It's Saint Stephen's Day- Where's Rembrandt?

Where's Rembrandt? There he is, right above St. Stephen's head in this close-up of Rembrandt's painting The Stoning of St. Stephen, shown below.

Saul (later to become Paul) is depicted on his horse to the left as St. Stephen is stoned by the angry mob.

Today, December 26th, is celebrated in the Western Christian Church as St. Stephen's Day or Feast of St. Stephen. It is a celebration of St. Stephen-the first Christian martyr. He was a deacon who was put on trial after being accused of blasphemy against Moses and God. He was taken to the outskirts of town by an angry mob led by Saul of Tarsus, who would later become the Apostle Paul. Under Saul's persuasion, the infuriated mob stoned St. Stephen to death creating the Protomartyr. Over the years, I have heard of St. Stephen...his name is on many Churches and there is even a town in South Carolina bearing his name, but I never really knew the reason for his celebration. He is the Patron Saint of stone masons, coffin builders, widows (whom he served as a deacon), horses, and is also the Patron Saint against headaches.

The Stoning of Saint Stephen (shown above) is a painting by the famous Dutch painter, Rembrandt. Identified in 1780, it is not considered a great work of art, but is of importance because it is Rembrandt's earliest known dated painting, done when he was probably 18 or 19 years old. This wooden panel painting lay in a storage room in the French Museum of Lyons and was attributed only to the "school" of Rembrandt, probably due to it's skill level. Eventually, two Dutch scholars took matters into their own hands, suspecting Rembrandt to be it's true author. They simply had a corner cleaned and revealed the monogram of Rembrandt and a date of 1625. This painting has another first: possibly the first self-portrait of the artist. If you look directly above St. Stephen's head you will see him in all his "Where's Waldo" mode...it's young Rembrandt. Rembrandt would complete apx. 90 self portraits during his life time and his face appears in at least 5 works as a spectator or participant of the action. It has been suggested that Rembrandt's face in the St. Stephen painting serves as a element of disapproval as he is taken aback by what is occurring. But Rembrandt's appearance in his many paintings is not to be taken as a sign of an over active vanity as he had a merciless and very penetrating view of himself. In his quest for understanding of mankind, he found it necessary to begin with his own soul searching and honest portrayal of his likeness. His self portraits presented himself without vanity and with utmost sincerity (a characteristic easily "fudged" in paintings- the original Photoshop).

Rembrandt's "stoning" painting also demonstrates the technique of chiaroscuro which is an Italian term meaning light/dark. The artist uses the interplay of light and shadow to create a mysterious depth. In this painting, Saul is in the dark while the martyr, St. Stephen, is in the light. Chiaroscuro continues to be used today, even in cinema. Look at images from the Stanley Kubrick movie, Barry Lyndon, for an excellent example. In fact, Kubrick used this technique in all his films.

Rembrandt's Self Portrait With A Cap With Eyes Wide Open sketched in 1630, when he was about 24. An honest portrayal of his likeness.

A painting of St. Stephen done on a Demidoff altar piece by Carlo Crivelli. Notice St. Stephen's Saint attributes (symbols used by an artist to let the viewer know who he is looking at)-the three stones on his head and the palm of martyrdom.

Merry Christmas Eve

"All Is Calm, All Is Bright" by photographer, Stephanie Laird

Christmas Eve wishes to all the Blue Ghost viewers- all 17,000+ from all over the world. Peace, Love, and Happiness to each and every one.

Norman Maclean, Haunted By Waters

The beautiful Chattooga River: if this river doesn't speak to you, then none probably will.

Norman Maclean (1902-1990) was born on this day in Iowa in 1902. He was the firefighter, fly fisher and storyteller who wrote the semi-autobiographical novel, A River Runs Through It. Whenever I visit the Chattooga River and look under a rock, I think of this quote from the book:

"Eventually all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters."

I've had my mind on fishing again. When talking to a friend about fly-fishing recently, he explained to me..."it's not the fish, it's the water." I too, feel haunted by waters, Norman.

Fascinating Ambiguity: Christmas Still Life From Walter Tandy Murch

Urn (& Lights), 1945 by Walter Tandy Murch. Our family had this type of Christmas lights on our tree when I was young. I think this still life would make a good Christmas card...as the Christmas season is sometimes a little ambiguous.

I love this still life by Canadian born painter, Walter Tandy Murch (1907-1967). Murch combined realism with abstraction, as his subjects ranged from machinery, bricks, clocks and broken dolls. It is his mysterious and eccentric juxtapositions that create his fascinating ambiguity and I agree with the art critic, Clement Greenburg, that "ambiguity is precisely one of the largest sources of pleasure in art."

Self Portrait With Glasses, 1960.

Clear Sailing, Little Chibley

Chibley, the polydactyl sea cat, shows off her extra toes while taking a bath on board the Picton Castle.


I had the pleasure of discovering the story of Chibley after having a discussion about cats who go to sea and why so many of them are polydactyl, which means they have a genetic condition which blesses them with extra toes. Many people are familiar with polydactyl cats as "Hemingway Cats". Hemingway loved these big footed felines and the story goes that he obtained his first polydactyl cat as a gift from a sea captain in Key West. There is still an abundance of these cats in Key West and along the east coast...supposedly because they were brought to shore on ships from England and Wales. They have always been popular and considered lucky as ship's cats and a discussion with a sea captain as to why this is so disclosed the following two reasons: he said 1) they are excellent mousers because of the extra dexterity of their paws and 2) they have better balance on ship because their larger feet give them a bigger platform to stand on at sea.

Well Chibley is a polydactyl cat with quite a story. She was the ship's cat for the tall ship, Picton Castle for almost 15 years. Miss Chibley Bits (her full name) was a member of the Picton's crew from the beginning, embarking on its first world voyage in 1997 after she adopted the ship's Captain, Dan Moreland. She logged over 250,000 sea miles and sailed around the world five times.

The Picton Castle was built in 1928 and was named after a real castle in Pembrokeshire Wales. It was built as a fishing trawler, then used in WWII by the Royal Navy as a minesweeper. It was brought back to life in 1997 under Captain Moreland and now travels around the world as a working tall ship, conducting sail training voyages. It is based in Lunenburg, Novia Scotia. You can sign up to become part of the crew for 4 or 6 months, or as little as two weeks. They will be starting a new Atlantic voyage next year and will be stopping in Charleston, SC...probably for Harborfest.


Chibley would be given free range to go ashore when the ship would come into port and then almost magically show up to get back on board ship shortly before sailing. But last November on a dark stormy evening in Lunenburg, Chibley was stuck and killed by a car while she and the Captain were trying to cross the street in front of the Captain's house in order to board ship. A funeral and elegy was held for Miss Chibley

Chibley resting with Robert on board the Picton Castle not long before her death. What a great life she had and what a great pleasure she was to many others.

and Captain Moreland wrote in his log: "It is also easy for us to attribute too many human qualities to a cat and suggest that she was more human than cat but I think the reverse is more likely the truth-she was pure cat and her influence on her shipmates was that she turned them into more cat-like souls" He added "people say we could have been more careful, but then they didn't know Chibley. Chibley did as she wished-and so did you." I find these words to be some of the wisest ever spoken on why cats are so special. At Chibley's funeral, Captain Moreland summed it up..."Well she lived as she chose and she sailed a course on the track of her own making. Would that we could say the same." A picture of another polydactyl cat (not Miss Chibley) that really shows some extra toes.

Robert Frost's Road: The Not So Simple Truth

Usually, I am just so glad to see poetry referenced or read that it matters very little what the reader finds in a poem. But enough is enough with this one and I feel we owe it to Robert Frost to at least try to get readers with the program here; after all, he was a man who worked hard at articulating big truths at a time when we were more concerned with perfecting the big lie. Also, Frost's message is so much better than the interpretation by those with an undiscerning eye who mistakenly use this poem to represent the encouragement of self-reliance and not following where others have led. His message is actually close to the opposite. Frost said himself "you have to be careful of that one; it's tricky-very tricky." But it is not so very tricky if you read it-really read it as poetry deserves to be read. There is no road less traveled and he tells us this plainly as he examines his paths saying they were really worn about the same...it will only become the less traveled road "somewhere ages and ages hence" when he tells his story with a "sigh." In other words, he knows right now that some time in the future he will give credit to the path he took as making all the difference, when actually it will probably make no difference at all. As an old man he will look back, decide to place importance on this particular decision in his life. He will try to explain and give a sense of order to his life-implying that his decisions made all the difference, when in fact, a lot has to be credited to chance and luck. Look at the title: the poem is about a man taking a path that he would describe later as the "one less traveled" yet the title of the poem is "The Road Not Taken" telling us that there was actually no less traveled road to take. If this explanation is not accepted, then one must bring forth Frost's actual words about this poem spoken at the Bread Loaf Writers Conference in 1953: "I wasn't thinking about myself there, but about a friend who had gone off to war, a person who, whichever road he went, would be sorry he didn't go the other. He was hard on himself that way." This friend was Edward Thomas whom Frost walked with in the woods near London. Frost explained that when they would walk, they would come to different paths and after choosing one, Thomas would always fret, wondering what they missed by not taking the other path. Thomas' evidently also suffered from an undiscerning eye and was unable to see that it really made no difference.

So suggest that undiscerning eyes "take the road less traveled" and see the real meaning of this poem. This well loved poet has a message for us-don't let it go misinterpreted-for that is where the message is usually needed the most.

Snoop Santa Picks

Shopping with Snoop who knows how to pick those gifts that make it happen... I like to wear this one when I watch Toddlers and Tiaras. If it's fly, then buy.

WeGlow International Light Up Fuzzy Pink Cowgirl Hat....Amazon $12.99.

Cria: My Huaca

Cria, the Huaca. Huaca cames from the word "huacan" meaning to howl. Ancient Native South American worship often took the form of a howl or wail.


A huaca is a Quechua (native american language of South America) word for an object or place that represents something revered. Most early civilizations of Peru considered all of the world to be sacred and alive. The Peruvians would chose objects to carry with them to remind them of sacred places or things. They often took the form of a rock from a designated sacred area, an ear of maize, or a llama. I was given the little fellow above as a Christmas gift from a dear friend and I have designated him as a Huaca..to remind me of good friends and how revered they are. His name is Cria which is what a baby llama is called-he is only about 3 inches tall and is covered in real llama wool.

The Exotic Mississippi Pigtoe Tahitian Black Pearls

A black pearl on the shell of it's "mother", the Black-lipped oyster which is found only in Tahiti and other South Pacific Islands.


Sometimes eating great food will spark great conversation, so it was no surprize to hear a fellow unknown oyster eater gathered around an all-you-can eat oyster table on Thanksgiving Eve exclaim "Damn! I just nearly broke my tooth on a black pearl." His friend quickly informed him that the ugly piece of black grit he was holding in his hand was just a piece of shell because "all black pearls are just white pearls that have been dyed." Well that overheard conversation started me thinking about black pearls and wondering if by some chance friend of Broken Tooth might be correct. What I learned is that what I suspected was true, that black pearls are in fact "made that way" and are just as exotic as they sound. What I didn't know was the humble beginning of their exotic beauty was closer to home than I thought.
The majority of black pearls come from French Polynesia and are all from pearl farms. They are produced from only one species of oyster: the Black Lipped Oyster (Pinctada margaritifera) pictured above. Black Lipped Margariti is one of the world's largest oysters-about the size of a dinner plate. So where are the humble orgins? In order to form a cultured pearl, farmers must introduce a piece of mantle epithelium from another oyster and for Tahitian black pearls they

The humble Mississippi Pigtoe Mussel...the beauty starts here.

use the humble Pigtoe Mussel from the Mississippi River. It seems that the old idea of a grain of sand becoming a pearl is not very accurate as even natural pearls are formed around organic material such as parasites or a damaged piece of mantel. Tahitian black pearls are rarer because most sea oysters can only be nucleated with one pearl at a time, while freshwater mussels that produce white pearls are capable of handling multiple pearl implants. The South Sea oysters also live at deep depths and are not easily harvested from shallow lagoons like other oysters. It takes the harvested oysters two years to be mature enough to produce a pearl. It is extremely rare for a black oyster to produce any natural pearls at all, though it does happen.

A Tahitian pearl farm.

Black pearls are rarely black but range in color from silver, blue, lavender, and the most prized, "peacock" which is an irridescent green. Black pearls came on the European market around 1845, but were not very popular until worn by Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III. They became popular in the US in the 1970's. (And Broken Tooth's friend was partly correct as a white pearl can be dyed most any color.)

So if you happen upon the rare and exotic black pearl from Tahiti, remind him that, like lots of good things, he has roots in the South.

Of all the black pearl jewelry I saw, this is my favorite. Notice the peacock coloring that is so prized.

Here is Empress Eugenie, 1845, wife of Napoleon III, and lover of black pearls. She is looking rather sad here, possibly because she has on her white pearls. There is a story that she was warned to not wear pearls on her wedding day because they are supposed to bring bad luck. Her love for her pearls won out over the warning and her life was reported to be one long tragedy. We owe her for black pearl's popularity.

Smokin' 'n Talkin' Men Are Back Again...

"Well...whatever you are, you're a good one."

"I hate happy endings--they make me feel cheated."

" If you have tears, prepare to shed them now"

"You and Tequila drive me crazy"

"I am not bound to please thee with my answer."

" If you recognize the world is but an illusion, you escape the suffering"

" I'm gonna put a curse on you and all your kids will be born completely naked."

"There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people."

"Chitty......Just Chitty"

"I suspect people are plotting to make me happy"

"we will either find a way, or we'll make one"

"No way, girl, it's Black Friday and I'm headed to the Gap to buy some underpants"

Tolstoy-101 Years Ago Today

Tolstoy, age 82, with his wife, Sophia, about 6 weeks before his attempt to fulfill his last dream was cut short by his death. I can't help but hear Sophia talking in this picture "you're not going anywhere, old man" ... but he didn't listen.

On this date 101 years ago, November 20th, 1910, Leo Tolstoy, one of the world's greatest novelist died.

Tolstoy with his grandchildren, about a year before his death. He and his wife had 13 children, 5 of whom died during childhood.

It seems that at age 82 Tolstoy attempted to take up the path as a wandering ascetic, something he had been wanting to do for years. So he abandoned his wife and his wealth and traveled to the Astaporo train station in the cold Russian weather where he fell ill with pneumonia and died a short while later. He had been writing and talking about his death in the few days before he left home. I can't help but ask myself, "did the adventure cause the death, or did the death cause the adventure?"

There is a 2009 film, The Last Station, which is about Tolstoy's last year and is based on the novel by Jay Parini.

Leo Tolstoy at age 20. The intensity was already there.

Three South Carolina Songsters

Mr. Pinkney "Pink" Anderson



I had the pleasure of spending an evening being entertained and educated by a young Hunter Holmes at the Laurens County Library last week. It was an hour of celebration of the music of two local songsters, Pink Anderson and Rev Gary Davis, both born in Laurens County over 100 years ago. Hunter did a fantastic job of bringing these fellows back to life with help from his guitar, kazoo, harmonica, quills, and a pocket knife as a slide.

Pink Anderson was born in Laurens in 1900 and spent his life as a blues/folk singer and guitarist. He joined the Indian Remedy Company in 1914, traveling the South and holding the crowd's attention in hopes they would buy the "Remedy". He retired from the road around 1957 after over 40 years of entertaining people with the blues, folk music, ragtime, and traditional ballads. Pink might even be called a throwback to a long gone era even at the time of his recordings, but his influence has reached numerous modern day artists. You may be familiar with his song recorded by Ry Cooder, I Got Mine. He is probably best known as the "Pink" in Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd founding member, Syd Barrett, combined Pink's name with North Carolina blues artist, Floyd Council, to create the name for Pink Floyd. Mr. Anderson died in 1974, but his music lives on in the recordings he left us. Reverend Gary Davis and friend.


Reverend Gary Davis was born in Laurens in 1896. He became blind as an infant and was the only one of his mother's eight children to survive to adulthood. He was a blues and gospel singer with a fascinating style of finger picking which influenced many famous musicians, including Townes van Zandt, Ry Cooder, Keb Mo, Jackson Browne, and Jack White. Ry Cooder tried to learn Rev Davis' style, sitting with him for "lessons". But he says "I couldn't make anything sound like that, and I never could play his way. I found that it was beyond my ability to do the thing that he was doing." I was surprised to see that Rev Gary wrote the song Cocaine which was later recorded by Jackson Browne with additional lyrics added. He died in 1972 and is buried in Long Island, New York. The recordings he has left for us are mostly gospels. His voice and guitar work are amazing. We often look at these wonderful musicians as a "lost breed" of entertainers that were known as "songsters"- singing guitarists who could do a large variety of music-blues, folk, pop, and religious. A big thank-you goes to another Laurens native, Hunter Holmes, for keeping this legacy alive and doing it so well. Hunter is more than a good musician, he, like Pink and Rev Davis, is a storyteller. He has captured that spirit in this mysterious music that comes from somewhere much further back in time and pulls on emotions that you didn't even know were there. If you can figure out who these people were and watch someone play their music, some of the mystery of it all is made clear. It has been said that the music of these songsters is defined by its audience as much as its musicians and this was evident in the faces watching this young man as he brought some old local spirits back to life.

Robert Frost's Woods: The Simple Truths

Above is the actual publication of the poem in The New Republic archives, 1923



In the 6th grade I had an English teacher who loved to have her students memorize and recite poems to the class. She would hand out four or five poems and you had to chose one. I still remember the most popular poem chosen was Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening by Robert Frost. At that age of 11, we thought we knew exactly what the poem was saying to us in its simplicity... and we were correct. When Frost was quizzed as to what the hidden meaning in this poem might be he replied "If I had wanted you to know, I'd told you in the poem." There are two stories as to what the inspiration was for Frost to write this poem. The most common is that he spent a summer night of sleeplessness and this poem came to him in the morning like a hallucination. Another less known story was that the inspiration came from an earlier difficult winter in New Hampshire when Frost was returning home after an unsuccessful trip at the market. Realizing he did not have enough money to buy Christmas presents for his children, he was overwhelmed with depression and stopped his horse at a bend in the road to cry. After a few moments, his horse shook his harness bells, cheering Frost and reminding him to continue home to his family, away from the darkness. It is known that Frost did in fact suffer from depression, sometimes severe. My suspicion from personal experience in writing poetry is that both stories are true. The moment in the woods resurfaced when it was safe to do so...early one summer morning under the influence of no sleep.

A photograph of Frost in 1923 around the time the poem was written.


Frost often wrote about the simple activities of everyday life; a simplicity that makes non-poetry lovers enjoy his work. He was criticized by some for his choice of subjects which were not seen as appropriate for the "high art of poetry". But what Frost probably knew was that the most basic parts of an ordinary day can be misleading. Focusing on the real actions of real people and the simplicity of nature, the elements of fantasy are brushed aside to often reveal Truth; whether it be in the grand poetic mind or the mind of a 6th grader. One fact that is not questionable about Frost's feelings on this poem is written in a letter to Louis Untermeyer where Frost suggests the poem may be "my best bid for remembrance." In a reading by Frost in the 1950's, he asks who out of the crowd of 2000 does not know this poem and only one hand is raised. Today, unfortunately, it would be many more....we still have miles to go to keep poetry (as well as the Truth) alive.
Next week, with the start of the Christmas shopping frenzy, may be a good time to re-read this poem keeping in mind Frost's story of dispair as the influence. When it all gets to be a little too much, listen for the shake of the horse's harness bells to keep you on the journey and tuned in to the Truth.

The Legend Endures...Lady Shalott/If I Die Young

There is nothing better to help with "Blog Block" than to have a friend make a request for information. That happened yesterday when my friend Anna wanted to know more about Alfred Lord Tennyson's (1809-1892) The Lady of Shalott. This interest was stirred by the contemporary song by The Band Perry, If I Die Young. I am thrilled when modern culture makes reference to old art and artists, creating renewed interest and exposure. I have doubt that The Lady of Shallot was on the song writer's mind when If I Die Young was written, but it was definitely on the mind of the producer of the song's video. And if you are familiar with the Tennyson ballad written in 1883, you can't listen to The Band Perry song without picturing his Lady, dressed in white, floating in a boat to her death.
Scenes from the video of The Band Perry's song, If I Die Young. A book of Tennyson's poetry is clutched to the singer's chest and the last scene shows the book opened to The Lady of Shalott. The lighting in this video reminds me of the light in Waterhouse's painting below.

Tennyson loved Arthurian subject matter and his poem was loosely based on the Arthurian legend of Elaine of Astolat, as told in a 13th century Italian novella, Donna di Scalotta. Tennyson's poem tells the story of a suffering young woman who lives in an isolated tower near King Arthur's castle. She is under the spell of an undisclosed curse allowing her to only see the outside world through it's reflection in a mirror. She spends her days singing songs and weaving a beautiful tapestry from the scenes she observes in the mirror...of life passing her by. But she says she is "half sick of shadows" and when the handsome Lancelot passes by her window with his black curls, it is more than she can bear to merely look at him in the mirror, so she goes to the window to have a real look. For all the trouble that Lancelot got women into, he must have been something to behold. The mirror cracks, the curse begins, and she sets herself adrift in a boat drifting downstream to Camelot and Lance, dying on the voyage as she sings her "last song". When her funeral barge arrives at Camelot, Lancelot sees her and acknowledges her beauty. Her dying wish has come true.

Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) Poet Laureate of England.

Some consider the Lady of Shalott to be a statement on the treatment of Victorian women but more truth may be in its allegory of the dilemma facing some artists, writers, and musicians- whether to create work about the world, therefore viewing the world in a filtered sense, or to enjoy the world by simply living in it. Tennyson himself explained the allegory of the poem as the "new-born love for something, for some one in the wide world from which she has been so long excluded, takes her out of the region of shadows into that of realities." Remember that Tennyson is also responsible for "tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all."

There can not be a discussion of the Lady of Shalott without turning to one of the three paintings done by Waterhouse on the subject. His Lady of Shalott done in 1888 shows careful attention to the setting described in the the poem. She is "robed in snowy white" and has written her name on the prow of the boat so that Lancelot, at least, will know who she is. She has the boat's loosened chain in her hand, symbolically freeing herself from her imprisonment. She has the trance-like stare Tennyson called the "glassy countenance." She takes with her the tapestry representing her prior life as an observer; a life worth surrendering for love. The tapestry represents the life she has dreamed of enjoying, but there should be no regrets for her last action somehow makes up for lost time. There is a haunting reference to this same idea in The Band Perry song..."what I never did is done". Waterhouse takes the artistic liberty of adding the crucifix and three candles reinforcing the funereal tone of her adventure. The single leaf that has fallen in her lap tells the whole story-she has fallen and will soon be dead. She has renounced her life for the love of Lancelot. She is a martyr for love. The lighting in Waterhouse's painting is beautiful and symbolic. The muted earth and gray skies around her are in contrast to to the richness of color in the tapestry. The broken reeds in the foreground are also highlighted to symbolize her impending death.
The appeal for me in Waterhouse's painting is in the strength of his Lady Shalott. She took action with the ultimate price, but it is worth it all. "What she never did is done".

So the legend continues...from Elaine of Astolat, to the Lady of Shalott, to The Band Perry. Watch the video of the song and read Tennyson's poem. Keep finding the old in the new.


Another famous Pre-Raphaelite painting of the Lady of Shallot was done by Arthur Hughes who takes the liberty of demonstrating the theme of the punished Victorian woman by adding the female voyeurs (including a nun) passing judgment as they stand on the bank of the river. The Lady is a definite "victim" in this one. I do like the transparent red heart on the front of the boat.