Celtic Knots

Me giving Celtic knots a try was a perfect storm with several contributing factors...

• I had art and Scotland on the brain after a trip to Salado.

• I had been thinking I should work on calligraphy, so I flipped through a how-to book and read the last section on illuminating letters. I thought I should really give it a try - how neat! Knots are a major player when it comes to illuminating letters. As an example, this is from the Book of Kells (an illuminated manuscript in Latin - the four Gospels - circa 800):

• I already did one Celtic knot detail on the P of Peebles on my current embroidery project. (Still working on that, if you're wondering. I'm on the final e!)

• I like to doodle in ways very similar to Celtic knots.

• I recently read three books by Stephen Lawhead - the first two in "The Song of Albion" trilogy, and the first book in "The Celtic Crusades" triology. All of them have heavy Celtic influences. I've read Scottish and Irish stories (fable style short stories) that give insight into Celtic mythology, and I find Lawhead's books a much more enjoyable way to learn a little about that culture.

On to my first go at Celtic knotwork... I didn't have any plain white paper, so you'll have to ignore the blue lines.

The one in the bottom right corner is in-progress (so you can see the steps). Here's the finished product (I think it's my favorite):I didn't use a ruler or compass, but I did make dots to keep reasonable spacing. I got the designs from a website. It was fun! Making the knots added necessary mental stimulation to the episode of Quantum Leap we were watching at the time (as well as giving my obsessive-compulsive desires a peaceful outlet). I'm sure this will work its way into a gift or art for my home eventually.

Interesting side note: As I was reading up on the history of Celtic knotwork, I found that the Christians (monks) who came to the region adopted and continued / furthered the use of the native art (knotwork) by illuminating the manuscripts they copied. Joe and I have talked a lot about Christianity interfacing with culture - specifically the artistic part of culture. It seems like this is an example of art being enhanced (instead of ignored or squelched) by Christians, which makes me curious all the more!

books, Part 2 (how the most recent obsession began)

(continuing the book theme of my previous post)

Friday, November 21st, Joe and I were walking to the register at HEB when I saw him. A kid (how I now refer to high school guys) who looked normal other than white makeup on his face. Let me remind you, I'm in Bryan, Texas. Not much of a goth scene here. So I nudged Joe and shot a questioning look at the guy. Joe whispered, "That movie - Twilight," and I choked out a laugh before I could stop. Immediately Joe said "You're one to laugh!" He's totally right - but it caught me off guard! Vegetarian vampires walking around HEB!

That weekend we had been doing wedding shower and house related stuff. By the time Sunday (the 23rd) mid-morning rolled around, I had a strong urge to get out of the house and do something totally different. Joe puts up with these urges well, so he asked what I wanted to do. A movie sounded like fun, so we looked up what was in theaters (How did we live without the internet? Remember those horrible theater-time recordings - the ones you would listen patiently to, only to get distracted RIGHT when they said the times for the movie you wanted? ). Nothing at all exciting was in the theaters. We tried to think of other things to do, but couldn't. Finally, I convinced Joe to take me to see Twilight. It's been a while since he's sat through a high school drama movie with me, so off we went, more for the thrill of seeing a movie during the middle of the day than anything else.

(Deep Breath) I actually liked it. More than a little. That's all I'm going to say about that.


Tuesday night (the 25th) I got to talk with two of my friends who were reading the books, and I made plans to borrow the first one on Sunday. Both were excited I was giving it a try. Later that night, Joe took me by Hastings, and I bought the first book. Yes, I bought it from the Teen Series section. Can you see the obsession beginning?

Over Thanksgiving I read the entire Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. All 2824 pages (including the draft of Midnight Sun available on the author's website). Here's how it went:
Thursday / Thanksgiving: Much of Joe's family was watching movies (we're talking Nacho Libre), and blocked it out and read. Emily has an awesome jacuzzi tub, so I got to try it out and finish the first book, Twilight, that night.
Friday late morning, I bought the second book, New Moon. In the afternoon, Joe played disc golf in a Houston park while I enjoyed the nice weather and got started reading. I finished it that night at home. Joe took me to pick up the final two books, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.
Saturday & Sunday I hardly did anything other than reading. I was a little sick, so staying still felt even better. Sunday night I finished the fourth book and Midnight Sun (like the first book, except told from Edward's point of view - thanks, Chalyce, for sharing!).

So did I enjoy it? Most definitely, yes. Now that the buzz has worn off a little, I can see some of the faults, but I still like the books. Even though the last one (Breaking Dawn) may have more inconsistencies, I think it was my favorite. It was a little more my style - more action-focused than relationship-focused (like the first two were). The second, New Moon, was my least favorite, but any book that can make me feel so strongly ("God help me, if she kisses him, I WILL rent a steamroller to destroy this book") deserves some amount of credit.

Let me know if you read these and what you think! We'll talk about dressing up to see the next movie together. ;)