Full of Beauty

The world is full of beauty. Yes, I know that it's also full of much that is ugly, undesirable or even outright evil, most of it man made.  I'm trying to wean myself off the worst of my news junkie addiction as I felt it was beginning to influence my view of the world but that doesn't mean I'm not aware of what is going on.

However in my own life I try to keep my artistic well filled with inspiration and for me that inspiration comes from beauty, made by both man and mother nature. And this weekend was full of beautiful experiences.

To begin with I and a friend went to a concert by Voskresenije (Resurrection), a vocal ensemble from St. Petersburg. They sang a mix of sacred music and folk songs. The ensemble consisted of 8 people (4 female and 4 male) without any musical accompaniment and their voices filled the chapel.

The music would have been wondrous in any environment but to have it performed in Rosslynn Chapel was a unique experience. To be able to look at a place steeped in history, decorated with the most stupendous carvings and with the spirit of ages past pervading the aisles while listening to the unutterable beauty of the human voice at its best was beyond description. It was an evening that will live on in my memory for many years to come. The chapel was lighted entirely by candlelight and to walk up to it and see the light flickering through the stained glass windows was magical.

Sadly there is now a No Photography rule within the Chapel so I can't show you any actual pictures from last night but before the rule came into force some years back I did go and fill an entire camera memory card with photographs. Sadly it was my previous camera so the resolution is not as good as I could have wished for but it gives you a taste of the building. 

Then today John and I went to Dawyck to savour the last of the autumn colours. Some of the trees have started to loose theirs but others are still putting on the most fabulous show. Some of the trees appear to be on fire!

Sadly this time there were no blue skies to accompany the show but it was still an absolute feast for the eyes.

After all that I feel filled with beauty and keen to go back to try and produce my own in the studio in the coming week!