The Power Of Values: Make A Little Nest In Your Soul

Moral values are part of society's fabric to live together in harmony. They are meaningful and lasting beliefs that influence our decisions and guide our lives.

Way back in the fifth century BC after leaving his career as a stonecutter, Socrates (469-399 bc), an Athenian Greek, lived his adult life wandering his community trying to get some truth about ethics and the conduct of life - topics which thereafter became central to philosophy. He challenged prominent intellectuals, political figures and others to look more closely at themselves. He encouraged them to think harder and to improve their ideas of morality and about how to lead a good human life. Socrates wondered what makes a worthwhile life.

We all have core values we subscribe to. They vary by individual; they are personal and can include many things: morality, ethics, religion, inner voice, philosophy, etc. Once we identify the ones that are important to us and we take heart applying them, positive energies are released; well-being, happiness, new opportunities are sure to follow…. 

This mixed media art doll titled "Make A Little Nest In Your Soul" was created with some of my beliefs in mind.

She's  made with scraps of cotton & muslin that I have hand stitched over a wire armature.

She's embellished with grommets, trims, beads, buttons, vintage book page, chain, jewelry parts, found objects, stamped designs and these words of value: TRUST, LOVE, RESPECT, GENEROSITY, COMPASSION, KINDNESS, HARMONY, WISDOM, HUMILITY, JUSTICE, PATIENCE, MODESTY, GRATITUDE, TRUTH.

A nest made with cotton rope is growing on top of her head. It bears the words: "MAKE A LITTLE NEST IN YOUR SOUL". In it stands a bird with the word PEACE on its wing. She's signed & dated.

This inspirational soft sculpture is available in my Etsy shop.

Here is a little exercise: take a break from what you're doing and come up with a list of your favorite beliefs that are motivating and shaping your life, and then consider how each is affecting you.

UNLEASH YOUR TRUTH.

"All men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine" ~ Socrates 

*Note: As Socrates did not write philosophical texts, the knowledge of the man, his life, and his philosophy is entirely based on writings by his students and contemporaries. Foremost among them is Plato; however, works by Xenophon, Aristotle, and Aristophanes also provide important insights.(wikipedia)*

Hieronymus Bosch

History's first surrealist painter and one of my all time favorite artists: Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516). 

Allegory Of Gluttony And Lust

I discovered Bosch when I was very young and I was immediately infatuated by his weird and original style. 

Here is one of my treasure boxes with transferred images of The Wayfarer and The Last Judgement (with found objects, mosaic, jewelry parts).

Hieronymus Bosch was hundreds years ahead of his time, and his unique and (sometimes) disturbing paintings continue to influence many contemporary artists.
Bosch cleverly depicted scenes of everyday life of his period with a strong element of the bizarre with many complex ambiguities. He was obsessed with human sins and their consequences, using metaphors drawn from biblical and folkloric sources, fantasies and nightmares. The artist lived in a period of transition from medieval Gothic to the era known as the Renaissance. There is no doubt that his paintings reflect his concern for a changing world.

Hieronymus Bosch was born Jheronimus Van Aken in 1450 in the Dutch town of Hertogenbosch (Bois-Le-Duc) near the Belgian border. He grew up in a  family of artists - both father and grandfather were painters.

Hertogenbosch was a busy industrial town known for its high demand glass-making industry (the strange looking transparent balls and tubes are prevalent in his works). 

He married Aleyt Goyaerts van den Meervenne, the daughter of one of the wealthiest and powerful families of Hertogenbosch. Bosch's fortunate marriage afforded him a freedom to paint in his unconventional style. His wife was a member of the Brotherhood of Our Lady, a society meant for the rich and elite, and his father, Anthonius van Aken, acted as artistic adviser to the Brotherhood. He naturally became a member and accepted numerous commissions to paint altarpieces and to design chandeliers, stained glass windows and crucifixes. 
He achieved fame in his time. His followers were wealthy individuals, collectors and common folks alike. As he became more popular he often received assignments from abroad. 

It is said that as his success grew worldly he decided to change his name from Van Aken to Bosch to remind people where he came from.

Hieronymus Bosch, who was often imitated, rarely dated his paintings and only signed a few, making it very difficult to trace his artistic development. There have been many debates about the exact number of his surviving works. According to scholars fewer than 25 paintings remain today that can be attributed to him. 

The Garden Of Earthly Delights

He painted several triptychs; The Garden Of Earthly Delights is among the most famous ones.