Botanical Blooms for a Winter's Day

This blog is mainly to catalog a project I have been working on, but is rather long since there is a bit of a rabbit trail that led to its inception.

Several months ago, I was reading Elisabeth Elliot's A Path Through Suffering and was really struck most by these botanical quotes from Lilias Trotter she used to drive the book. Who is Lilias Trotter you might wonder as I did? I found out she was an gifted artist and Christian missionary in Algeria.

I checked out several of Lilias Trotter's books through Inter library loan and the library even bought Parables of the Cross for me! Some of the books have her artwork of botanical watercolors with quotes that are exquisite. I often use her books in my daily devotion because they elevate the soul. For me, its like listening to opera while cleaning.

Ms. Trotter's work inspired me to pick back up calligraphy and flower painting that I had learned years ago. I was on the hunt to find some other botanical art for reference. By chance, as I was looking for a new yearly planner, I saw a planner LeMoyne's Botanical Watercolours at Half Price Books.

I was intrigued by Jacques le Moyne de Morgues after reading a sonnet by him included in the calendar. I will print it at the end because it falls in the category of soul elevating material. He was a Huguenot (French Calvinist) that lived during the 16th century. Wyatt has Huguenot ancestors, so that was a nice discovery. In addition to these beautiful botanical watercolours, he also traveled to the New World to catalog life there. I haven't had a lot of luck locating other books documenting his work, so I am quite happy with this serendipitous find.

Since I purchased a laminator from Amazon for a wonderful price- $17, I decided to use it to preserve the prints. Zoraida needed some new visual material for her bedroom wall, so I thought to hang the prints there for the meantime. I mounted the prints on a gold cardboard to make them sturdier. I also wrote the plant's name and Latin name in calligraphy on the back to be used for reference art cards once removed from the wall.

A large number of the water colours are flowers and fruit with a few herbs and vegetables. Zoraida likes the insects included on several of them since she is into buzzing bees lately. She loves to lay and look at them, so I hope they will be some inspiration to her.

Thought for the Day: Sonnet

Discordant harmony and balance movement,
Winter and Summer, Autumn, reborn Spring,
Renewing her sweet scents and colouring,
Join in the praise of God's unfailing judgment.

This loving God gives every argument
To look for zeal from each created thing,
To bless His Name eternally and sing
All He has made in earth and firmament.

Above all He made man with head held high
To watch each morning as new light arrives
And decorates earth's breast with varied flowers.

There is no fruit, or grain, or grub, or fly
That does not preach one God, the least flower gives
Pledge of a Spring with everlasting colours.

Jacques Le Moyne, 1585