to do when the light struck the window, that rippled window, and I was compelled to stop and look … and then run to get my camera.
I’ve been collecting these images for years, and while I’ve yet to produce that book of images, I have submitted several individual prints to an upcoming juried art exhibit. Stay tuned for the results.
a life in glass
Posted in Inspiration, tagged architecture, art, beauty, Clayton & Bell, colors, faces, faith, Inspiration, Photography, religion, stained glass, Trinity Church on September 24, 2015| 2 Comments »
Detail from The Baptism
When Trinity Church was consecrated in 1877, there was only one stained glass window in place, The Baptism, in the chancel, designed by Clayton & Bell of London. The rest was all clear glass. By the end of 1878, there would be seven windows in the chancel marking a life: The Nativity, Jesus in the Temple with the Doctors, The Baptism, The Preacher, The Last Supper, The Resurrection, and The Commission to the Apostles.
Detail from The Last Supper
I’ve not photographed the chancel very much. But with the seasons changing and the light falling just a little differently, I’ve been focusing my camera on those windows again. Not focusing so much on trying to capture the whole window, but especially zooming in on the face.
Detail from The Commission to the Apostles
New details are always being revealed.
Detail from The Resurrection
I’m curious what else the autumn light will reveal. You know I will be sure to share. 😉 Meanwhile, if you’re in the area you can check it out for yourself. Learn more via the church website –http://trinitychurchboston.org/ – and here’s specific information about art & architecture tours http://trinitychurchboston.org/art-history
Have a good day, folks!
a lion at the library
Posted in Inspiration, tagged animals, art, beauty, black and white, Boston Public Library, couchant, Inspiration, lions, Photography, sculpture on September 23, 2015| Leave a Comment »
St. Peter’s in Central Square
Posted in Inspiration, tagged architecture, art, beauty, Charles Connick, churches, colors, design, faith, Inspiration, light, Photography, religion, saints, St. Peter's Episcopal Church, stained glass, Wilbur Herbert Burnham, windows on September 17, 2015| 5 Comments »
Detail from Baptism Window
There are thirteen stained glass windows inside St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Central Square, Cambridge, MA. And I had the wonderful opportunity to stand before them all thanks to the kind gentleman, Rector Brocato, who let me through the door.
Detail from St. John the Baptist Window
He took me on a brief and informative tour of his church and provided me with detailed literature. The parish was founded in 1842. The current building was constructed in 1867. The first stained glass window was added in 1917, designed by Wilbur Herbert Burnham.
Wilbur Herbert Burnham designing a stained glass window, ca. 1940 / Paul Davis, photographer. Wilbur H. Burnham Studios records, circa 1904-1991. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Burnham is one of two stained glass designers highlighted in the church’s guidebook. He designed several windows for the church.
Detail from St. Anne Window designed by Burnham
Detail from St. Anne Window
In the 1930s, two windows were added from the Charles J. Connick Stained Glass Studios, most noted of which may the High Altar Window.
Detail from High Altar Window, by Connick Studios
High Altar Window
Detail from High Altar Window
Detail from High Altar
The current guide book is being revised to include the names of all the designers.
Detail from St. John Window
Even so, the current guide book provides a wonderful historical summary of the of the parish and detailed description of the biblical and secular symbolism in each window.
Detail from St. George Window
You can find out more about this welcoming place, from services and tours to community outreach, via the church website: http://www.saintpeterscambridge.org/
Detail from Nativity Window
Sources/Additional Reading
Learn more about Wilbur Herbert Burnham in the Archives of American Art via this link.
Learn more about Charles J. Connick in the Archives of American Art via this link.
The Charles J. Connick Stained Glass Foundation is also a wonderful resource.
walking half way home
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged abstract, beauty, colors, Inspiration, nature, Photography, urban landscape, walking on September 16, 2015| 2 Comments »
I took a friend’s advice. Instead of walking all the way home from Copley Square, I walked half way and this is what I saw.
vanessa’s flowers
Posted in Inspiration, tagged beauty, colors, flowers, friendship, gardening, gifts, Inspiration, Photography on September 7, 2015| 2 Comments »
A very young friend to whom I send postcards recently gave me a gift in return.
Flowers from her first garden.
A beautiful sight in the morning light.
Thanks, Vanessa. 😉
Words + Images 