Rick writes:
I was showing this lettering to a friend last week and thought that you would enjoy the view and the story.
To orient yourself to this image, you are standing in our front hall, looking through the stained glass into our kitchen. Just below it on the other side is the kitchen sink.
When Maria moved into the house, she didn't want to look at a wall while doing dishes. So she studied with Carl Paulson, a local stained glass artist and then created this window.
Of course, she did the lettering that arches above. Later, we added the tangled frame to border the image when it came time to paint the front hallway again.
The lettering reads, "Deep within the midst of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer."
Maria adds:
This is my adaptation of an Albert Camus quote. I say this because I had heard it translated a few different ways from the French. But at the time, I decided this is how it should read for me.
Most of the translations began with “In the midst . . . ,” but I had no desire to illuminate an “I”. . . so I changed it to a “D”. And, I added the “finally” because it took me a number of years to get to this realization.
I created the calligraphic addition to the stained glass at a time in my life where I needed a reminder to stay strong. I believe that waking each morning and seeing this changed my life. A simple reminder to keep looking up.
First I made the window. Five years later, on a Mother’s Day, I added the verse. Then thirty years later we added the border. I love this concept of adapting art as needed, giving it new life every now and then. It’s like moving the furniture around in a room. Same room, new look.
Rick continues:
My friend's visit inspired this blog post. As I showed him this quote, I paid attention to the word "finally." I think that word is key to Maria's writing of this quote. I have no doubt that each of us has "an invincible summer" within. We might believe it to be true, but belief is not the same as knowing. Sometimes it can require the "midst of [a] winter" to "finally" know and fully feel the inner invincibility of such a summer.
How much gratitude might Mr. Camus have had for that cold winter's midst which revealed to him the experience of his invincible summer?
We view life as an art form, an ever unfolding series of acts of imaginative creativity. No matter what may occur, no matter what accidental drops of ink fall, a sense of gratitude will always serve us well . . . even if it is to hold a sense of gratitude in anticipation of the warmth of an (inner) invincible summer.
In a magical turn of events, in 2014, we hired Maria's teacher’s son, Stephen Paulson to create a stained glass window for our porch. It reminds us each morning, as we admire the amazing composition and brilliant colors, what is most important in life.
P.S.
In the hallway photo above, check out the lampshade with its touch of knightsbridge. No surface is safe (from becoming more beautiful) in our home!
What is one of your favorite uplifting quotes? Please share in the comments below.
Enjoy!
P.P.S.
What tools did I use? The lettering was so long ago, but in looking at it just now . . . the black was definitely sign painter’s paint, very intense. The rest was some combination of acrylic/ gouache.
The tangles were most likely Sakura Graphic One. Or their Identipen. And graphite pencil shading.
It appears that I put a coat of urethane over the tangles but not the lettering.
M.
For it is always there
Even in the dark
Or most in the dark,
But shining like gold strokes in a dark piece of embroidery.
Wendell Berry
RUTH E DONALDSON on
Thank you so much Rick and Maria for your openness and willingness to share yourselves and your poignant memories and insights with our Zentangle community. You emmanate such kindness, wisdom and grace. I am so grateful to be a part of this creative family that spans the world.
One of my favourite quotes is from a beautiful book called The Book of the Shepherd by Joann Davis, ‘keep your heart as light as a feather’. When I’m out walking in nature I often seem to come across a tiny feather on my path just when I need this reminder. I pick it up and add it to the now feather full jar that sits on my desk.
With gratitude and appreciation to you both for your beautiful, creative, sharing souls.
Liz Gatehouse on
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
- Mary Oliver
Kay J Naumann on
Maria, your translation of this quote from Albert Camus is perfect! I quote the original in French for the amateurs: « Au milieu de l’hiver, j’apprenais enfin qu’il y avait en moi un été invincible. » Albert Camus, L’ été, « Retour à Tipasa », 1952.
Thank you so much for sharing your story!
Ludivine Schott, a French CZT on
The Camus quote is a favorite. Another is “With life as short as a half-taken breath, don’t plant anything but love.~Rumi
JENNIFER SPARROW on
Mary Ellen Ziegler CZT33 on
I’m getting back to tangling just today after a six month hiatus. Your art and your gifts are gratefully received. Thank you!
Florence Lednum on
“It’s not always easy to tell the difference between thinking and looking out the window.” Wallace Stevens
Jackie on
“ I love myself, I am gentle with myself.“. I learned this at a workshop some 25 years ago! Still use it today. I’m especially gentle when I’m doing Zentangle!
Mary Illana Perrin CZT on September 7, 2021 on
(paraphrased) If we see randomness, it is only because we don’t yet recognize the pattern. LC Tiffany
Mary Kay Cass on
And a lighthearted one that actually adorns one of my walls.
“You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
You belong with your love on your arm
You belong in a place you feel free.”
Tom Petty
Jan ~Sailandbejoyful~ on
Sherri Quinlan on
Jan ~SailAndBeJoyful~ on
“Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out.” John Wooden
Matt Wieczkowski (mattski1208CZT 29 & 33) on
And a lighthearted one that actually adorns one of my walls.
“You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
You belong with your love on your arm
You belong in a place you feel free”. Tom Petty
Jan ~SailAndBeJoyful~ on
My quote: This place where you are right now, God marked on a map for you. Hafiz.
Rohini Singh Chopra on
Jane Elaine on
Oops…I forgot to leave my quotes:
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
—Arthur Ashe
“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.”
—Ralph Waldon Emerson
Amy M Broady on
Thank you for sharing this story… as usual, your timing is perfect. The quote is wonderful and I love how it has been translated to give personal meaning and encouragement.
Personally, I’ve had a favorite quote for many years, but I did not realize it’s impact on me until after I became a CZT. When I decided to become a CZT, I had many plans that involved monetizing this new passion of mine into a business. The pandemic stopped those plans in their tracks. However, I did not feel resentment. I did not feel like my plans had failed. Instead, I went back to my feeling of gratitude and appreciation and asked myself, okay what can I do with this right now, and I realized this quote that I had favored for so many years, was giving me a new moment of clarity …. I needed to give this away to those who needed it most… those who were perhaps struggling more than others during the pandemic… the business would come later… for now I just needed to share it.
The quote is:
The meaning of life is to find your gift…The purpose of life is to give it away – Pablo Picasso
In gratitude,
Heather Moffatt, CZT34
Heather Moffatt on
Clara A Brunk on
How exquisite! All of it.
I am blessed to live in a home with some stained glass features, and I deeply value their uplifting effect in my daily life.
A couple of years ago, I stepped-out a tangle that I call “within.” It was inspired by a piece of art by Margaret Bremner. I will send it to you in an email.
Thank you for sharing these images, thoughts, and experiences.
Sending love from Tennessee!💖✍️😁
Amy Broady on
Kathy Y. on
Gale Sherman on
A reminder that life is too short to take myself too seriously
Sabra Steinsiek on