What Nature Understands

"An architect should live as little in cities as a painter. Send him to our hills, and let him study there what nature understands by a buttress, and what by a dome." -John Ruskin

One day a cart of free books to be given away appeared randomly in front of my school's library and this little volume was one of many I snatched up simply for the pretty binding. It turned out to be an old copy of Victorian art critic and writer John Ruskin's The Elements of Drawing. While Ruskin may have been a bit of an odd man, he certainly was prolific. It wouldn't be a bad book to bring with you on an adventure around the red rocks of the west. This look is rather librarian in the field, though unlike Evelyn Carnahan, it was unlikely I would run afoul of any mummys out here in Colorado.

I never feel so enchanted with America as I do when in such a setting like Garden of the Gods. I am not usually patriotic, in fact any slip of a chance I get to move to England I intend to take at once. Still, whatever qualms I feel about the US, the land itself is often quite beautiful. The red rocks that line the Rocky Mountain's here in Colorado are occasionally other worldly. Garden of the Gods looks like some foreign planet out of Star Wars with its towering shards of rock jutting high into the sky. I highly recommended a visit if you are ever passing through the area. For more photos from this location see this post of photos I took of the place dusted in snow.

I made this brown and tan mini hounds-tooth pattern skirt with asymmetric drape recently and will soon be making a matching bolero. Expanding my wardrobe to include brown this year has really opened up my eyes to the color and its many styling options! As someone who for a many years insisted on wearing mostly all black, I have really enjoyed adding both brown and navy into the mix. This great little blouse was a thrift find earlier in the year and has been seen once before on the blog here. The brooch is one of my favorites in my ever expanding collection and features a genuine beetle. It may seem strange to have a real (albeit dead) beetle pinned onto ones blouse, but I like to see it as continuing the traditions of those decadent and wonderfully morbid Victorians. Oddly enough I can think of few things that would terrify me more than a live beetle so large, but dead and mounted specimen doesn't bother me as much. Perhaps it helps that these particular jewel (specifically: Sternocera aequisignata) beetles aren't so particularly creepy looking to begin with. The larger insects are, the more irrationally terrified I am of them in reality. Were I in Willie Scott's place Indy and Short Round would have certainly been crushed as there is no way I would have gotten anywhere near that many bugs! Some kind of lady adventurer I'd make! I'll stick to scrambling on rocks in my heels and sketching peacefully from the trail for now thanks :) 

Skirt: Made by me
Blouse: Thrifted
Shoes: Amazon (here, but I warn you they are very painful)
Brooch: Etsy
Bracelet: Vintage
Earrings: Charming Charlie