Spelling error? Typo? Or....... did you mean to do that?

"You know scenery is spelled with a 'c', ...right?" 

The name for this little cottage art shop has been floating around in my head for over a year. There was a long list but I kept coming back to this one for a few reasons.

"The Seenery"

"You gotta' check out the scenery up in the mountains! You gotta' check out the scenery at the old mill, the beach, the olde towne, etc. Check out the scenery!" 

So it was a little too easy and I decided to have a play on words. So the idea of scenery and art just works: especially as it lends itself to ideas of vast horizons, tropical sunsets, extraordinary vistas...kinda' like the ultra gorgeous, ultra fantasy travel destinations on the 20 HD TV screens at Costco. They're beautiful. They're incredible, and hey, it's nice to dream. 

But I had something else in mind: the everyday scenery of your life, how everyday life can be beautiful, yes messy, yes challenging, but still beautiful. Having lived for many years in a country that tends to have dark, gray, rainy, or snowy winters, I imagined that people over the decades, even centuries, embraced and sought to bring a little smile to their surroundings. Be it the comforts of fire and candlelight, stories read or told, songs sung, bread baked, and the occasional efforts at creativity to bring warmth to the home, people sought and STILL seek beauty. Whether they create it or copy it, you see it in the sewing of curtains or quilts, the building of artisan furniture, the weaving of baskets, the making of dolls, and yes, even the painting of tranquil landscapes or beautiful flowers. People have a need and drive for beauty (and the truth of genuine beauty) in their lives as well as a need to express it. 

Art speaks to this. I love how whether we as humans realize it or not, we are designed to emulate that creativity imparted to us by God. So much of His creation communicates to us His story. I've sometimes mentioned to my husband that a painting can be like an indoor window to another world. Whether for a split second or for many minutes, a person can see a created scene and be transported to that landscape, or that garden, or that sunny beach, or that warm gathering of family or friends. For a moment in time you can "walk into that story". 

So there's that kind of scenery, but there's another kind of scenery, one that matters greatly to me. There are a host of scenes that need to be seen; scenes that convey the beauty, the mastery, the poignancy, and intricate wonder of the created material world (that we often miss) AND scenes that reveal the depth, the majesty, the power, and profound wisdom and character of The One Who Made the World. There are things to be seen with human eyes, but there are also those things that need to be SEEN with human hearts, and only God can help us SEE those. May He be glorified!