Quote Wednesday -- Tolkien

"Remember what Bilbo used to say: It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.  You step onto the road and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." -- JRR Tolkien

I love the image of doors... infinite possibilities existing just on the other side.  I want a hallway of doors, each with their own destination.  I want a red door, a blue door, a purple door, a polka-dotted door, a peeling wooden door, a steel door, a rainbow door, a painted mural door, a heavy round door, all different doors.  I want to be able to try different doors, different paths, different worlds, and if I don't like them, exit back out the door and try another.  I love that scene in Alice in Wonderland where Alice opens the tiny door and spies a whole other world.  I want to be like Alice and shrink down to size to fit through the tiny door and experience a whole new world.  I want to throw caution to the wind and venture out.  I want to be like Bilbo and Frodo and journey on an epic quest.  I want to experience the "new", the "old", the "never even imagined."  I want to take over the wheel and steer the course.  I want to be swept off.  I want to live.

Quote Wednesday -- Stevenson

"Wine is bottle poetry." -- Robert Louis Stevenson

Wow!  Mr. Stevenson, I think you are my soul mate.  I love wine.  The different varieties, the many flavors, the interesting bottle designs (yes I love bottle and label design), the new possibilities.

When I'm feeling down, I bust out a bottle of wine.  It relieves my stress.  It makes me happy.  It relaxes me.  It makes everything seem okay.   After yesterday's debacle, I am ready for an escape. Unfortunately the wine won't be opened until tomorrow.  And then it's on.  Wine with appetizers, wine with dinner, wine with dessert, wine before bed.

I imagine if I were an artist, wine would be a great way to get the creative juices flowing.  Sipping wine quietly in a cozy chair, maybe with a notebook or reading book, my mind tends to wonder.  I think about anything and everything.  I imagine.  I write in my head.  I'm not a very good writer, but I've always wanted to be.  To write a great book (I think I lean towards nonfiction, but wine drinking can still be a part of that) is a dream accomplishment.  To be able to translate the dribble in my head to a cohesive page would be divine.  And wine would become my best friend, my inspiration.

Maybe on Friday I'll try it.  It's vacation.  We'll probably stay home and watch tv or read, maybe play a board game.  A bottle of wine and a notebook might be just the perfect pair to round out the day.  Now to choose: red or white, dry or medium, slightly sweet... so many choices!  I think I'll ask the bf to get a variety for Thursday and one just for Friday, his choice, but something nice and sippable.

Quote Wednesday -- Chagall

"Great art picks up where nature ends." -- Chagall What are my favorite pieces of art?  I love neoclassical pieces, impressionism, renaissance portraits.  I find beauty in the realistic.  Modern abstract paintings hold very little appeal.  I want to see a reflection of reality, but I better reflection.  The painting must be idealized.  It must pick "up where nature ends" as Chagall alludes to.  I want to see a approximation of perfection.  A dream, maybe, but very enjoyable to the senses.

So, here are a few pieces that have caught my eye.

The Cupid Seller -- Joseph Marie Vien

Liberty Leading the People -- Delacroix

Angelica Kauffman Self-Portrait

Jan Van Eyck -- Arnolfini Wedding

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres -- Grand Odalisque

Antonio Canova -- Cupid and Psyche

Quote Wednesday -- Keats

I"ve started a new challenge for myself.  Every Wednesday I am going to take a quote I find and reflect on said quote.  Sometimes I might even challenge myself to take some action related to the quote.

"What the imagination seizes as beauty must be truth -- whether it existed before or not." -- Keats

Two questions came to mind when I read this:

When do I use my imagination?

The answer is pretty depressing... not much at all.  When we are children, our imaginations run on overtime.  I have twin 7-year-old boys and they are constantly making up stories or games.  They use their imaginations constantly.  And I hardly ever use mine.

But that's not really true...  I use my to go to sleep.  If I am not dead tired, it takes me a few minutes to fall asleep at night.  Usually in those few minutes I think of some story.  Sometimes it's me pretending to be a character in a movie or book.   I create a whole universe with scenery, costumes, actions, and dialogue.  The stories become my counting sheep.  Most nights, my storytelling puts me to sleep in about 10 minutes.

And then most of the day, I completely ignore my imagination.  I don't use it at all.  I go about my day reading other people's stories or dealing with the very mundane and practical.

I should write down these stories I tell myself.  I should explore my creative side with art and writing.  But it's so hard to get started.  I just don't seem to stick with it.

What is my definition of beauty?

According to Merriam Webster, beauty is "the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit."

Using this definition, I find many things full of beauty.  I am addicted to food, so much food.  I love that first bite of a dish.  The aroma and taste assault my senses in the best way possible.  Music always gets a response.  Usually good, music evokes strong emotions tying me to the song.  Artfully crafted clothing makes my jaw drop.  Today I found the craziest strapless blue plaid dress and fell completely in love with it.  I found myself creating an entire outfit in my head from the dress.  And then I found out the dress was $15!  How could I resist?  I couldn't.  I love photographs.  Seeing an interesting black and white photo (usually of a window or door, yeah I know weird) almost brings me to tears it is so amazing.

So my definition of beauty... anything that can evoke a strong emotion in me.