Aaron Copland was born in 1900. He loved to write music and even more so, he loved to teach people how to enjoy it. He grew up in New York City, where he heard all kinds of music. During his lifetime, Americans were getting used to modern times. Artists and writers were trying out new … Continue reading Aaron Copland
Robert Frost was born in San Francisco in 1874. When he was a child, his family moved to New England, and he stayed there most of his life. He started writing poems when he was sixteen, and he never stopped. He graduated at the top of his class, a rank he shared with the woman … Continue reading Robert Frost
Jackson Pollock was an American artist who was born in 1812 in Wyoming. He grew up with several brothers. He is known for making huge paintings by splattering, throwing, and dripping paint onto canvas. His style of painting is called “Abstract Expressionism.” However, Jackson liked to call it “Action Painting” because he used a lot … Continue reading Jackson Pollock
A word fitly spokenIs like apples of gold in pictures of silver. – Prov. 25:11 Great authors are wordsmiths. Through vivid imagery and careful syntax, their words ferry our minds to mythical lands with unexpected characters or turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. This is artistry in ink; a picture painted in intelligible letters placed, … Continue reading Authors are our Teachers
Nature study is harder in February than at other times of the year. Flowers are dormant. Creatures are hiding. Trees are bare. But, the night sky is beautiful. It gets dark early, and the cold seems to make the stars brighter. We’ve gathered some information about constellations that you might be able to see from … Continue reading Nature Study: Stars
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was one of America’s greatest poets, but most of what she wrote wasn’t discovered until after her death. She was a recluse for most of her adult life. While she rarely left her house, she composed many poems about the outside world as well as the small world in which she lived. … Continue reading Emily Dickinson
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990 ) was born in Massachusetts. He was a pianist and conductor who also composed beautiful pieces. Music was a great joy to him, and he listened to and enjoyed all kinds of it. Many people suggested that he’d be better off if he picked one of his favorite branches of music and … Continue reading Leonard Bernstein
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was an American painter, even though he was born in Florence, Italy and he died in London, England. He painted all sorts of things in different mediums. Sargent worked in between Impressionism and Expressionism, and he broke the tradition of drawing on the canvas with a pencil first, preferring to use … Continue reading John Singer Sargent
Here are the links to our suggestions for beautiful things for January, with a focus on beautiful words, sounds, and places that are distinctly American and focus on the late 1800s and early 1900s. Back to Simple Beauty Page
Nature study can be as simple as a short walk in the neighborhood or as elaborate as a week in Yellowstone National Park. Don’t make it hard. Just go outside. This month, we suggest you spend some time outside every day that the weather is reasonable, and walk or drive to some different bodies of … Continue reading Nature Study: Bodies of Water
