Hidden Art, Chapter 1

Hidden Art of Homemaking Book Club, Chapter 1: The First Artist

I am joining the Book Club hosted by Cindy at Ordo Amoris, reading through Edith Schaeffer's The Hidden Art of Homemaking. I first read this book several years ago, and honestly have lost a lot of what it said to me at the time. Somewhere between the excitement of having my own home and becoming a homeschooling mother of three, the "art" went a little bit out the window and utility won the day. When I had three babies under the age of two, "survival" was more like it.

Most of the beauty I enjoy these days is outside, or comes in from outside, which is fitting as Chapter 1 of the book is about God as the first Artist. The Creation is truly the first and best art.  Made in the image of our Creator, we also have the capacity to create art in many forms. We are limited by time and talent, but "nevertheless we have been created in His image, so we can be, and are made to be, creative." (p. 25) As Mrs. Schaeffer writes, God was the first sculptor, musician, painter, and gardener; forming the mountains and the human body, composing the songs of the birds, arranging the lights in the heavens, and sending the breeze to make the trees and the seas dance. He was the first author--speaking ideas into words that burst into life and began the story--and now we have our own stories to tell.

Certainly not everything we create is art, but I believe that as we are cast in our Creator's image, that which is art is also cast in the image of its original.  Are not all forms of art found in creation somewhere? A friend recently posted a picture on Facebook of the view from the Willis Tower in Chicago with the caption, "The Midwest is pretty flat." One commenter responded, "We build our mountains out of steel."

Most days, if the house is reasonably clean, that is good enough. At times I get inspired to do a little more--rearrange furniture, maybe put a few flowers on the table, dust the baseboards. But when the lessons are finished and meals are taken care of, I tend to think of myself as "off duty," and I am ready to sit down somewhere and read, regardless of whether or not I have done my work with the mind of an artist or just taken care of the bare necessities. I am hoping however, that as I work through this book again, I will renew my desire to create beauty in my home, through the "hidden art" of homemaking.

We are sharing pictures of the view in our backyards this week, so here are a few shots of ours.

On a clearer day, you can see the mountains through the trees.