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By Dana Weather
Learning to appreciate and admire our own culture is sometimes
a tad bit overlooked by most, as is the essence of a weather
vane. Life among the garden plants, vases, flowers, trees and
birds at home sometimes also goes overlooked by those who are
too busy to remember how far we have come as a civilization.
Weathervanes are like instant memories. With some weathervane
the sound of changing wind will be an immediate reminder of
our
culture and heritage, with others the mere sight will invoke
past experiences and pleasant memories. Art can change society
if it wants to or even bring inspiration and insight. The most
traditional of American modern arts in the home and garden, is
the weather vane. From the oldest documented colonial
weathervane of Deacon Shem Drowne in the 18th century with his
most famous Grasshopper weathervane that sits upon Faneuil
Hall
in Boston to the present day, weathervane sculptures have
shaped
American modern art.
Weathervane and American Modern Art
When we think of American modern art, most people tend to
think
of paintings and sculptures that sit in galleries and art
museums. Weathervane are some of the most traditional works of
American sculpture art because they have told the direction of
the wind on the tops of houses, fences and barns for hundreds
of years and represented important elements in our history.
They are made by hand and no two can be exactly the same. Each
weather vane is in and of itself a work of human expression,
crafted by the hands of an artesian who takes their work
seriously and with great passion. Old North Church (1740,
Boston), First Church in Cambridge (1721), Province House
(1716, Boston), Goddess of Liberty, the Federal Eagle and many
famous race horses have all been immortalized by the sculpture
of weathervane and banners upon the highest tops.
Weathervane Give The Direction of The Wind and Feed
Imagination.
The compass rose is held firmly on a weather vane and will
always show the direction of north. The weather vane itself
will always point in the direction from which the wind
originates. The movement of wind and air is physically the
disbursing of energy that has picked up speed and travels
through the sky abiding the laws of the cosmos. Indicating in
a
subtle way, what the skies are about to do. Wind may normally
tend to stand idle without a weather vane, but it is always
doing something, even if it is absent. Metalworkers and
historians alike have been enchanted by the fascinating beauty
of weathervane and those delicate “cathartic” moments they
captivate in our hearts. Curving and spinning like a dancer,
the weather vane fuels our human imagination with its beauty
and becomes our link to the sky.
Art In Home and Garden Inspires Peace and Contemplation
This deep and intricate realm of American modern art can be
most appreciated in the delicate things. Home and Garden is a
place where that kind of traditional hand made art restores
the
splendor of the subtle and peaceful. “Home is where the heart
is.” And through the art of weathervane our expressions of
self
and family become most attuned to the sky, wind and land that
we
call home. The weather vane inspires peace and contemplation
wherever it stands. Mythical creatures, farm animals,
creatures
of the sea, sailboats, airplanes, national prides; creative
works of an artistic imagination that follow the moving
patterns of the wind, a wind that only sleeps at the calm of
the storm. And in those moments the weather vane asks a
question, where is the wind?
About The Author: This article was written by Dana of
www.weathervanesrus.com/. Embellish your home or garden
with a culturally rich weathervane made by skilled artisans
using old world techniques at www.weathervanesrus.com/.
Reproductions of this article are encouraged but must include
a
link back to www.weathervanesrus.com/.
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