The Art of Creation

“It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore.”

G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

No matter how many times I watched Grandma do it, I still couldn’t believe my eyes.

“Watch closely,” Grandma said, and then she folded a short but wide length of paper back and forth like an old-fashioned fan. She laid flat on the kitchen table what looked to me like a single piece of paper about the size of the queen of hearts.

“Now I’m going to draw a little girl…”

She took up her number-2 pencil and began to lightly sketch, starting on the inside edge. First a half-circle head with flipped hair resting upon a bony shoulder, then an arm that reached all the way to the other side of the paper (ending too apruptly, I thought, in a deformed-looking fist), then a right-angle shaped skirt under which I could easily picture a prickly crinoline petticoat, and finally a single leg with an out-turned shoe.

The poor child. She didn’t look like much. If she’d shown up in Miss Walterbach’s second grade class that year, I might have turned my head away with an utter lack of Christian charity, thinking her only half the girl I was.

I always felt a little twinge of sorrow when Grandma picked up her scissors and started cutting along the lines she’d drawn. I felt even sorrier for the simple creation she seemed intent on mutilating. Grandma was an artist, I knew, and could have drawn a portrait that ended up looking just like me, if she’d wanted to.

Why didn’t she? Did she really think anything good could come from cutting up a dopey-looking half-girl?

When she finished with the operation, she put down her scissors and held up her pathetic creature for my inspection. I tried to smile, but I couldn’t. How had my talented grandmother managed to create something so…awful?

“Here,” she said, “hold the little girl’s hand.”

It was a mission of mercy, but someone had to do it. I reached out to take hold of the misshapen fist. As I did, Grandma unfolded the paper, stretching the group of hand-holding dancing girls clear across the table.

She must have seen the surprised look on my face. It must have amazed her that no matter how often she repeated this magic, I still couldn’t believe that a lonely half-girl could end up with so many whole friends.

“You can color the girls,” she said, grinning as she produced a box of 64 crayons. “Blondes, brunettes, redheads. Make each one a little different, if you’d like.”

So I did, but by then I didn’t need to, really. The little paper girls were already different enough, I thought.

So different, in fact, that they looked just like me.

Read the Marginal take on this quote…

Posted by Katy on 12/02/04 at 07:03 AM

Fallible Comments...

Congratulations on being a finalist for the Weblog Awards Best of top 1000-1750 blogs.

Way to go!

Take Care
Michael
-----
Posted by Michael on 12/02/04 at 07:50 PM
Thanks for pointing this out, Michael. Doug nominated fallible, but then we forgot all about it. But it's fun, huh?
Posted by Katy Raymond on 12/02/04 at 09:50 PM
Hmmm... about the marginalcomments thing. I still can't see the entries except for the first few words, as I am not a blogger member.

Any way this could be fixed like your site? Just curious! :)

Congrats also, on the nomination!
Posted by Kevin on 12/03/04 at 03:01 AM
Kevin: Thanks for the heads-up. I have now tested in IE, Netscape, Firebird, and Safari; recent versions at least. Sorry for the inconvenience. I may be better suited for cutting out paper dolls with dull scissors. ;)
Posted by Doug on 12/03/04 at 06:25 AM
Katy,
This story about your grandmother is BEAUTIFUL! Thank you so much for sharing it.

:)Kelli
Posted by Kelli Standish on 12/03/04 at 11:51 PM

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Personal blog of christian writer & fallible mom Katy McKenna Raymond in Kansas City, Missouri Katy is represented by Greg Johnson at WordServe Literary Read more Katy at LateBoomer.net Follow Katy on Twitter Follow Katy on Facebook 123 Recent Posts Try Becoming Brenda Starr Off Beat Scattered That’s It So I’ve Finally Signed With An Agent. Now What? The Spoon Sciatica Sweetheart A Woman’s Train of Thought Has No Caboose However much we own, we are all still living on borrowed time After all, when restaurants shrink portions, they don’t shrink prices. As with everything in life, balance is key. Slow down, you move too fast… Yeah, I know. I have issues. Search Advanced Search Syndicate Login E me at katy @ ngenius.com	The Art of Creation “It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore.” G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy No matter how many times I watched Grandma do it, I still couldn’t believe my eyes. “Watch closely,” Grandma said, and then she folded a short but wide length of paper back and forth like an old-fashioned fan. She laid flat on the kitchen table what looked to me like a single piece of paper about the size of the queen of hearts. “Now I’m going to draw a little girl…” She took up her number-2 pencil and began to lightly sketch, starting on the inside edge. First a half-circle head with flipped hair resting upon a bony shoulder, then an arm that reached all the way to the other side of the paper (ending too apruptly, I thought, in a deformed-looking fist), then a right-angle shaped skirt under which I could easily picture a prickly crinoline petticoat, and finally a single leg with an out-turned shoe. The poor child. She didn’t look like much. If she’d shown up in Miss Walterbach’s second grade class that year, I might have turned my head away with an utter lack of Christian charity, thinking her only half the girl I was. I always felt a little twinge of sorrow when Grandma picked up her scissors and started cutting along the lines she’d drawn. I felt even sorrier for the simple creation she seemed intent on mutilating. Grandma was an artist, I knew, and could have drawn a portrait that ended up looking just like me, if she’d wanted to. Why didn’t she? Did she really think anything good could come from cutting up a dopey-looking half-girl? When she finished with the operation, she put down her scissors and held up her pathetic creature for my inspection. I tried to smile, but I couldn’t. How had my talented grandmother managed to create something so…awful? “Here,” she said, “hold the little girl’s hand.” It was a mission of mercy, but someone had to do it. I reached out to take hold of the misshapen fist. As I did, Grandma unfolded the paper, stretching the group of hand-holding dancing girls clear across the table. She must have seen the surprised look on my face. It must have amazed her that no matter how often she repeated this magic, I still couldn’t believe that a lonely half-girl could end up with so many whole friends. “You can color the girls,” she said, grinning as she produced a box of 64 crayons. “Blondes, brunettes, redheads. Make each one a little different, if you’d like.” So I did, but by then I didn’t need to, really. The little paper girls were already different enough, I thought. So different, in fact, that they looked just like me. Read the Marginal take on this quote… Posted by Katy on 12/02/04 at 07:03 AM Fallible Comments... Congratulations on being a finalist for the Weblog Awards Best of top 1000-1750 blogs. Way to go! Take Care Michael ----- Posted by Michael on 12/02/04 at 07:50 PM Thanks for pointing this out, Michael. Doug nominated fallible, but then we forgot all about it. But it's fun, huh? Posted by Katy Raymond on 12/02/04 at 09:50 PM Hmmm... about the marginalcomments thing. I still can't see the entries except for the first few words, as I am not a blogger member. Any way this could be fixed like your site? Just curious! :) Congrats also, on the nomination! Posted by Kevin on 12/03/04 at 03:01 AM Kevin: Thanks for the heads-up. I have now tested in IE, Netscape, Firebird, and Safari; recent versions at least. Sorry for the inconvenience. I may be better suited for cutting out paper dolls with dull scissors. ;) Posted by Doug on 12/03/04 at 06:25 AM Katy, This story about your grandmother is BEAUTIFUL! Thank you so much for sharing it. :)Kelli Posted by Kelli Standish on 12/03/04 at 11:51 PM Page 1 of 1 pages Commenting is not available in this weblog entry. Next entry: The Lifetime of An Opportunity Previous entry: On the Edge << Back to main


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Personal blog of christianwriter & fallible momKaty McKenna Raymondin Kansas City, Missouri

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The Art of Creation

Personal blog of christian
writer & fallible mom
Katy McKenna Raymond
in Kansas City, Missouri