Hidden Art

This summer I’m spending some time with the titles for parents…that you won’t find in the Parenting section. You can see the full list in our Mended Wood Home Library Guide.

Hidden Art, this week’s book recommendation, is sometimes sold under the title The Hidden Art of Homemaking. The author is Edith Schaeffer. You may recognize her name from the L’Abri movement, which she founded alongside her husband, Francis Schaeffer. If you are part of the homeschooling world, you. might know of Francis and Edith’s daughter, Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, of Charlotte Mason circles.

I prefer to call this book by the former title, because people’s eyes tend to glaze over upon hearing the word “homemaking,” summoning images of grunt work and Betty Crocker perfection. Instead, this book talks about the benefits of a rich home life, for oneself and for one’s family and friends. Schaeffer encourages the reader to embrace his or her creativity in all aspects of life, from food to writing to environment.

Foundational to this artful way of living is an understanding of God as the original artist—the creator who created creative creatures, patterned after himself. Because we are made in God’s image, we thrive in beautiful environments, calling to mind the beauty God made in the world for his glory. And because we are made in God’s image, each of us has creative abilities: ones that ought to be exercised and enjoyed for the benefit of ourselves and others.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Says the author:

“I would define ‘hidden art’ as the art found in the ordinary areas of everyday life. Each person has, I believe, some talent which is unfulfilled in some hidden area of his being — a talent which could be expressed and developed.”

She suggests that a natural, easy beginning for this development is within the walls of one’s home. She goes on:

“First of all, be satisfied with the fact that although your art or talent may never be accepted by the world as anything ‘great’, and may never be your career, it can be used to enrich your day by day life: enrich it for you, and for the people with whom you live. And secondly, come to a recognition of the fact that is is important for you to be creative in this area to the extent of your talent: important for you as a person who is a creative creature.”

If you could use encouragement in this area, or if you feel like you have no idea where to start in this area, give this book a try! You will find it to be a sweet reminder of who God made you to be and what is possible within the walls of a little home.

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Kelly Keller

Kelly Keller is the managing editor of Story Warren. She has her BS in Elementary Education from Messiah University and has taught various ages, but her favorite was worldview and literature with high school students. The “gap” in her resume is actually a window of eighteen years of homeschooling, which she recommends as an effective, though demanding, way of expanding one’s home library.

When she’s not behind her laptop, Kelly enjoys live music, baseball, reading great books, and traveling with her husband, David. Kelly hails from beautiful snowy New England, but after two decades in North Carolina, she feels right at home.

She invites you to subscribe to her newsletter, On the Common, or to follow her on Instagram.

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