A Slight Change of Plans...

Well, a great deal has happened in the past few months. I will not even try to catch you up on the news. Quick summary: first I was very busy, then I was very sick, and am now not so very busy. I was forced to take a semester off, a medical leave of absence to recover. This has been a trying period, not only the whole getting better bit, but the absence of academia and friends (proximity-wise) has been rather difficult for me.

So. What have I been doing with all this free time? Well, not too much as of yet, but I have been crafting some great plans for the next few months. All shall be revealed in good time.

In the meantime, here are some photos of what I have been "cooking up" literally. It should be noted, that while I was enduring the "very sick" part of my recent past I was on a clear liquid diet. I was also taking medication that made me excruciatingly hungry. I began watching the Food Network religiously as well as reading as many cooking magazines as I could lay my hands on. When I finally was released from the hospital, I began to cook. Here, for your perusal, are some of my recent culinary creations.



This is a chickpea salad with a homemade white wine citrus dressing.



This is my version of vegetarian "ribs" with sage risotto (Mom's creation) and some honey-balsamic roasted root vegetables. The "ribs" are made with seitan, marinated with my own special recipe of marinade and then simmered in a pot and served with some of the marinade on top. The root vegetables were really fun to make; the sweetness of the honey contrasted nicely with the balsamic vinegar. This was also my first time preparing, cooking, and eating parsnips -- quite an enjoyable experience.



This is the infamous Angel Food cake I attempted to make. My mom, sister, and I all took turns beating that batter for an hour and an half until it finally whipped into peaks. I ended up killing our little hand-held beater (it had lived a good long life of over twenty years). Thus, this cake was very precious as a beater had sacrificed its life to give birth this dessert.

I have recently been reading T. S. Eliot’s essay Tradition and the Individual Talent. The essay discusses the connection between the concept of tradition and innovation in the arts. I especially liked this passage:

“To conform merely would be for the new work not really to conform at all; it would not be new, and would therefore not be a work of art…. But the difference between the present and the past is that the conscious present is an awareness of the past in a way and to an extent which the past's awareness of itself cannot show….” (5, 6)

This part of the essay reminded me of what my friend Alex had been telling me about Ara Pacis, an example of very modern architecture in Rome. Ara Pacis is a stark white, geometrical building surrounded by the many warm-colored buildings along the Tiber. It had been argued that the building does not match its surroundings. Seen through the context of Eliot’s Tradition and the Individual Talent, Ara Pacis is actually “traditional” in the fact that it breaks the conventional mold.

Another facet of this dualistic thinking is the mix of Christianity and Roman symbols throughout the city. Many of the Roman monuments were Christianized during the Middle Ages when the popes were trying to erase the pagan memorials. The home of the Mother Church was built upon the great pagan city. Roma celebrates the synthesis the old within the new, the pagan within the Christian. The above picture is an ancient obelisk with a statue of (what I believe) is St. Peter on top. This illustrates what Eliot described as “This historical sense, which is a sense of the timeless as well as of the temporal...together, is what makes a writer [or any artist] traditional..” (3)

“No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists.” (4)

Some musings from a hopeful traditional…

For pictures of Ara Pacis, click here.
To read Tradition and the Individual Talent, click here.

Sketch of a Horse

horse sketch
Originally uploaded by soulofarose.

This is a sketch I did at the on the fountains at Piazza Navona for my art class. (I confess, I did some basic editing on Photoshop before I uploaded it.)

Illustration Friday: Sprout

Illustration Friday: Sprout
Originally uploaded by soulofarose.

Please click to view larger image.

Marseille, France

From Marseille

From Marseille

We just got back from Marseille, France this morning. We had a whirlwind adventure in France, starting early on Friday morning (our flight left at 7:30AM) and ending back home in Rome early this morning (our flight left France at 6:25AM). We used Ryanair which offers some of the cheapest flights in Europe. Marseille is a Mediterranean city, built around a harbor. There are open fish markets in the mornings and the harbor is full of multitudes of boats. We arrived in Marseille at about 10:30AM and since we couldn't check into our hotel until 2:00PM, we decided to explore the city.

Our first stop was the Church of St. Vincent de Paul. We didn't know this at the time, but St. Vincent spent some time in Marseille before his conversion. It was comforting to see a "familiar face." I felt like St. Vincent was taking care of us.

We then decided to head towards Musée Cantini. Afterwards, we went to the Musée d'Histoire de Marseille. We managed to translate some of the information into English. Amy remembered quite a bit of her French which was a big help getting around the city. Most people in Marseille do not speak English, but are patient with tourists. I kept trying to speak Italian (which made me happy that Italian is becoming more of a habit, but it was the wrong language for this city!)I would say things like, "Si, oui. Grazie, merci."

The next day we began the morning with a stop at a local pastry shop. I instantly fell in love with almond pastry. Heaven in a bite! After consuming our breakfast, we visited Chateau d'If, the island where the Count of Monte Cristo takes place. The sun was luminous, blindingly bright and warm. The water was enchanting and exhilarating. I can not use enough adjectives to describe the island. It was a intoxicating place, magical and serene. We explored the castle and then sunbathed on the rocks. We had to take the ferry back to Marseille (unfortunately).

The literal summit of our trip was Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde which is 161m high. We were rewarded with spectacular views of the city and mountains. Later that evening we heard mass in French at the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur and cooked up a delicious dinner (soup, couscous, "vin," and serious amounts of chocolate.)

Marseille was an interesting comparison to Roma. There is much more ethnic diversity in Marseille, maybe because it is more south as well as being a large port. Amy and I enjoyed a nice meal at local Indian restaurant. People in France are equally clueless about lines as Italians. It seems to be an European epidemic that people act like kindergartners lining up to receive free ice cream any where lines would be routine in the USA. Dogs walk off leash up and down the streets in Marseille and France.

Marseille hosts a large fishing community and is surrounded by the sea. I loved watching the boats, hearing the gulls and waves. The colors of the homes reflect this nautical feel; the colors are cooler in general than the warm pinks, corals, and yellows of Roma. This magical port is a beautiful, enchanting little city.

Blind Contour Drawing: Learning How to See

In my sketching class, we have had to do several blind contour drawings. This is a basic assignment designed to help one’s eye/hand coordination. Blind contour drawing is accomplished by tracing the outlines of a subject without looking at one’s paper. After sketching ten or more garlic cloves without achieving any satisfactory results, I was frustrated. I knew I could have drawn decent-looking vegetables if I had been able to see.

My homework assignment reminded me of a book I had read several years ago. There was a quote by a famous artist inside the front cover. I have since forgotten the artist’s name as well as the exact wording of the quote. It was something to the effect of, “In order to draw an apple, you must look at the apple as if it were first one you had ever seen.” I mused over this quote as I sat staring at my finished garlic sketches. Obviously, they were not proportionate or even aesthetic. The sketches looked like “impressions” of garlic. However, I had discovered the garlic in a new way. I had realized details about the garlic that I never would have noticed otherwise. When we started sketching statues yesterday, I tried recapturing that new vision and sketch according to sight and not to preconceived conceptions.

Living in Roma is like creating blind contour drawings. Suddenly (or so it seems), I am on a new continent and learning a new language, culture, and lifestyle. I am learning all the basics, outlining the subject. Later on, I can start filling in the contours with shading and details.

Besides this metaphorical and metaphysical musing, I have been keeping busy with other activities. I went on a tour to St. Peter's Basilica last night with my theology class. I learned a lot about all the individual altars and mosaics within the Basilica. There are only two frescos inside all of St. Peter's. The rest of the images are all mosaics! What I love about the Catholic religion is all the symbolism and imagery. St. Peter’s is overflowing with artwork and sacred relics. It is really a storehouse of spiritual and aesthetic wealth. Quite overwhelming, but heartily enjoyable. Afterwards, my friend Amy and I bought gelato, an amazingly addictive habit. I had hazelnut, bacci, and nutella flavored gelato. It was awesome!

Anyways, I must run along and do a little homework. This is after all, study abroad. Not sketch, eat gelato, philosophize and write abroad. Or so they say.

Taking the Time to...

Today my friends and I went to visit the Vatican Museums. We spent several hours going up and down twisting, winding staircases and passageways. Much to Amy's dismay, we were unable to find any secret tunnels or the like. We did find the "School of Athens" fresco by Raphael and a room full of Fra Angelico's frescos. Surprisingly, the Vatican also boasts paintings by Salvador Dali and Diego Rivera. Of course a world-renowned museum should have pieces reflecting the modern art movement, but it was still surprising to find these painters among the Baroque and Renaissance artists.

We stopped on the way home from the museum at the fresh market. We have been told that the market is one of the freshest and best in Rome. I love it. Vendors line the streets every morning with fresh produce, dried herbs, cheese, meats, and, of course, many different wines. My poor pronunciation of the word “funghi” (“mushrooms” in Italian”) made the vendor think I was ordering a kilogram of fuji apples. Today we are making a potluck dinner at our apartment. We are making risotto, chicken, and green beans. I’m looking forward to a feast of delicious food, friends, and fun.

It is customary that all stores are closed for a few hours between the hours of 12 and 4 in the afternoon for siesta. Only touristy stores are open on Sundays. These Italians know how to enjoy life. The only buy the best food from the fresh markets. They take time to relax from daily tasks.

I’ve growing accustomed to the European lifestyle. By only taking 12 credits and not participating in any campus activities, I am left with quite a bit of time. I was just looking back at my calendar from this past semester. I usually had between five to 12 meetings a week besides working part-time and taking a full class load. I’m living in the moment of every day and enjoying it heartily.

To see more pictures from my adventures, visit my Picassa web album.

Illustration Friday: 80's

80s copy
Originally uploaded by soulofarose.

Since I was born in the late 80's, I really don't know anything about the culture of this decade. All I could think of was Relient K's "In Love with the '80's" song.

"I am gonna wear a pink tux to the prom/
live without a care/
cause you threw it away to fall in love with the 80's"

This is my first time drawing over a photo with photoshop. I used a lot of different brushes and transparent gradients. The stock photo is from stock.xchng.com.

Bella Roma!

I am studying abroad this semester in Rome. It has been an exciting adventure so far, so much to see and experience. I have had several forays with the Italian language (also an adventure) which were surprisingly fun. People actually understand my Italian. My friend, fellow sojourner, and room-mate, Amy, and I have a nice apartment here along with a couple other girls from our school. I hope to post photos frequently to show some of our adventures!

Duc in Altum (Before the Storm)

 

Something Beautiful

Recently, I have been feeling rather confused and helpless, caused by a number of circumstances and physical inaptitudes. As I sat here at my laptop, silently praying and thinking, “Something Beautiful” by Jars of Clay started to play on my iTunes. The lyrics seem so opportune and appropriate. The words are a melancholic surrender to hope, to a new reality.

If you put your arms around me,
Could it change the way I feel?
I guess I let myself believe
That the outside might just bleed its way in
Maybe stir the sleeping past
Lying under glass
Waiting for the kiss
That breaks this awful spell
Pull me out... of this lonely cell

Refrain: Close my eyes and hold my heart
Cover me and make me something
Change this something normal
Into something beautiful

What I get from my reflection
Isn't what I thought I'd see.
so, give me reason to believe
You'd never keep me incomplete
Will you untie this loss of mine?
It easily defines me,
Do you see it on my face?
And that all I can think about is how long
I've been waiting to feel you move me.

Refrain

And I'm still fighting for the word
To break these chains
And I still pray when I look in your eyes
You'd stare right back down
Into something beautiful

Maybe, if a perfect God can accept my imperfect body, mind, and spirit, I can as well. Maybe…

Butterfly

butterfly
Originally uploaded by soulofarose.

Wonderbread

Wonderbread
Originally uploaded by soulofarose.

This summer, I went to a retreat called Vincentian Experience 3. While there, we were asked to make a slogan for service. My friend Christine and I got very enthusiastic and made one for the Eucharist: the Real Wonder Bread. So here's my little prototype of the original, classic Wonder Bread!

"For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" John 6:33

The Notebook: Revised

I am witnessing a real-life adaptation of The Notebook. No, I haven’t had a steamy “fling” with a childhood friend (hard to accomplish, since I still consider myself a “kid”) while engaged. No, I have not been asked out on top of a ferris wheel while my potential beaux hangs by one hand. Instead, I have been privileged to witness the love between my maternal grandparents. My Grandma Gene has been seriously ill for more than a year. She’s been in and out of the hospital for many years for various health issues. Through it all, my grandpa has always been by my grandmother’s side. He has slowly taken over all the daily household tasks as well as Grandma’s basic, personal care.

I think back to the day of my grandparents’ wedding day, June 29, 1959. I imagine their hopes for the future. I imagine their joy as they say their vows, “In sickness and in health,… for as long as we both shall live.” They were two vibrant, healthy, young people excited to begin their lives together.

Now, Grandpa sits by Grandma’s bedside, holding her hand as they watch Turner Classic movies together on the hospital’s TV. My Grandma is slumped in the bed, tired and exhausted from a long night. She breathes oxygen from a tube in her nose while a heart monitor beeps in the background. Grandpa adjusts Grandma’s tubes and IV cords and then settles back in his chair. “Those were the good old days,” he says. “Look at how young Henry Fonda was! And Betty Davis!” Grandma opens her eyes and then starts breathing heavily. “Burt, give me some ice.” Grandpa spoons some ice chips in to her mouth to soothe her sore tongue. She sighs and looks over to my Grandpa. “Thank you,” she says. He smiles and they sit back and watch the old, romantic movie.

Thankfully, my Grandma does not have Alzheimer’s disease. However, the strong love portrayed in the movie and book The Notebook is alive in my grandparents’ relationship. Grandpa has dedicated the past few years of his life to serving my grandma’s basic needs. They have shared forty-six years of married life together, through the good and bad times of family life. Their example of commitment and sacrificial love is one that shines through with more brightly than the Hollywood version. My grandparents are living out their vow of “I do.”

Duc in Altum

I am currently adding the final touches to a talk I am going to give at a retreat this Spring. The talk's theme is "Truth and Service." Here is a short exerpt...

The past few years I have been learning to sail on my dad’s Tartan 27. We sail on the Great South Bay which can be really shallow and dirty. Our boat is 40-years-old and currently in the process of being restored. When my dad bought the boat, both the depth detector and GPS were broken. This means we were unable to know the exact depth of the water or what our exact position was. Sailing became a guessing game. We tried to stay in the main channels, but often ran into shoal waters. We would peer over the rail and try to calculate for ourselves how deep the water was. One time, the boat grounded itself in a sandbar. The water was murky from the boat scrapping the bottom of the bay. We had to jump out of the boat in order to push this 27 foot boat back in to deeper water. Before I jumped off the deck, I looked down in to the waters. I couldn’t see the bottom. I was unable to judge if it was forty feet deep or four. I jumped into the murky water and was surprised to find the water only came up to my thigh. We pushed, and shoved, and pleaded, and wiggled the boat back and forth. Finally, the boat broke through and we scampered back aboard…. Just in time for the boat to wedge itself into another sandbar.

Sometimes, when you look over the rail of the boat and can not see the bottom, it can feel disconcerting. The waters of the Great South Bay can give the deception of being deeper than they truly are. When you sail through the sea of life, it can feel like we are sailing along with out the help of any guidance, without a GPS or depth detector. How deep is the water beneath your boat? What lies beneath your boat? What do you hold as truth? I want you to examine your life. Is the truth that supports your ship shallow? Where are you headed? Are you stuck in a sandbar? Perhaps you are fearful of beginning such a voyage with what you believe is a lack of equipment. I think this fear of the unknown is summed up well by Pope John Paul the Great.

“Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence.”

Don't be afraid. Push your boat into the sea, sail away. Go out into the deep waters towards your final end. Duc in altum.

Illustration Friday: Simple

Illustration Friday: Simple
Originally uploaded by soulofarose.

The word "simple" made me think of sumi-e, Japanese painting. Sumi-e is a philosophical art style. The paintings are often monochromatic with simple, very thoughtful, and philosophical design. Balance is always important. Here, I tried to imitate the sumi-e styles by painting an "ayame" or Iris. The poorly written Kanji says, "hana" (flower -- my signature) and below in red “ayame.”

Purity

purity
Originally uploaded by soulofarose.

This is one image I completed for my Graphics class. The assignment was to pick one of seven words and create an image to communicate that word (in this case, purity). I am surprisingly happy with how this came out. Also, I am very proud I managed to navigate myself around the Mac computer! Another image coming soon...

Stock photo sources:

http://morguefile.com/archive/?display=70448&

http://morguefile.com/archive/?display=79328&

The Loon

Floating on the sea
The light reflects
The moon,
Mirroring brilliance,
And dancing on the waves.
The gentle song of the water,
Sings of time forsaken
And dreams of tomorrow.
Hopefully waiting,
The loon sleeps.

Dawn awakes,
And with the sun, the loon stirs.
The water murmurs lauds,
Rippling, rising, rolling.
The sky invites the loon to ascend,
Duc in altum.
Into the deep clouds, she soars.
Delighting in the speed.

On the wings of the wind,
The loon sings a hymn
Of the unutterable stillness of the heart:
The silent song.
Too powerful, too passionate for words,
A love song for a Savior.

Some Poetical Musings

“Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future,
And time future contained in time past.”

T. S. Eliot’s Four Quartets (http://www.tristan.icom43.net/quartets/index.html) keeps reminding me of talk I heard last winter on time. According to the speaker, there are two kinds of time, chronos and kairos time. Chronos time is filled with the busy platitudes of planners, blackberries, and cell phones. Chronos time looks ahead and fails to see the now. Kairos time is a moment of grace, an experience of “now-time” when you live in the moment. For me this has occurred over a long conversation with a dear friend (of course accompanied by tea), dinner with my family, sailing with the wind in my hair, during prayer, and so many more moments. Glimpses into the sacred and semipiternal.

“In my beginning is my end.” I begin this new semester with a glance behind at the old trodden path and step out to the “unknown, remembered gate.” This past fall was difficult because of the many chaotic events transpiring within my life. “However, this steep and sometimes rocky road was softened by times of relaxation. And these resting moments were kairos time for me. Hanging out with friends, watching Korean chick-flicks, praying with my roomie Maya at 2:00 AM before finals, campus ministry, OJS, and so much more.

And now, as I begin my second semester at St. John’s, I make a new beginning and end. I begin a new season, while also treasuring autumn’s fallen leaves. I am trying to continually utter my own small fiat to life and kairos.

"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, unremembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall
And the children in the apple-tree
Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half-heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea.
Quick now, here, now, always—
A condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)
And all shall be well and
All manner of thing shall be well
When the tongues of flame are in-folded
Into the crowned knot of fire
And the fire and the rose are one."

Illustration Friday: E is for...

eliot
Originally uploaded by soulofarose.

E is for Eliot, T. S. Eliot. Over my break I finally finished Eliot's "Four Quartets," something I've wanted to do for years. They were really awesome! Thought-provoking and perspicacious. So here's my little tribute to the poet and writer, T. S. Eliot.