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.
The mirror reflects these lights and flowers beautifully. I'm glad to be able to visit again, Claire after some time away.
ReplyDeleteMantle, a favorite napping spot for cats.
ReplyDeleteGood word.
The teacup-thin vessels cast a most enchanting light. And mantle always comes to mind in the phrase, "taking up the..."
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteAnt. 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