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The Artist’s
Almanac
November 2007
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And all shall be well and
All manner of thing shall be well.
T. S. Eliot, after Julian of Norwich
The drought is broken by five consecutive days of steady rain,
and, except for the dead trees and shrubs, is now but a memory.
November enters gloriously, with cool sunny days - days for long
walks in the woods and first fires on the hearth. Though it will
end in overcast cold, with the light fading soon after lunch, it
begins with one of my favorite days – All Saints.
The paroxysm of Halloween is past, the time of pumpkins and
children playing dress up. Just as Mardi Gras’s wantonness
contrasts with Lenten fasts and the joyous feast of Easter, the
mocking of the dead at Halloween contrasts with the honor due them
on All Saints.
The Congregation – Bill Puryear, Artist
November is when reality sets in. Summer is past. The trees lose
their brilliant leaves, the winds and cold rains begin and we
bring the last roses inside before first hard freeze. Every
instant our future is fading into our past and in November we
reflect on what is real.
Adagio – Bill Puryear, Artist
Just as Spring is a time for sowing seed and looking forward, Fall
is a time for reaping what we have sown and for looking back. The
cool air, lowering skies, and flowing creeks invite reflection. We
come upon our old hunting coat in an upstairs closet and think of
our first quail and every dog we have hunted with. At Thanksgiving
we savor more than the food, the memory of those who have sat
round this table with us, those whom we love.
Nothing is more real than our memories. The French Existentialist,
Louis Lavelle, writes,
“No one can doubt that in memory there is often to be found a
light and a depth which did not belong to the object at the moment
we saw it, nor to the act at the time we performed it. Memory has
detached the event from time and endowed it with a kind of eternal
quality…The memory of an event is always there at our command, and
can be endlessly revived. It is a new form of existence, intimate,
stable and purified….”
No man forgets his mother or his father. Nor his spouse, his
children, or the least of his loved ones. The Vigil for All Saints
is not a gruesome time, but a joyous one. In November, just as the
life of nature retreats into the cold earth, the intimations of
the spirit abound.
He continues,
“…though we be unaware of it, the dead are close to us and are
always ready to respond to our call and to exert on us a far purer
and more disinterested influence than that which they exerted in
their lifetime ….It is in memory, as soon as we close our eyes,
that we see the significance of every event in our lives and of
every action we have performed. …It is through memory that our
soul enters into itself and becomes aware of our inner essence;
through memory, also, without any effort of will on our part, the
saints manifest their holiness and receive the honor which is
their due.”
In November the fallen leaves line the banks of the creek Then a
gentle rain falls for five days and I am there, on the old iron
bridge, looking down at the limpid water flowing below. It is
perfectly clear, moving at a leisurely pace, carrying the bright
yellow leaves, slowly turning them over and over, heading for the
river, the ocean, or who knows where. I shall never forget that
sight.
Rites of Passage – Bill Puryear, Artist
Upcoming Events
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Fine Art in Brentwood – Show and
Sale November 30 -December 2, 2007, Brentwood Academy 219 Granny
White Pike, Brentwood, Tennessee
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Bill Puryear, Featured Artist,
Gallatin Junior Service League – Ninth Annual Art In Bloom Show -
February 22-23, 2008, Bluegrass Country Club, Hendersonville,
Tennessee
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