Lucy and Tumnus by Pauline Baynes

May I say that I simply love black and white art work?  Especially Pauline Baynes’ pen-and-ink style.  Pauline Baynes (the illustrator for the original Chronicles of Narnia) has such a wonderful style; there’s much I could learn from her—not to copy, mind you, but to enhance my own style.

In this piece by Pauline Baynes I can see she has already slightly influenced my work; my “Tree House” comes to mind.  What I love most about her style I can’t say.  For starters, I love the fluidity and liveliness of it.  Her lines are living and breathing.   I can hear the clinks of the crude tableware, and smell the aromas of the earthy fare.

Secondly, you can tell the characters are her personal friends: they, too, are alive.  Thirdly, every detail is taken into account and utilized for the overall composition and aesthetic environment.   Fourthly, her cross-hatching.  I simply can’t get enough of her cross-hatching! It may have been this signature element of her work that first caught my eye and snagged my heart.

Even with color added, her work is simply wonderful.  After I’m finished working on my *current projects,* I will hopefully get to experiment with pen and ink again, of course with Pauline Baynes by my side.

crunch, crunch, crunch

“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” - C.S. Lewis

“Una and the Lion” from the Faeire Queene, by Briton Rivière, 1880

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” - G.K. Chesterton

Silent Night, by Viggo Johnson, 1891

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Savior is born
Christ, the Savior is born

Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

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Listening to Bing Crosby’s Silent Night

“Evening Prayers” by Eugene Ernest Hillemacher

“. . . For every wife the first duty is the making and keeping of her home. Her first and best work should be done there, and till it is well done she has no right to go outside to take up other duties. She is to be a ‘worker at home.’ She must look upon her home as the one spot on earth for which she alone is responsible, and which she must cultivate well for God if she never does anything outside.

“. . . There have been wives who in their zeal for Christ’s work outside have neglected Christ’s work inside their own doors. . . . While they were winning a place in the hearts of the poor or the sick or the orphan, they were losing their rightful place in the hearts of their own household.

“Let it be remembered that Christ’s work in the home is the first that He gives to every wife, and that no amount of consecrated activities in other spheres will atone in this world or the next for the neglect or failure there.”

- from The Wife’s Part in The Family by J.R. Miller

“Is it heartless to be unconcerned about needs far away? We must not be unconcerned, but we must remember that we cannot fight every battle.”

- from Fathers, Daughters and “Mission Work” in So Much More by Anna Sophia and Elizabeth Botkin

“It is in her own home that this warmth of heart and this openness of hand are first to be shown. It is as a wife and mother that her gentleness performs its most sacred ministry.”

- from The Wife’s Part in The Family by J.R. Miller

(All emphasis mine)

“An Interior with a Woman Reading” by Carl Larsson

“Then there’s the joy of getting your desk clean, and knowing that all your letters are answered, and you can see the wood on it again.” - Lady Bird Johnson

I believe I’ve quite recovered from artist’s angst and have two sweet links to share with you.

“The Music Lesson” by Frederic Lord Leighton

Many of you are familiar with the artist Edmund Blair Leighton, but may not know it. He painted many of the most famous historically-themed pieces from the Victorian era, including “The Accolade.” You may also be unaware that he had a tremendous sense of humor, as can be read in his short story, “A Dark Deed.”

I love listening to Christmas music. Don’t you? This season we’ve had the privilege to listen to our friend Prentiss Kendall’s harp CDs, the covers of which Emily designed. Prentiss’s Why This Jubilee? has beautifully filled our house with heavenly Christmas cheer. I highly recommend it to everyone!

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For a while now I’ve been in a quandary over an alternative medium for using colored pencils in my watercolors. After many days of staring curiously into space, I had a little idea.

I pulled out my little-used Derwent Graphitint pencils, and found just the look I was going for. (In this drawing I used Cocoa.) I like the sketchy quality and fluidity of the lines, and I think it’ll work well until I can really get into oils.

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P.S. If you so desire, you can vote for my blog at the Home School Blog Awards under Best Teen Girl Blog 2009—it only takes two clicks. Thanks!

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Welcome, one and all! Today’s the day that our big mysterious project will be revealed. There have been many guesses, and a few were very close if not spot-on.

Emily Rose and I have been making. . . drum roll please!

Our very own Daughters of His Story Paper Doll Series!

Each collection includes two women from history and three changes of dress each. It also includes the stands, a storage pocket, two time line portraits, and a short biographical sketch of each lady.

We wanted to provide young girls with something they could play with and be encouraged in femininity and godliness. They are modestly dressed paper dolls that mothers can give their daughters without feeling the least bit uneasy.

We’re still working on getting the website up and running so you can buy your own copies. We’ll let you in on that soon, too!

You may be wondering about a few pictures: What does a basket, mixing bowl, and brushes have to do with paper dolls? Aside from the ladies all being hospitable homemakers, I needed a hand model for all the different dresses!

The confusion between and the “C1, C2, C3″ on Emily Rose’s blog and my “CCC” recipe was definitely an accident. Not only did we not realize we both used CCC, but we didn’t notice that Collection One, Collection Two, and Collection Three would be confused with Chocolate Chip Cookies until it was too late!

And the “invitations”. . . well, when I said, “You’ll need one of these,” I meant the scissors. :)

Our unveiléd scheme is yet continuing. . .

Enshrouded lore for you still brewing…

But this, our clever, prolonged devising. . .

You’ll soon discover quite surprising!

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You hear the word a lot, don’t you? “Random this, random that…” It’s so fun to read “one million random things” about online friends, and randomly search the web. And it so aptly expresses our inner feelings and spurts of humor, that it’s used almost mindlessly.

But then, that shouldn’t be such a surprise, should it? “Random” means mindless, unintentional, unproductive, unchecked; without direction, order, or purpose. Being random is pretty meaningless and empty.

In contrast, we as Christians have hope, purpose and direction. God created each of us with a plan, bought us with a price, and has given us His word to follow. Instead of promoting the “over millions of years through random processes” view of life, we need to be good and faithful servants with the short time we’re given.

Resist the urge to be less than you were created to be. Live with purpose.