BEAUTIFUL USEFUL THINGS: WHAT WILLIAM MORRIS MADE

BEAUTIFUL USEFUL THINGS: WHAT WILLIAM MORRIS MADE by Beth Kephart. Illustrated by Melodie Stacey.

"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

                                                        - William Morris

Now that we are in the full beauty of spring, it is time to share a picture book that I have had stashed away in my closet.

I was not familiar with William Morris until I read the picture book Beautiful Useful Things: What William Morris Made by Beth Kephart. But when I did I found, as Anne of Green Gables once said, "a kindred spirit."

Morris was a lover of nature. He spent many happy hours surrounded in its beauty. He didn't just pass by it, though. He noticed it's details. When he grew older he desired to make beautiful things for homes. So he gathered artists around him and began to make dishes, wallpaper, rugs, stained-glass windows, and many other useful home products depicting nature scenes. This book is a testimony of one man's dream coming true in his life through hard work and innovation!

It takes a special illustrator to be able to portray the life and works of an artist like William Morris. Melodie Stacey is just that illustrator! It was the illustrations that first caught my eye and caused me to pick up this book. Large, glorious works fill the pages with generous amounts of greens that draw us in and make us feel as if we are on a nature walk while going through the book! It is well done!

After putting the book down and doing a little goggling on Morris, imagine my surprise when I discovered that a tapestry I have hanging in our living room is one of his designs. It's called The Tree of Life. We live in the middle of the woods, and it was my desire to bring the outside in. I can't help but feel pleased that his desire of using beautiful things is still being accomplished today!

ALONGSIDE ACTIVITIES-

It is fun to take a look at Morris and Co. The beauty still exists today in the company William Morris started. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://morrisandco.sandersondesigngroup.com/&ved=2ahUKEwi_sZ_ozcL-AhV8JkQIHaVNBhcQFnoECBYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw26sGuvM7c97it8GtrzV8W4

-Give your kids a sheet of cardstock to make nature prints on it in a wallpaper-type fashion. Gather leaves and blooming flowers. Flatten them out (flowers) and dip them in a light coat of paint. Stamp the design onto the cardstock.