Quote of the Day: “I have sometimes been wildly despairingly, acutely miserable, but through it all- still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.” Agatha Christie
Exercise Log: Walked 4.11 w/ Sue B., Sue O. and Melissa. We went up Neff’s Canyon in search of Glacier Lilies- saw none but it was beautiful up there. The icy layer on the first mile has melted and many rock forms show through. The air was crisp and clean and there was a beautiful pastal color in the sky. Stairmaster 3.77 (+4.09)
Yesterday, Joe and I went down to see the Carl Bloch exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art, a must see. It will only be there another week but it was such an amazing experience. “Carl Heinrich Bloch (May 23, 1834 – February 22, 1890) was a Danish painter. He was born in Copenhagen. Bloch’s parents wanted their son to enter a respectable profession – an officer in the Navy. This, however, was not what Carl wanted. His only interest was drawing and painting, and he was consumed by the idea of becoming an artist. The sorrow over losing his wife weighed heavily on Bloch, and being left alone with their eight children after her death was very difficult for him. In a final ode, from a famous author to a famous artist, H.C. Andersen said “Write on the canvas; write your seal on immortality. Then you will become noble here on earth.” (from Wikipedia) The tour is set up so that you rent an i-pod that allows you to sit in front of the painting and scroll through different scholars explaining these incredible works of art. My favorite feature was allowing you to click on several different people or scenes in the painting while receiving an explanation of that particular part. I learned that there is so much more to the paintings than I realized and it gave me such respect for all Carl Bloch was trying to convey to us through his paintings. There was one particular painting that was not on display but was on the i-pod. It showed Christ surrounded by children. I loved how he shows little children drawn to Christ and Christ’s emphasis on how we treat children.
One of Carl Bloch’s friends said this: “Through your art you add a new step to your Jacob-ladder into immortality.” Jacob had a dream “that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!
Joanie,
I just found your blog. I am so sorry to hear about what you are going through and I have been praying for you and your family. Reading your posts is so inspiring–you are so courageous and truly a good person. You taught me so much about being thoughtful, kind and service oriented. Thank you for your example.
Love,
Paige