These fragile candle-bearing porcelain vessels live on the mantle*piece in my bedroom; they were made by artist and dear friend Katherine Glenday. Katherine lives in Cape Town; we'll be working together on various collaborative projects (a porcelain flotilla?) when I return to South Africa for a month or two this coming December/January. . .
And don't you love the word 'mantle'? Like every grain of sand, it contains the universe. . .
*mantel |ˈmantl| (also mantle)nouna mantelpiece or mantelshelf.ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: specialized use of mantle 1 .mantle 1 |ˈmantl| |ˈmøn(t)l| |ˈmant(ə)l|noun1 a loose sleeveless cloak or shawl, worn esp. by women.• figurative a covering of a specified sort : the houses were covered with a thick mantle of snow.• (also gas mantle) a fragile mesh cover fixed around a gas jet, kerosene wick, etc., to give an incandescent light when heated.• Ornithology a bird's back, scapulars, and wing coverts, esp. when of a distinctive color.• Zoology an outer or enclosing layer of tissue, esp. (in mollusks, cirripedes, and brachiopods) a fold of skin enclosing the viscera and secreting the substance that produces the shell.2 an important role or responsibility that passes from one person to another : the second son has now assumed his father's mantle. [ORIGIN: with allusion to the passing of Elijah's cloak (mantle) to Elisha (2 Kings 2:13).]3 Geology the region of the earth's interior between the crust and the core, believed to consist of hot, dense silicate rocks (mainly peridotite).• the corresponding part of another planetary body : the lunar mantle.
This weekend I hope to post word re; the
environmental nightmare that's pummeling our North Island coastline. . . Our hearts are in our mouths. Meantime, please
love the waters - wherever in the world you are - love the waters and light candles. . . ?
Thank you xo.
4 comments:
The mirror reflects these lights and flowers beautifully. I'm glad to be able to visit again, Claire after some time away.
Mantle, a favorite napping spot for cats.
Good word.
The teacup-thin vessels cast a most enchanting light. And mantle always comes to mind in the phrase, "taking up the..."
I have been avoiding news, not that our local outlets would have it, and had no idea of your ocean-borne disaster. Mustering what can be mustered in hope there can, somehow, be a reversal of this. xo
Hi Elisabeth - I've been a little elsewhere, too. We catch up as and when we can. It is lovely to find your footprints here. Thank you for coming.
Ant. C., hello, hello. I would love, love, love a firm, wide mantle to nap on - but I'm a lion, not a cat. Does that matter? I agree, it's a good word. One to circle - and inhabit. I hope all is well in your corner of the band.
Dear Marylinn - I've been feeling felled by the unfolding disaster and its long-term implications, unsure what to say about it. (As you can see, I still haven't written anything in response. How feeble is that? I am drawing, though. . . ) We must stand in hope that there can somehow be a positive outworking. . . perhaps our government will hear the cautionary message embedded in this event and put a stop to proposed offshore drilling. . . going ahead would feel like - and be - an insanity. Sigh. What to do?
Love to all. Take care, Claire
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