touring, baking and cooking

 morgana, jonathan and charlotte were up early to traipse about the city. their first stop was the cathedral of saint john the divine.

 new tom otterness figures in the cathedral (otterness characters can be found all over the city. i always enjoy running into them).

 the beautiful rose window which chanda studied in her first lesson block with svetlana and the waldorf group about two years ago.

 in the center of the window is a figure of jesus.

 walking through central park.

 at the met museum. i'm so glad they were able to see the christmas tree and the neapolitan baroque creche.

 in the temple of dendur . . 

 and at the metropolitan opera house where they saw la boheme.

it was such a busy day for them. they did so much and i think they had a fun time.

meanwhile, chanda had a dance rehearsal and i baked and cooked all day. by the time they came home i was able to make a little extra gingerbread for everyone to have as a snack and we sat down and talked about the day while sipping hot cider. they brought out lovely gifts they had for us: a beautiful origami packet, exquisite ink blocks made from sheesham wood and oiled with mustard oil, and sweet maple candy. (thank you so much, eva. they're wonderful and we look forward to creating origami birds and printed cloth!)

st. john the divine

 we visited the cathedral of st. john the divine today with the waldorf group class, an episcopal church on the upper west side. it's cornerstone was laid on st. john's day, december 27th, 1892. the design competition was won by george heins and christopher grant lafarge, who envisioned a romanesque - byzantine style church (seen today inside in the crossing, apse and seven chapels, each dedicated to a different immigrant group reflecting the times it was begun: spain, italy, france, the eastern mediterranean, britain, germany and scandinavia). in 1911 ralph adams cram became the architect and he constructed the nave in the gothic revival style, maintaining true gothic integrity by using only granite stone structure, and no steel or iron skeleton. today the building remains unfinished.

discussing the transept which was never completed.

 gothic arches in one of the seven side chapels.

 the stained glass windows are incredibly beautiful and were done in the original medieval technique, using sand and metal ash. the design and composition are also medieval, but the figures are contemporary, having been installed between 1920 to 1950.

 wednesdays and saturdays you can take a vertical tour, climbing up 124 feet along spiral staircases to the top, culminating in a terrific view of manhattan. i haven't done this but it think it would be fun.

 the church has a renowned textile conservation lab, and they alternate the tapestries that are on view.

 here svetlana is discussing the pilgrim's pavement, running from west to east. the side medallions depict important moments in anglican  history, as well as key pilgrimage sites. the central medallions depict miracles performed by jesus. this medallion commemorates the loaves and fishes story, when jesus fed the multitude at bethsaida.

 discussing the rose window and the four fold symmetry which reaches towards eight and sixteen directions.

 svetlana described the geometric design that shapes the rose window, and reveals the central circle in which the figure of jesus resides. the connections between circle, square and octagon symbolize heaven, earth and the mediation between them. you can read about this, here, in an essay by michael schneider titled, the geometry of the west rose window of the cathedral of st. john the divine.

everyone then sat down facing the rose window and began their geometric drawings, which they continued working on back in the apartment.

 the beginning drawing at the cathedral: inscribing a square and finding it's horizontal and vertical bisectors and it's diagonals which divide the circle into eight equally spaced points.

 heading back outside . . 

 to view the front portal created by stone carver simon verity.

 in true medieval tradition, local merchants and neighbors served as models for the figures. he also designed the heads and eyes to follow and greet you as you walk up the steps to the door. the figure svetlana is pointing at in the center is st. john the divine with paper and quill. above him sits jesus.

 the right (south) bell tower was begun, but never completed . . the left (north) bell tower was never begun.

 the church is built on morningside heights, one of the highest areas of manhattan, and in all aspects of it's design, it seeks to uplift, and raise the visitor towards heaven. 

 back at the apartment we had lunch followed by a small celebration for chanda's birthday.

 we had moon cookies baked with butter, honey, ground almonds and flour, as chanda means "moon" in punjabi and she was named for the half moon that shown through the window upon us when she was born.

svetlana requested a story from chanda and i from when she was small, as it is her belief that this is how we learn about and accept one another. so i talked about the moon and when she was born and chanda shared about xena and how she slept next to her with her head on chanda's pillow. svetlana then mentioned how important it can be to know someone from your childhood, and how different it is for her here in the states where no one knows her from that time of her life.

 after the class i went downtown with chanda and we sat in billy's bakery and i read from the fifth harry potter book (while she worked on her rose window drawing) until her modern dance class began.