Page 21 – Anthrow Circus

Two Paintings and an Encounter

STORY BY JANE POTTHAST

This week’s writer illustrates the power of art for guiding us to new places. For her, two paintings in a Vatican gallery thrust her into a spiritually profound encounter.

These, the “Pope’s paintings,” cried out to God more than any others as we wound through masterpieces in the sad, vast Vatican.

We were plodding through the quarters and it was less crowded than the other museums, as it was not on the path to the Sistine Chapel.

I started to tremble when we saw a Raphael, his last before death. A secrecy pervaded the image, forcing me to a craggy edge of longing at which my eyes watered.

The Secret Garden of Marseille

STORY AND PHOTOS BY CATHERINE RICOUL
ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY KAMI L. RICE

Last year the Belle de Mai neighborhood of Marseille, France, gained a garden. Residents are working together to cultivate new life in ground that had lost its former glory. Thanks to our contributor Catherine Ricoul, one of forces behind the garden, we get to meander through the Jardin Levat as it dissolves (think film editing terms) from one season to the next.

MicroStories: Six

PHOTOGRAPH BY JC JOHNSON & STORY BY KAMI L. RICE

A real life scene turned miniature through the magic of photography has inspired a tiny fictional tale that invites you to discover the other stories hiding in this image. Explore the world with us and let your imagination play along as you do.

My Week in Mysterious Thailand

STORY AND PHOTOS BY ARMON A. MEANS

It was the colors that surprised me the most. Color is wrapped into the essence of this place. Chiang Mai’s vibrancy is translated in hues of such intensity, often unlike anything I’ve come to know in the States. These colors were formed into surface and texture, adapting pattern and creating form across textiles such as scarves of hand-woven cashmere, and across silk dyed with such delicate precision that it seemed as if nature organically created the object itself.

When Still Life Isn’t Still

STORY BY DONNA FORDPHOTOS BY JOHN FORD AND DONNA FORD Culture Keeper contributor Donna Ford describes some of the unexpected

Harvest: A Poem

POEM BY BRIT WASHBURN & PHOTO BY TAYLOR SCHUELKE

#HijabFashion

ARTICLE BY HEATHER M. SURLS

Our resident contributor in Amman, Jordan, takes us into the world of #hijabfashion, a commonly used hashtag for this burgeoning corner of the fashion world in which social media is a large part of the marketing strategy.

MicroStories: Cinq

PHOTOGRAPH BY JC JOHNSON & STORY BY KAMI L. RICE

A real life scene has been turned miniature through the magic of photography. This miniaturized scene inspired a tiny fictional tale that invites you to discover the other stories hiding in this image. We invite you to explore the world with us, letting your imagination play along as you do. The world can always use more play.

The Importance of Improvising

Contributor Joanna Marsh introduces us to a composer who taught her how to be free of the notes on the page.

What To Do When Culture Shocks

STORY AND PHOTOS BY MEGAN FINCK AND MIKE PLUNKETT

During a long-anticipated sabbatical in Medellín, Colombia, that took them deeper into this foreign-to-them culture than life as a tourist allows for, experienced travelers Mike and Megan discovered the secret crevices where the triggers of culture shock hide in plain sight. And then they had a choice to make.