Krista Tippett Interview on 10% Happier Podcast

Krista Tippett is known for her very successful interview show @onbeing but in this case, the tables are turned and she herself is being interviewed by Dan Harris on his podcast 10% Happier. I thought this was a perfect choice for this week's blog as the year winds down. Three Skills for Staying Calm, Sane and Open in a Chaotic World

Glass Flowers by Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka

I had an open studio last week and it was great to meet some of my neighbors in the building who stopped by. One of the people I met was Dimitri, a scientist, and somehow we got on the subject of the Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants (aka the Glass Flowers) which he had just seen and greatly admired at the Harvard Natural History Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I looked it up and found this to be a truly amazing collection with a very unique story.

Harvard University originally commissioned these glass flowers beginning in the 1800s as a teaching tool and they took fifty years to complete. The work was done exclusively by a father and son team: Leopold (1822-1895) and Rudolph Blaschka (1857-1939), native to the area of the Bohemian Czech-German borderland but who worked from their studio in Dresden, Germany. I share this short documentary on the collection—and I can't wait to go and see it in person one of these days soon in Boston.

According to those who have seen this exhibit in person, you cannot believe, even six inches away, that these plants are not real. The collection of over 4,000 models, representing more than 830 plant species, is considered one of the University's greatest treasures and is the only collection of its kind in the world.

In the words of Leopold Blaschka explaining their extraordinary talent, "Many people think that we have some secret apparatus by which we can squeeze glass suddenly into these forms, but it is not so. We have the touch. My son Rudolf has more than I have because he is my son and the touch increases in every generation. The only way to become a glass modeler of skill, I have often said to people, is to get a good great-grandfather who loved glass; then he is to have a son with like tastes; he is to be your grandfather. He in turn will have a son who must, as your father, be passionately fond of glass. You, as his son, can then try your hand, and it is your own fault if you do not succeed. But, if you do not have such ancestors, it is not your fault."

Crash Course in Carl Jung

I recently became interested in Carl Jung and Jungian psychoanalysis in an attempt to explore different aspects of myself that puzzle me. Jung's wholistic approach and philosophy resonates with me, since according to him, so much of life takes place on the subconscious level--our daily existence is just the tip of the iceberg. I came across this "crash course" in Jungian philosophy on youtube--it is a simplified version I am sure but serves as a broad overview of his theories.

Painting of the Week

Gert Mathiesen, Red Figures, Fish mixed media on canvas, 45” x 88”

Charity of the Week:
National Dance Institute

About The Author

New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow, began writing the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her and her art, visit her website and check out the essay written by the Hammond Museum's Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.