Paideia: Winter

Winter (1755) by Jean-Honore Fragonard

A new season begins, Winter, my least favorite time of the year.

The holidays are rarely "happy" for me. I'm not prone to depression, but late December and early January do bring on some spiritual doldrums. Maybe it's the light. Maybe it's the cold. All I know is that it takes a whole lot of eggnog to bring me some seasonal cheer. ;-)

And the flowers are so few. The bounty of color that I wish to see in the gardens is muted, with only a handful of hardy floral gems on view. But, at least, I still have art and music.

Detail of Winter (1896) by Alphonse Mucha

One way in which I deal with the Winter Gloom is by staying busy. I often overpack my schedule, visiting museums, gardens, galleries, performances, lectures, and any activity that will keep my mind from straying into the shadows. Yeah, it's a form of escapism, but it does the job. By early February, I can feel my spirit lifting up, anticipating the beauties of Spring, just about fifty days away.

Another odious situation that arises in Winter, my writing productivity plummets. Because I try to silence my inner voice in early Winter, I find that writing is extremely difficult, relying upon structural elements of plot or premise progression to carry me through an assignment. I'm hoping that my practice as a blogger for the past few months might make writing this season a bit easier for me.

Winter Scene (1781) by Hendrik Meyer

Anyways, in regards to this post, with the exception of Mucha's Winter, the three other images are from local Los Angeles museums: LACMA's Fragonard, the Getty's Meyer, and the Norton Simon's van Gogh.

Lovely pieces. :-)