Mardi Gras and Spring

I hope you are having a nice Mardi Gras.

Spring is just around the corner. It may not seem like that when we wake up each morning and see another dusting of snow and as we continue day after day with the temperatures never getting above freezing. However, the days are getting longer. It is not completely dark at 5:30 in the evening or at 6:00 in the morning. The angle of the sun is getting higher. The high-school girls basketball season is over. The last home basketball games have been played at SJC. And the SJC baseball team has played their first games, down in Tennessee.

I asked several of the players what the weather was like on their trip to Tennessee. They said that it was cold, and it was snowing and raining during their games. There was some snow on the ground in Tennessee, but the field was clear because the ground maintenance had used sprinklers to get rid of the bit of snow that was on the field.

By the way, Lake Erie is almost completely frozen over for the first time in 14 years.

17th Annual High School Art Exhibit

The 17th Annual Regional High School Art Exhibition is now on display in the lobby of the Core Building at Saint Joseph's College. It features art objects from students at six area high schools.

Pointillism always seems to be represented at these shows, and this year there are a couple of attractive examples, including this example from a drawing with markers from a North Newton student.

 

Rensseler Central had a number of drawings showing craftsmanship, including this fruity picture that was done in mixed media.

  

The watercolor below shows skill.

  

The same Rensselaer student did the picture below, but with colored pencils. Time has long been a theme in still lives--the mortality of man, the shortness of life. I wonder if that is the message the student who did this drawing wanted to send.

  

This drawing of a beetle looks like it could be an illustration in an entomology book. It was done by a student from South Newton.

  

There were several crocheted items from Kankakee Valley. Is it art, or is it craft, or is there any difference?

  

The faux culinary art from students at North White utilized painted toilet paper over forms. I thought that was both funny and appropriate.

  

Renseelaer Central students did these slab pots. The one on the top almost looked like it was thrown.

  

The reception for the exhibit is on Sunday, February 21 from 1:30 until 3:00 PM with the awards ceremony at 2:00.

Heavenly Touch

Saturday's Rensselaer Republican announced the opening of Heavenly Touch Message but did not say where it is located. Does anyone know? Does this opening give Rensselaer three message therapists?

A very different kind of touch was on display at the open house of the Indiana Academy of Mixed Martial Arts. I had a nice chat with the woman at the desk as I watched the demonstrations on the mat. I hope to get back some time and get some pictures without people there.

Deer herd

I thought the herd of deer that lived west of Sparling had been thinned because I had not seen them for several years. But a few evenings ago, at about sunset, I noticed them out in the distance.

I do not have a camera good enough to get more than a shot that shows that there were almost twenty of them out in the field. Click on the picture for full size, and see how many you count.

Stained Glass windows at Trinity United Methodist

The Trinity United Methodist Church has some very pretty stained glass windows. Normally you view stained glass windows from the inside, but these looked very nice from the outside.

The window above and the window below are almost the same, but not quite. Can you see the differences?

 

 The dedication on the window is for Mary Delamer something Monnett. That does not seem to be the same Monnett who founded the Monnett School for Girls, who was Cordelia.

I suspect that these windows are meant to be more than decorative, that there is supposed to be some symbolism in the designs. But interpreting symbolism has never been something I have been good at. (There is a reason that I avoided literature classes.) I looked to see if there was any information about these windows on the website of the church, but I could not find any.

The window below is one of three on the southeast side.

 

Even the smaller windows have interesting designs.

 

  

This little window is high on the front of the building.