10 "V" things I like
Well, I'm just too fried right now to think very creatively, so I'll just take a stab at the "letter meme" passed on to me via Helen and Charlotte. I may have to bust out the dictionary for this one.
1) Violet. This kind of pastel color has steadily infiltrated my wardrobe since my kids were born. Waldorf early childhood theory says that babies need soft colors, more similar to what we think the womb is like, than the bright colors that are more appropriate for older children. So, I've come to peace with pink and violet after years of dark colors.
2) Vacation. I really like the sound of that. The last several vacations have been to see family, which is wonderful of course, but not the same as lounging on the beach with a fruity drink, or sleeping in all day with room service.
3) Velcro. Because it makes it possible for my toddlers to take off their own snow boots.
4) Vinculus. The grubby fortune-teller from Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I like how he was the bearer of the prophecy of the Raven King, yet was a total mooch not above shouting for gin amongst gentlemen. (Not my favorite character though; that would be Childermass.)
5) Vis medicatrix naturae. (Oh yes, we're using the dictionary now.) "The body's natural ability to heal itself." I'm a big believer in that, though as I commented to Papa Bradstein recently, that might just be my stoic Swedish upbringing.
6) Volcanoes. While I've never been able to see an active volcano, I was thrilled once by finding lots of obsidian at the foot of Mt. Konocti, a dormant volcano in Northern California. And I take a certain satisfaction that SillyBilly shares my love for volcanoes and can even tell you about pahoehoe and a'a.
7) Valentine's Day. While I've never celebrated it much, it's hard to argue with a day that revolves around love, presents and chocolate.
8) Vasilissa the Beautiful. A wonderful Russian fairy tale, beautifully illustrated by Ivan Bilibin. I love Baba Yaga, the old cranky forest wise woman/hag/witch who travels around in a pestle, and lives in a house that can walk on its chicken legs!
9) Volkswagen. We had a VW squareback when I was a little girl. I could always tell when my parents were coming to pick me up from school by the distinctive sound of the motor. Very fond memories.
10) Vermeer. Every painting is a glimpse into the culture and daily life of 17th century Delft. He was a master of light and texture, making things like a woman's skin or a glass goblet luminous.
5 comments:
I'm interested in Waldorf theory saying that babies need soft colours. When Kiko was a baby I was given a lot of toys in loud colours - and often a combination of jarring colours and busy patterns. These are the type of toys you see that are supposed to be "developmental" (and how that word gives me the shivers). I found that when he was surrounded by them he looked scared! He seemed to respond more to monochrome patterns, and his white, grey, and black and white teddies. I thought: "Is this right?!" Obviously it is!
I've got a lovely violet outfit for him but sadly he's almost outgrown it. I got a lot of "girl" comments while he was wearing it but I didn't care. Isn't it horrible that so many toddler boys' clothes are in such ugly aggressive colours and patterns? I mean, OK, it's practical. His pale blue and pale yellow outfits last five minutes when I take him out, but dressing a little boy like an army commando is so sad.
I liked Vinculus too. Ooh, I want to read that book again. I liked the bit with George III.
And I love Vermeer!
I was unaware of the Waldorf theory of colors. I admire their thoughts on education, and the appropriate venues and environment for it.
I also love volcanoes, and volcanic rocks. And violet -- but I was sort of surprised that when you listed violet you also did not include the wonderful flower and scent as well. . .
My list for "v" would have to include views, as in scenic views, violins and violas, vibraphones, voyages, vaccinations, and vanilla.
Helen: Boy clothes are particularly bad aren't they? It's hard to get anything but all brown and green or dark blue. Waldorf theory is that babies don't need to be jarred awake by bright colors and patterns. They need to continue to be in a nurturing environment until they are ready for more stimulating things. These theories are based on the idea of observing where the child is developmentally instead of pushing them to develop.
Charlotte: I forgot about Girl with a Pearl Earring. That was a pretty good adaptation of the book, and of course Colin Firth never hurts! He seems to excel at the "tormented/conflicted melancholic artist" roles.
Healingmagichands: I've never had much experience with violet flowers and their scent, so I couldn't say if I really like them. Definitely violas (the instrument) and vanilla, though I'm not a big fan of vaccinations (another Waldorf thing).
The colours thing is fascinating. We read about contrasts being more important than bright colours and though dudelet was presented with the usual array of violently coloured objects, all his early mobiles were black and white patterns or primitive faces, in black and white. Take him to cinemas when he was very small and he'd be fascinated by the text credits and but would rapidly doze off during the film.
We've never paid much attention to gendering outfits - everyone's always thought he was a girl and his favourite colour is pink. His next favourite colour is black (gonna take after his dad and be a disaffected goth as teenager?)
Now Helen's tagged me with a 'C' so I really have to get on with it...
(un)relaxeddad: I'm convinced that when you see small babies zonked out at places like movie theaters, malls, etc., they are asleep because that's the only way they can escape the sensory onslaught!
Steiner often spoke of small children as being "entirely sense organs," having no filters the way adults do. So along with bright colors, we try to avoid loud sounds, bright lights, etc. until the baby is much older.
My son loves pink, also black. He likes to draw particularly gory looking pictures with red and black, but then he went crazy making pink valentines this morning!
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