I love how Edith Schaeffer talks about this art in her book Hidden Art. She pours out a vision of beauty, unity, and love for home through practicing this particular art.
Maybe you have not connected with one the arts we have discussed so far. Maybe you are still a bit hesitant to begin. Why not consider flower arrangements? All of us have a home, apartment, trailer, hut, or some other space to live in. Therefore, this might be the perfect place to enter in to playing with the arts.
It seems to me, based on Mrs. Schaeffer’s chapter, that flower arranging is an art of bringing beauty and warmth into the home. She does not only discuss the large flower arrangements that would adorn the center of the table or be sent as a gift for a certain occasion, but also a table-scape, with found materials from a walk in the woods. She also mentions a single flower or ivy leaf presented on a tray to a friend at a nursing home, even an arrangement of seashells and candles down the center of the table. The possibilities are endless.
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| In my entryway. My nine year old arranged this one. |
Mrs. Schaeffer does, of course, mention there are those who spend their lives practicing this art and have immense skill in the area. The Asian cultures are famous for their disciplined pursuit of this art. It is possible, however, for any one of us to enter in, begin learning the principles and forms of flower arranging, “fulfill inward needs for expression, and to spring surprises of beauty which cheer up everyone involved.”
Mrs. Schaeffer presents this art as a tool for use in honoring purpose and powers of the home.
“Of course, human relationships make a house into a home: either the relationships within the house, or the welcome and understanding that guests find. Human relationships depend upon communication. But this communication takes time. It is also helped by atmosphere, and the atmosphere is helped by the ‘things’ which are arranged with love and with an expression of creativity in a visible form.”
We have the power to effect change in our home, not only by our attitudes, and our spiritual health, but also by the physical environment. This is exciting to me because it communicates that we can take everything into the service of Christ and Christian living no matter where we are and what funds we have available.
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| Our kitchen table, with mismatched chairs. Each item in the center piece was a gift or a thrift store find. |
“I am not talking about luxury. This has nothing to do with wanting ‘things’ rather than wanting God’s will in one’s life. One can be led by God to live in a miserable slum in the heart of a teeming city, but one’s little spot there can have some sort of beauty of leaf, flower, rock branch and candle, whether there is a table or an orange crate upon which to arrange it. Even a mud hut can have an ivy growing over it and a flower arrangement within it … The people in the slum, the people in the other mud huts are not going to be estranged from beauty.”
Beauty if one of the three words we are forever talking about in classical education. Truth, goodness, and beauty. We are forever talking about them because these have transformative power. Beauty has transformative power. That is why it is so important for us to surround ourselves with it, appreciate it, and create embodiments of it.
Why not begin today? I did, and I spent nothing. I realized I have done nothing to elevate the level of beauty in our school room, and we spend the majority of the day in there. So, I found a piece of fabric some stones, a couple candles, and a few jars. I put the fabric down the center of our school room table, lined the center of that with rocks, and put our pencils and supplies in pretty jars and containers. It was a surprising and joyful facelift to the room. In addition, the table has not become cluttered up since I did this. I was not expecting that part, but as I think about it, it makes sense. When we introduce beauty into an environment, it raises the standard of living, and not in a snooty, I want more stuff way –in a real way.
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| I suppose I could clean the paint off the table… maybe. |
Okay, now your turn.
Expanding wisdom, extending grace,
Jen
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| This part is a member of our 31 Days of Playing with the Arts Series |
This is so great!! I was just thinking yesterday about maybe adding some flowers to our school table. I think I’ll make a point to try it this week.
Do it! Then share what you did! I am sure it will inspire others.