Part Seventy-three--Touch of the Master's Hand, pt four

COMPONENT: A SYMPHONY OF STEAM
TOPIC: LEAVE AN IMPRESSION

In April Autumn, Giselle, and I went on trip that was thematic for both Autumn and Giselle--a trip to eat crêpes and a visit to the Norton Simon museum to see the Impressionists. 

 

This little place in Victoria Gardens, Rancho Cucamonga is called Crêpes de Paris. We stopped here for brunch on our way to Pasadena.

The walls and doors were painted in this cute, French style.

 

Even the bathroom was plastered with Toulouse-Lautrec and Moulin Rouge posters.

 

This restaurant is fittingly situated on Monet Avenue!

We've fit in a few French things here and there, and every time we see something French, it is time to take a picture:

Next we drove to the Norton Simon, which is home to a large collection of Impressionists. There are several Auguste Rodin statues outside the museum. I learned about this one, The Burghers of Calais, from an art documentary last summer, and I also saw it at the Met. 

 

Calais is the port where the Scarlet Pimpernel docked his ship, The Day Dream, just before he made his escape from Chauvelin. The story of the burghers is from the Hundred Years' War, when Edward III laid siege to Calais. The people were starving, and Edward offered to spare the city if some of its citizens would offer themselves to be sacrificed. One of the wealthiest town leaders volunteered, then other burghers joined him. The men were led out of the town with nooses around their necks, but were spared execution by the intervention of the Queen of England, who said their deaths would be a bad omen for her unborn child. Rodin chose to capture the time of their captivity. What brave and noble souls!

 

 The museum is filled with just about every famous, and several not-so-famous, French Impressionists.

Monet

Degas

This is now one of my favorite Van Gogh. His impasto--paint which stands out in 3D from the canvas--is wonderful in person:

His old man's face is filled with lime green and other colors one wouldn't normally think of seeing on a person's face! I enjoyed Van Gogh more this trip than I ever have before now. 

Besides Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, there were paintings from all other art eras by famous artists as well:

Botticelli

from the school of Caravaggio

Fragonard

And many others. 

It was a beautiful, sunny, Southern California day. We've only been to this museum once before, and I'm glad we had an excuse to come again. That's a great reason to homeschool, so that we have to go on field trips like this.  

Earlier during this art school year I let Giselle choose some reproduction masterpieces from Costco photo, and then framed them for her. She put them up on her bedroom walls which I began to call, Giselle's Gallery. She choose some favorites from several art periods:

 

Ophelia by John William Waterhouse

 

Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Joan of Arc (carry-over from last year)

Claude Monet

 

On the top--Girls at the Piano by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Madame X by John Singer Sargent. Giselle fell in love with Sargent last year when she saw this life-size painting at the Met. She was so glad to get a copy for her wall. 

Those are just a few of the paintings on her wall. I just counted four paintings of the Savior, as well as several other framed items. This was a fun experience this year--choosing some favorite artwork for display. We've never done that before. 

Something else that Giselle and I have both done this year was to download some art apps for our phone/iPod. The one Giselle got me hooked on is called DailyArt. I had downloaded a few apps at the beginning of the school year, but then Giselle told me that she had this app which would pop up a message every day with a new art piece. 

I downloaded this app and have used it throughout the year.  And though I didn't look at every single art piece each day, it has become a personal art gallery experience for me. Throughout this school year, as I become more and more familiar with art and artists, I appreciate the work that pops up on my phone daily. Taking just a few minutes to view the piece and read about it, is my way of traveling to a museum every day.  This is a part of this school year which I plan to keep around for awhile. 

Our year piano display -- Monet on the left and our mind map on the right. 

(the clothes are from Autumn's mission prep)

THE HUNTINGTON AND FOREST LAWN

One of our favorite places is Huntington Library and Gardens. This was one last trip for our school year. 

 I got one picture of Autumn drawing Neptune:

 

We always sit in this room and draw.

Lorenzo came with us too.

After the Huntington, we went to my favorite, Glendale Forest Lawn. I told Giselle and Lorenzo that I should take at least one school photo of them, since this Moses is one of Michelangelo's masterpieces. 

The Last Supper in stained glass (my folks were with us)

Giselle, Grandma Collette, Autumn

This Forest Lawn Pieta is an exact duplicate of the one in Rome--made of exact dimensions and from the same marble quarry that Michelangelo used. The only difference between the Roman one and this, is that the name "Michelangelo" is not chiseled along Mary's strap on the Forest Lawn copy. 

The story goes that soon after the Pieta was on display in Saint Peter's, some gentlemen seeing it mentioned that it was carved by another artist. Michelangelo, still in his 20's, heard this, and that night he chiseled his name into the strap across Mary's  chest--supposedly the only piece he ever signed. 

It reads: Michaelangelus Bonarotus Florentinus Faciebat, which translates to "Michelangelo Buonarroti the Florentine made this." This replica omits his signature.

These rooms hold treasures--many replicas of Michelangelo's works 

RANDOM PHOTOS

Giselle recreates Monet's Water Lilies in pastels.

LAST CONCERT/EXHIBITION

For our last component Giselle played a piece by one of her favorite composers--March of the Dwarves by Grieg, .

This was my favorite painting on display that day--by Lorenzo's sister.

We attended Giselle's last formal piano recital the first weekend in June, after our school formally ended. But I put this here because Giselle did so much with her music this year, as a student and teacher. At this recital she performed a modern solo piece and a duet with another student. Coincidentally she performed the same duet that Amber performed at a recital--Anitra's Dance from Peer Gynt, by Grieg. 

Giselle loves her teacher, Mrs. Linstrom. She was a wonderful mentor not only in Giselle's journey as a pianist and a person, but also in helping Giselle with her personal piano teaching business. Mrs. Linstrom asked Giselle to help her choose all the music for the casual ensemble recital which will be Giselle's last recital.

Sometime in May, Giselle announced her summer project: to watch a musical every day with me. One night when Hal was at work we watched That's Entertainment, and she took notes the entire time, writing down the names of the musicals and other movies she wanted to see. It was so fun to continue our music theme into the summer. 

CLOSING NIGHT

Saturday, May 18, 2013 was the closing night of the year and of our homeschooling lives. It was a beautiful, relaxed affair. I organized the evening and wanted a low-stress, elegant night, and it was, thanks to all the mothers who pitched in.

We returned to the Edwards' Mansion in Redlands to say farewell to the year. We danced, ate, laughed at the Scarlet Pimpernel's quips, and enjoyed visiting together.

"Welcome to Lord Grenville's Farewell Ball" 

Giselle's (right), and my masks

Cupcakes, as paint on a palette

Sadie Kindrick, aka Lady Blakeney, on the stairs

Hal and I are seated to the left of the Scarlet Pimpernel

We took photos before it got dark,

Braden was a great Pimpernel. Move over Anthony Andrews!

Giselle is to the left of the Pimpernel, holding Sabrina Heywood

All the adults in their finery

I led the dancing for the group. The hit of the night was a refined version of the Virginia Reel which we danced for at least 30 minutes straight! The kids absolutely loved it, even the boys. The students began teaching the newcomers, and I finally bowed out.

At the beginning of the night Sir Percival Blakeney, aka the Scarlet Pimpernel, welcomed us to the ball, or as he liked to call it, "my nap." I don't think too many people got this joke, but I laughed, (remember how he pretends to nap in the library during the ball?) 

Dancing with Lorenzo

Hal's smile seems to say, "I'm so happy that I'm not dressed up like a king or John Adams, and I'm doubly happy that this is the last time I will have to dress up, (bow tie and cummerbund), for school." 

At the end I presented Giselle with a graduation present of roses.

Bridey Kindrick stood up after that and presented me with roses and a card from the mothers of our group. Throughout the night several ladies asked me how I was holding up. Well, three days before this I had said goodbye to Autumn Heather for a year and a half, and now I was saying goodbye to my last night of 24 years of homeschooling. I thought it would be an emotional night, but it was a joyful time.

This enchanting night formally ended our EPIC Adventures!

The students sang our song one last time, while the moms, or at last I, cried.

Fortissississimo! or I Am My Own Picasso

Commissioned by the Greatest Master to fill the canvas of my life.

Painting--my life a work of art--I am my own Picasso. 

Conducted by the Greatest Maestro, a virtuoso may I be.

Crescendo forth in triumph--Behold a symphony!

Faced with the shadows that counterfeit right

I'm steadfast! I'm courageous! I'm undaunted!

Champion the beauty, goodness and truth.

Fortissimo!  Fortississimo!! Fortissississimo!!!

The cadence of my composition will resonate in harmony.

Singing--my life a melody--I am my own Shostakovich.

Soul, heart and hand I humbly offer my masterpiece to heaven pledged.

Choosing my story--prelude to glory.       

(Spoken: "David"  "Venus de Milo"  "The Thinker"  "Vitruvian Man")

Glorious Masterpiece

(Music by Frederic Chopin, circa 1831 Revolutionary Etude, Op. 10 no. 12)

(Text by Amanda Amakasu, Jeanne Bradley, Sadie Heywood  August 2012)