Cutting in time line
Some carve out time for themselves. Others carve themselves into time.
Dilemma of artists, writers, and scientists whether it is better to see what is unseen by others, or to be blithely dependent others at the edge of the known?
Thinking energetically about the sitting in the dark with dark matter…
A different view of the creation and future of the universe is proposed by an old and reputable university in Sweden: “Our universe is an expanding bubble in an extra dimension”.
Just how knowing how soap bubbles and economic bubbles work, how secure do you feel with this revelation? “The whole Universe is accommodated on the edge of this expanding bubble”. Great.
It was hard enough to sleep when pondering first the world was flat (and if you sailed off the edge, there were monsters…). Then the universe was an expanding box that you keep going to the end and unfolding only to find an endless cycle of boxes to collapse.
Now strings and bubbles. Sounds appropriate for New Year’s Eve.
As the American proverb says, “You can’t tell by looking at a frog how high he will jump.”
Like a visionary land developer standing in a barren desert and seeing a magical city – but on a much smaller scale – they say Gerd Dreher would sit for hours holding, rotating, staring at a raw lump of gemstone until he could see the life hiding within it.
“Gerd Dreher is widely regarded as the most talented carver of gemstones to have ever lived. His works – exquisitely detailed, extremely realistic carvings of animals wrought from crystals of ruby, sapphire, citrine, amethyst, aquamarine, topaz, garnet, and agate – are among the most highly sought masterpieces of the lapidary arts” Feb. 11, 1939 – Jan 4, 2018. (Houston Museum of Natural Science)
Toads and frogs…not just for dinner anymore.
Something about the creatures universally appeals to humans across ages and world cultures
An ancient pond
A frog jumps in
The splash of water [1686]
By Matsuo Basho, Japanese poet and master of haiku . (1644–1694)
In Chinese traditional culture, frog represents the lunar yin, and the Frog spirit Ch’ing-Wa Sheng is associated with healing and good fortune in business.
Still life painters of the Dutch Golden Age used frogs, well, because they were so common and stayed lifelike “fresh” for so long even when they weren’t.
And then there’s Aesop:
Frog and the Ox (limits on the impossible?), The Boys and the Frog (PETA approved), The Hares and the Frogs, Frog and the Mouse,(Karma by another name?) The Frogs Who Wished for a King (Is that how we got to this point?), The Fighting Bulls and the Frog (also quite modern), and The Quack Toad,(politicians take note)
These sculptures much more welcomed and cherished by home owners than the living ones, perhaps.
All in how you look at things.
Time for whimsy to carve and serve up a beautiful 2019
Happy New Year!
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
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What a gem of a story! Once again I learned something new and fascinating – thank you!!!
My good friend’s mother, who passed away a few years ago, took up carving when she was in her late 30’s. I remember my friend explained that her mom was in the process of discovering herself (quit her job, left a 20 year marriage), and what she discovered was amazing. She started making these beautiful pieces of art out of stone or wood or anything that inspired her, and when I asked her about them, she’d say, “Beth, these figures were always there. I just had to look at them long enough, and then help them come out.” What an eye. This is something I truly admire in others – there ability to see past the obvious, and pull forward something that has been waiting just for them to show to the world.
Speaking of art, I should be in Houston to see the Tudor art exhibit, and also grabbing up my friend’s daughter who just started her first year at U of H (and is minoring in art history). Thank you for letting me know about it, because of you I’ll be going on my own adventure soon!
Happy New Year!
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Happy first weekend of the New Year!
“…then help them come out” What a cool way to describe the creative process. Creativity is there for all – it just comes out in different ways…if people don’t let it get smashed down early in life.
Can’t wait to hear about your adventures in Houston – what a cool person to be going with!!!
Thanks for traveling along
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I’m a great fan of good glasswork, but this certainly is equal in beauty. Has Bob seen his carved cousin? I think they’d get along famously. And now I’m realizing that I have some carved stone, too — a grouping of pigs done in a Chinese style, from Louisiana soapstone. Creativity truly does know no bounds.
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Soapstone is apparently very popular for carving. I can’t believe the details of these pieces.So hard to believe critics for so long called this sort fo sculpture “craft” or folk art instead of fine art.
Bob says people categorize things so strangely
Cheers and happy weekend of the new year!
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Thanks for this whimsical journey 🙂
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World needs to smile more. Thanks for chuckling along.
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I grew up eating frog’s legs. Not sure that this is relevant, but i learned about frog anatomy in nature as opposed to the lab. My mother would make me chop off their feet. “Too creepy” she would declare. We have a large frog and a large toad as doorstops here, and lots of other frogs, as well. Happy, happy. –Curt
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I was waiting for that hopping remark. Sounds like my mom’s story about how she made other wring the chicken’s necks…something about chickens will keep running around with their heads cut off…
Your adopting frog and toad replicas probably signals you’ve changed your ways and are not to be slimed or warted in the wild HAHA
Thanks for splashing down here to chat
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Karen, all this knowledge of toads and frogs can only lead me to wish you a “Hoppy” New Year! All the best to you and yours in 2019!
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So good to see you around bogland again. Hope you and yours are snug and warm watching the playoffs. Thanks for hopping in here
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I thought the Faberge legacy were those Russian Eggs worth millions and millions of dollars, for some silly reason.
Those frogs are a bit off putting , reminds me of those from across the Channel,
Do like that little mouse, looks very sweet.
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I started laughing when I saw all those frogs – knew you’d get a hoot out of them. All I could think was “what’s with all the frogs? Maybe it was a tongue in cheek political thing? Some symbolism important to the times? Kept hearing French tunes….
While intricate carvings, they aren’t worth as much as the eggs I imagine, but I’m not a collector – much probably depends on who purchased and who owned them.
Wish I had a better camera – the fine details – like the tiny hairs on the mouse were so amazing that anyone could do that…not to mention doing that while suspended stretched out own their stomach. Ah, how some will suffer for art or a paycheck.
Thanks for cutting in line to chat!
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“Some carve out time for themselves. Others carve themselves into time.”
Best line of 2018 – that I read in 2019.
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HA! You can always be counted on for clever quips. Like fireworks on New Years
Thanks for brightening up this spot
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Remarkable carvings! I think I’ve read Michelangelo carved marble the same way, by looking at it until the figure revealed itself.
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Wow! Remarkable! Love the sculptures, the philosophy, and the physics. As I read I wondered how Bob’s doing. The Princesses send New Year greetings to him!
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