A Watercolor Gift

Apple

I rarely use the flash when I take pictures. But the last time I made bread I took this photo accidentally. But I like it.



It reminds me of the Fiona Apple video for Criminal. For some unknown reason, I loved that video. Funny how some things stick with you and make such a lasting impression.

Growing

Fenster oder Fernsehen?

This past weekend we had some strong rains. I love rain. When it comes down in buckets and I don’t have to be outside in it, I love it even more. Growing up I enjoyed getting to watch the rain. Watch it hit the ground. Watch it smack the windows and glide down. Watch how all the grass and leaves appear brighter and bolder shades of green.

Living in a city now, I feel I don’t get to enjoy it as much. It’s hard to hear the rain. And we hardly ever have our curtains open. Even if we did open them, we would be looking at siding or a fence or our neighbors as they walk by two feet away from us. It’s not just us; most people on our block habitually leave their curtains closed. Seeing an apartment with curtains flung open is more of an anomaly.

When I got home one rainy day this past weekend, I just wanted to sit in a comfy chair and watch the rain. But even if I overcame our aversion towards opening our curtains, I knew it wouldn’t be the same as it was growing up. Trying to determine if the rain is actually hitting your neighbors siding doesn’t quite compare to watching it envelope the leaves on bushes or form puddles in mulch. So I turned on the television: the window to the world. It instantly made me wonder if this is one reason why so many people watch TV instead of watching out their windows. There’s nothing much beautiful to look at outside the window. But there are a lot of beautiful things on the television. And it can help you forget that outside your window is some dirty beige colored siding.

Wapples

Still haven't figured out how to take pictures of the pictures that will do them justice. Oh well. I like the apple one in front better than the one in back. They're light so they look better close up.

I'm using my apples to make waffles this weekend. :-D

Modern Bananas

Bold Fruit

Rainbow Chard

New Light

I think I figured out a way to get better lighting when taking pictures of the watercolors...(thanks, Tim, for helping!). I still think they look better in person though.

B is for Bucky: Non-Art Thoughts

I had been going through a lot of fellowship applications and looking at students' dissertation titles. Aside from the econ department which tended to have boring titles ("Essays on Trade"), many were quite imaginative. I had thought of a perfect title for this post weeks ago when I first thought about writing this. But of course I've waited to write it and thus half the original title was lost.

As baseball season is almost upon us (does it ever really end in Boston?), I was mulling over the idea of fans one morning. Specifically, the idea that there exist different categories of fans—our own version of a caste system. How many years you've been a fan is worn like a badge of honor. "True" fans are defined by how long they’ve been loyal, how well they know the history of the players, the stats from past seasons, and predictions for the upcoming season. Among fans, you never want to labeled as the dreaded "b" word: bandwagon. Bandwagon fans are not true fans, and are the lowest members of the system. Non-sports fans rank higher than bandwagon fans.

For some reason, this concept of distinguishing bandwagon fans has always sat ill with me. Maybe it's partly because I could easily be labeled as one. But on that particular morning, I felt like I was able to piece together another possible reason. Following a team drew parallels, in my mind, to following God. And this made me look at the idea of “fans” differently.

Decisions to follow can often be influenced by environmental factors such as geographic location or family members. And while you can more easily chose your geographic location (and perhaps your family—at least their influence) as you get older, when you’re born you have no choice. So someone born in San Francisco will be more likely to follow the Giants than if they had been born in Boston. If later in life they see the light and decide to start following the Red Sox, why is there resistance from the Red Sox fans who were born in the area? I think Jesus welcomes everyone from every geographic location and every family background. I think baseball could benefit from this all-inclusive attitude.

People often keep track of how long they’ve been following. Someone who had followed a team for 20 years may be quite proud of this fact and may often be seen as a more valuable fan than someone who has only been following the team for 2 years. Unless of course the person following for 2 years is also 2 years-old. Then that’s accepted. But I don’t think Jesus makes these distinctions with followers (although notably some of His followers might). He welcomes everyone, at any age, and the person who has followed him for 2 months is just as valued and welcomed as the person who has followed for 80 years. What a great feeling of being accepted. Maybe accepting a new fan can help share this feeling.

I've heard how people like to believe in things bigger than themselves, and cheering for a sports team can be one of these experiences. So if people want to believe in something—have hope in something—and that thing is a baseball team that isn't in their city—who am I to stop them from experiencing that? Why should they not be allowed to join in? I feel like we should joyfully receive fans as they come, and bless them as they go. At least for the moment we can all cheer for the same team together.

My First Watercolor

I think I've improved, but there's something I still enjoy about this first one.

Watercolors

My Monday night watercolor class is about half over. Here is one of the paintings I did in class.

Public Show

Our church is having an art show this year called Lydia Fair. My entry was accepted! I need to finish it still, but this is what I have so far.

Starting

I came upon this blog quite accidentally. But once I had it, I had to figure out what to do with it. And the idea formed: explore and showcase my creative pursuits. I want to be able to share with my friends and family - and just keep track for myself - the creative activities I will attempt. I hope you enjoy.