The Hidden Art of Homemaking

Several years ago my mother-in-law told me about a book by Edith Schaeffer called The Hidden Art of Homemaking.  The book is about how all of us are children of God, the creator of this beautiful world, and have inherited his creative abilities.  It encourages the use of these creative abilities in making our homes and neighborhoods beautiful; adding a touch of art to everything you do.  She assures those who don't feel they have artistic ability to consider the variety of artistic expression found in the home - from flower arranging, gardening, and a beautiful meal to reading stories aloud, theatrical production with costumes, and singing together.

Geoff's parents spent time and were married at L'Abri in the Swiss Alps, a Christian commune run by Francis and Edith Schaeffer. There was a touch of beauty and art in everything Edith Schaeffer did in this naturally beautiful setting, and Geoff's mother was a ready student.  After reading The Hidden Art of Homemaking I understood why every table in Geoff's parent's home was set with a little beauty, every room laced with warmth and love, every gathering having elements of creativity, every view of the window filled with flowers or a focal point, and she, herself is always dressed as a lady.  I'm not talking Martha Stewart-no-one-has-time-for-that-kind-of-creativity.  Just small touches of beauty.

I don't have a lot of spare time for projects, displays or elaborate creativity but Geoff's mom's artistic beauty rubbed off on me - it is worth expressing our creativity, even in small ways, because it feels good to use our divine gifts.  It brings us joy to see beauty and art in our own little 'world'.

I must say that I really like living in an apartment because everything is about the scale I can handle at this stage in my life.  Geoff and I planted flowers and bulbs for Spring blooming in our manageable, patio flower boxes.  I can actually keep them up!  We love using natural elements to bring beauty inside: flowers, seeds, gourds and pumpkins, branches and leaves, etc. 

Geoff's mom rotates things each season, and sometimes more often, to keep the home alive.  We don't have a lot of space to store things right now, but the seasons themselves offer so many options for displays, and we try to have a few new things out to spark interest and wonder.  We put out new books from the shelves on the coffee table to encourage browsing, occasionally the globe is a prominent feature in the room, other times it is a display of natural treasures collected on a hike, or field guides and binoculars.

Art supplies are like snacks: if you set them out the little people will partake.  Sometimes I try to set out unusual things that they might not choose, like supplies to cross stitch, or felting materials.  If a game is set out it will get played, if writing supplies like paper, envelopes, sticker letters and fancy pens/markers are left out in a basket they will draw attention and get explored.

I'm far from having this down like my mother-in-law.  I still feel lucky to get a nourishing meal prepared, and usually we eat it right out of the pot, grabbing a plate straight from the cupboard instead of a beautifully set table, but I'm a ready student!  And whenever I look at our planted flowers or our plate of collected seeds or the open music on the piano I really do feel joy.  Maybe it is from discovering the hidden art of homemaking.