Monday, September 23, 2013

Album of the Heart ~ Undated Entry

Dear Flora,
 
May you live in joy forever,
Naught from thee true pleasure sever;
Joys be many, cares be few,
Smooth the path thou shalt pursue.
 
From your loving friend,
Katie Rogers
 
The lines are from the poem "To the Unknown Donor of a Bouquet" by John S. Adams 1704-1740.
 
Richest flowers of every hue,
Lightly fringed with evening dew;
Sparkling as from Eden's bowers,
Brightly tinted-beauteous flowers!
Thee I've found, and thee I'll own,
Though from one to me unknown;
Knowing this, that one who'll send
Such a treasure is my friend.
Who hath sent thee? Flora knows,
For with care she reared the rose.
Lo! here's a name!-it is the key
That will unlock the mystery;
This will tell from whom and why
Thou didst to my presence hie.
Wait-the hand's disguised!-it will
Remain to me a mystery still.
But I'm a "Yankee," and can "guess"
Who wove this flowery, fairy tress.
Yea, more than this, I almost know
Who tied this pretty silken bow,
Whose hand arranged them, and whose taste
Each in such graceful order placed.
Yet, if unknown thou 'dst rather be,
Let me wish this wish for thee:
May'st thou live in joy forever,
Naught from thee true pleasure sever;
From thy heart arise no sigh;
May no tear bedew thine eye.
Joys be many, cares be few,
Smooth the path thou shalt pursue;
And heaven's richest blessings shine
Ever on both thee and thine.
Round thy path may fairest flowers,
As in amaranthine bowers,
Bloom and blossom bright and fair,
Load with sweets the ambient air!
Be thy path with roses strewn,
All thy hours to care unknown;
Sorrow cloud thy pathway never,
Happiness be thine forever.
 
He was born in Nova Scotia and graduated from Harvard in 1721 at the age of 17. He was published in two volumes of poetry: A Collection of Poems by Several Hands (1744), and Poems on Several Occasions (1745).
 
In "The Other John Adams 1705-1740" published in 1969, author Benjamin Franklin V, takes an in depth look at this significant American figure of the 1720s, a decade when culture was changing from primarily religious to secular. 


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Open Eyes, Open Hearts ~ Sept 18, 2013

I have two shops on Etsy: ShelleyMDesigns and BeyondTime. The first showcases my own designs: one of a kind necklaces, and beaded serving, bar and desk sets. The second showcases vintage books, paper ephemera, and children's books published by my grandfather, John Sherman Bagg.
 
Recently I've been spending more time on Etsy for a different reason. I am part of the Brave Team, a collection of individuals who create beautiful treasuries, sixteen piece art collages, dedicated to those who fight chronic illness, their caregivers, and families. We aren't there to sell our wares, simply to create beauty, to brighten a day. I've been a caregiver and I am now a warrior so this seemed like the right place to be. This journey has allowed me to discover some incredibly talented artists along the way.

Here's a find from my latest treasury entitled ~ Brave: Weave a Rainbow.

Abstract Art Print - Colorful Celestial Staircase Spiral - Blue and Gold Fractal Spiral Print 
Celestial Staircase Spiral

If you click on the link below it will take you to the treasury. If you want to see more click on "braveteam" in the tags section of the treasury and it will connect you to additional works from the team.
 
 
Take a moment out of your busy day and do something special for someone. Little gestures, creative support and a smile can work wonders. Here a few other discoveries.
 
Arizona Photo Salt River orange, dusk, dawn, reflections, dark, calm, serene, soft, quiet, Sunset Drama - 13 x 19 Matted Fine Art
Salt River

Atomic Explosion Necklace. The Time Traveler's Wife.  A Meandering Tale of Cosmic JoOLs. Payment for a Kay Adams Custom Planetary Sculpture.
The Time Traveler's Wife
 
Emissaries - Original Mixed Media
Emissaries


Saturday, September 14, 2013

Saturday Surprise ~ Sept 14, 2013

There are artists with vision and artists with true vision. Will Wagenaar's recycled materials creations are a shear delight. Visit his shop on Etsy.
 
jewelry box robot dragon - MYSTERY - assemblage sculpture - Reclaim2Fame
 
Mystery, the Jewel Box Dragon

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Album of the Heart ~ October 1, 1880

"As gold more brilliant from the fire appears,
Thus friendship brightens by the length of years."
 
Yours Constantly,
Adelaide Breen
San Juan, CA
 
Fine Art Print Red Gold Fire Sunset Coast Beach Rocks Sea Landscape  16x12 inch Limited Edition
Gold Fire

This short poem written in Great Grandmother Flora's album is attributed to Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881). He was a Scottish philosopher, satirist, historian, teacher and controversial social commentator. He had a lifelong friendship with Ralph Waldo Emerson.
 
His first major work, written in 1831, was Sartor Resartus. It was intended to be both fact and fiction, serious and satirical, speculative and historical. Ironically it forced the reader to confront the problem of where the truth was to be found. Sounds a bit like today's media machine.
 
His most well known work was Frederick the Great. Emerson considered it the wittiest book that was ever written. James Russell Lowell wrote "The figures of most historians seem like dolls stuffed with bran, whose substance runs out through any hole that criticism may tear in them; but Carlyle's are so real in comparison, that, if you prick them, they bleed."  Might be time to revisit history with a more experienced perspective.

This portrait of Thomas Carlyle was done by James McNeill Whistler in 1872-73. I'm also doing research on Adelaide Breen and may have found a connection to her family tree, the quest continues.
 
File:Whistler James Arrangement in Gray and Black No2 1873.jpg

 

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Album of the Heart ~ January 7, 1882

To Flora
 
"Tis education that forms the common mind,
Just as the twig is bent the tree's inclined."
"Do good by stealth
and blush to find it fame."
 
Yours truly, L.G White
San Francisco
 
The Tree-Spirit - limited edition 13x19 archival quality digital print
Tree Spirit
 
The quotes above are from Alexander Pope (1688-1744). He was an 18th-century English poet and satirist best known for his poem The Rape of the Lock and his translation of Homer's Iliad. His epigrams are some of the most frequently quoted passages in the English language.
 
I don't know if L.G. White was part of Flora's family or a friend. I've found nothing so far, but will be digging further into the family tree this winter so perhaps another mystery will be solved. Half the fun of this project is the research involved: the love of the chase, a chance to learn something new, and finding insight into my Great Grandmother's 19th century world.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Album of the Heart ~ May 27, 1880

From me you want something original
I'd write it if I could with vim
But there's nothing original in me
Excepting "original sin"
 
Unsigned
Royal Honor Guards Dancing School
San Juan, CA

Artist Lover

This unsigned entry leaves much to the imagination. I can find no connection to a published poem. Perhaps these are the words of a young man, who may have been a dance partner or a friend from school, too shy to sign his name. Flora was 21 at the time. Sometimes the magic is in the mystery.
 
Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.

Albert Einstein

The lithograph "Artist Lover" is from the Album of the Heart. There are two names: De la Roche and J. A. Rolph inscribed on the bottom of the page.
 
J.A. Rolph or John A. Rolph was the engraver of the lithographed artwork. He was born in Essex, England in 1799 and emigrated to NY in 1833. His varied subject matter spanned the globe. Many canvases of American artists were preserved in black and white lithographs done by Rolph and his brother engravers. He died in Brooklyn in 1862. De la Roche may have been French painter Paul Delaroche (1797-1856) but I can find no direct connection between the two.