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The Artist’s Almanac
December 2007
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What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen!
What old December’s bareness everywhere!
Shakespeare, Sonnet 97
December – the dark month. The first
day of winter, when the shy sun, if it appears at all, is receding
by early afternoon. December is our wettest month - here, instead
of snow, we get sodden rain or icy sleet. Three months of winter
lie ahead.
There are compensations - a warm
fire, hot tea, a good book. We and the cats stay close to home.
Yet the rare dry and sunny days are best for walking in the woods
and exploring. Last week we came upon this pioneer chimney in a
remote cove along the old trace to Kentucky. What resourceful
frontier artisan devised a way to hoist this huge stone weighing
tons to lintel his hearth? How dark was his December, lit and
warmed only by fireplace and candles, in a cold and lonely
wilderness?
Pioneer Chimney – Jack Masters, Photographer
Today the Christmas lights begin
appearing the day after Halloween. Common hackberries festooned
with lights turn the dullest subdivision into a twinkling midnight
forest. On Black Friday, that curiously-named
day-after-Thanksgiving, the colorful malls are jammed by shoppers
marching to The Little Drummer Boy and The Twelve Days of
Christmas. The Federal Reserve searches the merchants’ retail
sales reports with the same prophetic attention as ancient
shepherds and soothsayers once scanned the desert skies for signs
and portents. And now a comet approaches.
Comet Holmes through telescope
You may view this comet through your
binoculars, just west of the westernmost star in the W-shaped
constellation, Cassiopeia. It is headed straight for us, but still
150 million years out. This is its brightest appearance since
1892. Finding it is well worth the effort, an awesome sight, and I
will email a star chart and instructions to any subscriber who
asks. Its portent we leave to the prophets or to the Federal
Reserve.
Comet Holmes – Jim Opalek – Photographer
Electronic images swarm our lives;
flickering violence and motion disorder, not enlighten, us. The
December woods and the night skies offer solace to a shopper
harried by flashing lights and sounds.
The good artist is always careful to
set his lightest light against his darkest dark, that it may shine
the brighter. The star that shone from a black sky over Palestine
led the Magi across empty deserts to a stable where lay the
uncreated source of light. They brought worldly treasures to lay
at his feet. His gift to us was Himself. God became Man.
We use candles today only for
emergencies and for special occasions. Last Sunday at church we
had Advent candles, a string quartet and a full choir. When the
Bach began to flow I knew that all would be well, and that all
manner of things would be well.
The Nativity – Georges de La Tour
Upcoming Events
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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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Brentwood Theatre – One Man Show,
February - details to follow
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