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Paper Garden: Mrs Delany Begins Her Life's Work At 72 (2012)

by Molly Peacock(Favorite Author)

3.82 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

140882938X (ISBN13: 9781408829387)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Bloomsbury UK

review 1: well...this was not at all what i thought it would be. i was absolutely fascinated and engaged with the life, story and art of mary delany. but i was really not engaged with (or interested in) author molly peacock's memoir-ish insertions of herself into delay's biography. for me, it really detracted from the read and made me not want to pick up the book to continue the read. i found the flow and style of writing in the book bumpy, and also found myself really questioning peacock's suppositions and inferences. i actually ended up setting this book aside, around ¾ of the way through - something i never to. i most always finish the books i start. so, unfortunately, this book lands on my DNF shelf.my rating is based on how much i liked learning about mary delany, the stunn... moreing beauty of her art, and the beautiful quality of the hardcover edition of the book i own - it really is a lovely object.
review 2: I'm kindof in awe of this woman who at age 72, began a work that would stand the test of time. How, as an art and art history student, did I never hear or learn about Mary Delaney, the woman who basically invented collage?? It took a chapter or two for me to get into it, but Peacock does a great job of not just making this a biography of Delaney, but a historical account of the times, of the important people of that day and age, and of course, studies and advances in 18th century horticulture and craft. Peacock describes one particular flower (and Mary's corresponding, intricate paper collage) in each chapter and relates this flower or plant to a chapter in Mary's life. (I don't know that Mary attached all those ideas to these works as she was churning them out, but they worked for this book...) I didn't particularly enjoy the snippets of the author's life included occasionally, but I guess it was a good example of finding a way to connect with someone who lived centuries earlier and realize that you DO have things in common. Great book, gorgeous flowers, so glad I read it!Here are some of my favorite quotes:"Stepping into the position of an amateur...someone who loves something and wants to learn about it - repeats the confusion of youth. The state of not-knowing, especially for a person of age and accomplishment, recaptures youth's novel excitements. This is a way of keeping young..." (So true!!)"It's no news to anyone that we make art out of the substance of our lives.""Art is poultice for a burn. It is a privilege to have, somewhere within you, a capacity for making something speak from your own seared experience.""Having a collection, taking it out, looking at it, reordering it, and putting it away is creative in itself. It doesn't yield a product, like the results of an art, but it stops time, as making art does.""You might not be able to draw a conclusion from what overwhelms you, but if you describe it, you will come to know it. And when you come to know it, you are less afraid of it. And when you are no longer afraid, you have balance. And when you have balance, you have the poise that is control.""The power of a no is also the power to create - and be comfortable with - negative space in a life." (I'm still learning this in SOOOO many different ways - regarding my time, belongings, etc.)"Craft is engaging. It results in a product. The mind works in a state of meditation in craft, almost the way we half-meditate in heavy physical exercise. There is a marvelously obsessive nature to craft that allows a person to dive down through the ocean of everyday life to a seafloor of meditative making. It is an antidote to what ails you." Age is the sum of all we do. -Charles Bukowski"Some things take living long enough to do." less

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