Collage 725

Tolstoy uses dreams quite a bit to get into the minds of his characters. Here is one of Nikolenka's dreams:

'"Father," he thought. "Father" (though there were two portraits of a good likeness in the house, Nikolenka never pictured Prince Andrei in his human image), "father was with me and caressed me. He approved of me, he approved of Uncle Pierre.'

Tolstoy keeps his characters so honest. It is heartbreaking that Nikolenka is a rather pathetic teenager, but he's so real! -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 705-706, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 1/13/12
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1178-1179

Collage 724

Lucy Arrington
from page 703-704, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 1/13/12
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1176-1178

Collage 723

As everything in a dream is false, senseless, and contradictory, except for the feeling that guides the dream, so in this sort of communication, contrary to all the laws of reason, it was not the words that were consistent and clear, but only the feeling that guided them.

p. 1175 in P/V

Lynn Waskelis
from page 701-702, volume 2 of original text
collage, fabric
made 1/6/12
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation pp. 1174-1176

Collage 726

Lucy Arrington
from page 707-708, volume 2 of original text
collage, flora from Yasnaya Polyana
made 1/13/12
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1180-1181

Collage 722

Princess Marya, my favorite character. She and her husband Nikolai are talking -- he is talking about his concerns about the farm, while she is lost in her own thoughts, reflecting on her feelings towards her husband, her own children, and Nikolenka, her nephew. She faults herself for loving her own children more than Nikolenka. He is an orphan, the son of her brother Prince Andrei and his long-dead wife.

"Countess Marya's soul always strove towards the infinite, eternal and perfect, and therefore could never be at peace. The stern expression of concealed, lofty suffering burdened by a body came to her face." I love Princess/Countess Marya, and religious imagery. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 699-700, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 1/6/12
Pevear/Volokhonsksy translation page 1173-1174

Collage 721

Nikolai reflecting on his wife Marya:

He was proud that she was so intelligent and good, being conscious of his own insignificance before her in the spiritual world, and rejoiced the more that she, with her soul, not only belonged to him, but made up a part of him."

p. 1172 in P/V

Lynn Waskelis
from page 697-698, volume 2 of original text
collage, fabric, oil crayon
made 1/6/12
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation pp. 1171-1173

Collage 720

Nikolai and Pierre argue. Natasha steps in to side with her husband and chide her brother, dispelling the tension. - Adrienne

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 695-696, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink, fauna from Yasnaya Polyana
made 1/6/12
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1170-1171

Collage 719

Emma Rhodes
from page 693-694, volume 2 of original txt
collage
made 1/6/12
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1168-1170

Collage 718

Nikolenka is an orphan, the nephew of Princess Marya who is his guardian. In this passage, Pierre comments to Princess Marya how much Nikolenka looks like his father. Nikolenka loves Pierre. Nikolenka is a sad character.

"The curly-headed, sickly boy, with his shining eyes, sat in the corner unnoticed by anyone and, only turning his curly head on its thin neck, emerging from a turned-down collar, to the side where Pierre was, occasionally trembled and whispered something to himself, clearly experiencing some new and strong feeling."

I love the detail -- how he inherited his aunt's "luminous" eyes. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 691-692, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 1/6/12
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1166-1168

Collage 717

Pierre went to the children, and the laughter and shouting grew still louder. "Well Anna Makarovna," Pierre's voice was heard, "come here to the middle, and at the command, one, two, and when I say three, you stand here. And you in my arms. Now, one, two..." said Pierre's voice; there was a hush. "Three!" and a rapturous groan of children's voices arose in the room.

Lynn Waskelis
from page 689-690, volume 2 of original text
collage, flora from Yasnaya Polyana
made 1/6/12
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1165-1166

Collage 716

Lol

As I'm reading the passage, several months after I made this collage, I have no idea what I was thinking as I made it. I like it! It is pretty. However, I can find no relationship between the story line and the collage! In this passage, Natasha's mother grieves the death of her son and husband, and is rather lost. The family makes allowances for her behavior, as they understand her suffering. So perhaps I'm offering a bouquet of lovely flowers to the grieving countess. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 687-688, volume 2 of original text
collage, flora from Yasnaya Polyana
made 1/6/12
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1163-1164

Collage 715

Emma Rhodes
from page 685-686, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 1/6/12
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1161-1163

Collage 714

We are in the Epilogue, Part One, Chapter XII.

The chapter opens like this:

"As in every real family, several totally different world lived together in the house at Bald Hills, each maintaining its own particularity and yielding to the others, but merging into one harmonious whole."

I re-purposed someone else's artwork here. This is part of the stash that Lynn found in the eaves of her mother-in-law's old house on Cape Cod. I like how the circles and colors weave together into a "harmonious whole". By using glue, I smeared what were originally hard-edged lines, but it works here, I think. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 683-684, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 12/2/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1160-1161

Collage 713

Entering the epilogue, I had the idea that I would make collages based on the letters in "peace", nicely wrapping up our time together. Brazenly taking several pages at once, I dove in. Starting with such a strong design element, however, turned out to be more challenging than I anticipated. I ended up working on all these pieces for a couple of sittings, thereby breaking a basic rule!

This is the E, the only one that actually looks like one of the intended letters. - Adrienne


Adrienne Wetmore
from page 881-882, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 12/2/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1158-1160

Collage 712

We are in the Epilogue, Part One, Chapter X.

Pierre and Natasha are the perfect picture of domesticity. Hard to believe, but fiery Natasha shifts into an obedient wife.

"The manner and place of their life, their acquaintances , their connections, Natasha's occupations, the raising of the children -- not only was everything done according to the express will of Pierre, but Natasha tried to guess what might follow from Pierre's thoughts voiced in conversation."

What really interests me is the bit about breast-feeding. Pierre had told Natasha about Rousseau's thoughts on using a wet nurse -- that he found the practice to be "unnatural and harmful" The narrator comments that Natasha had a hard time with their first child -- she became sick despair (sounds like postpartum depression to me) and changed wet nurses three times. So with the subsequent children she went totally against convention and breast fed them herself.

This book if filled with these tiny little details of daily life. Which makes it so readable and engaging. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 679-680, volume 2 of original text
collage, acrylic paint, flora from Yasnaya Polyana
made 12/2/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1156-1158

Collage 711

Natasha lives and breathes her family. All else is insignificant. - Adrienne


Adrienne Wetmore
from page 677-678, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 12/2/11
Pevear/Volokhonsksy translation page 1155-1156

Collage 710

Natasha and Pierre marry in the spring of 1813!

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 675-676, volume 2 of original text
collage, flora from Yasnaya Polyana
made 12/1/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1153-1155

Collage 709

...Nikolai allowed himself to give his daughter a gallop around the room. Out of breath, he quickly set down the laughing girl and hugged her to his breast. His leaps reminded him of dancing, and, looking at the child's round, happy face, he thought of how she would be when he, as an old man, started taking her out, and would do the mazurka with her, as his late father used to dance the Daniel Cooper with his daughter.

-p. 1153 in P/V translation

Lynn Waskelis
from page 673-674, volume 2 of original text
collage, acrylic paint
made 12/2/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation pp. 1152-1153

Collage 708

Marya and Nikolai have a strong relationship, and they give one other what each needs, but something feels wrong to me. Having withstood years of abuse from her father seems to have left her insecure in the shadow of her husband's often brooding nature. - Adrienne Wetmore

from page 671-672, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink, oil pastel, flora from Yasnaya Polyana
made 12/2/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1150-1152

Collage 707

Indeed it did seem that Sonya was not burdened by her position and was completely reconciled with her destiny as a sterile blossom...

-p. 1149 P/V

Lynn Waskelis
from page 669-679, volume 2 of original text
collage, flora, ink
made 12/2/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation pp. 1148-1150

Collage 706

The tears flowed still more abundantly from the countess's eyes. She took her husband's hand and kissed it.

p. 1147 in P/V

Lynn Waskelis

from page 667-668, volume 2 of original text
collage, flora, ink
made 12/2/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation pp. 1147-1148

Collage 705

The homely Countess Marya always became pretty when she wept. She never wept from pain or vexation, but always from sadness and pity. And when she wept, her luminous eyes became irresistably lovely.

-p. 1147 in P/V

Lynn Waskelis
from page 665-666, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink, flora
made 12/2/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation pp. 1145-1147

Collage 704

Nikolai and Princess Marya marry! Although I'm not a huge fan of Nikolai, I am happy that Princess Marya finds love, at last. He becomes a farmer and is quite successful, enough so that he is able to re-pay his debts to Pierre, buy another small estate near Bald Hills, and buying back the old family estate Otradnoe, his fondest dream. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 663-664, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 11/4/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1143-1145

Collage 703

Again, Princess Marya meets with Rostov and, again, he is cold to her. As she leaves, her voice quavers,

"I don't know why... you were different before and..."

"There are thousands of reasons why"(he placed special emphasis on the word why).
"Thank you, Princess, he said softly. "It's sometimes hard."

Trish Crapo
from page 661-662, volume 2 of original text
collage, graphite
made 12/31/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1142-1142

Collage 702

Princess Marya is upset by the cold reception given to her by Nikolai Rostov. She vows never to see him again, then changes her mind.

"His cold, courteous tone did not come from his feeling for her (she knew that), but was covering up something."

She needs to discover what it is to have some peace. -- Trish

Trish Crapo
from page 659-660, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 12/31/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1140-1142

Collage 701

Burdened by the financial misdealings of his father and a mother who cannot fathom a life without luxury, Nikolai is indebted to Sonya for running the household and appeasing the Countess, but distances himself from her...

In his heart it was as if he reproached her for being too perfect and having nothing to be reproached for. In her there was everything for which people are appreciated; but there was little of what would make him love her. 


Adrienne Wetmore
from page 657-658, volume 2 of original text
collage, flora from Yasnaya Polyana, twine
made 11/4/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1139-1140

Collage 700

Mine eye hath played the painter and hath steeled,

Thy beauty's form in table of my heart;
My body is the frame wherein 'tis held,
And perspective that is best painter's art.
For through the painter must you see his skill,
To find where your true image pictured lies,
Which in my bosom's shop is hanging still,
That hath his windows glazed with thine eyes.
Now see what good turns eyes for eyes have done:
Mine eyes have drawn thy shape, and thine for me
Are windows to my breast, where-through the sun
Delights to peep, to gaze therein on thee; 
   Yet eyes this cunning want to grace their art,
   They draw but what they see, know not the heart.

I used some ephemera on this collage that first made it's appearance a long time ago! Dogs at a dinner party. In this passage (Epilogue Chapter V), Count Ilya Andreevich (Natasha's father) plans her wedding -- dinners, suppers.

I also used Shakespeare (Sonnet XXIV) which occasionally makes its way into this project as well. The magazine images are from Trish's endless stash of interesting materials. Broken hearts, lots of tears (the Moscow fire, the death of Prince Andrei and Petya, the grief of Princess Marya and Natasha. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 655-656, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 11/4/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1137-1139

Collage 699

This collage pleases me- especially the little image of the clock face.

Lynn Waskelis
from page 653-654, volume 2 of original text
collage, oil pastel
made 11/4/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation pp. 1135-1137

Collage 698

The word "chance" is used  10 times in one paragraph to describe Napoleon's rise to power and

...his ideal of greatness and glory, which to all of them seems something beautiful and reasonable.

I used a playing card (for obvious reasons) but am not sure why I used the birds! or the fly paper from billboards in New York City! -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 651-652, volume 2 of original text
collage
made 11/4/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1134-1135

Collage 697

Napoleon...

a man who could justify both to himself and to them the deceptions, robberies, and murders which were to be performed and which accompanied that movement.

Lucy Arrington
from page 649-650, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink, acrylic paint
made 11/4/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1132-1134

Collage 696

Heady stuff on the subject of genius and chance coming from Leo Tolstoy here:

In renouncing knowledge of the final purpose, we will clearly understand that, just as it is impossible to invent for any plant a flower and seed that correspond to it more than those it produces, so it is impossible to invent two other persons, with all their past, who would correspond to such a degree, in such minute detail, to the purpose they were meant to fulfill.

-p.1132 (referring to Napolean and Alexander)

Lynn Waskelis
from page 647-548, volume 2 of original text
collage, ribbon, copper leaf, ink
made 11/4/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1131-1132

Collage 695

Aristocratic dogs at dinner. This might be a story my son would like- maybe I could sell him on War and Peace this way.

Do you see the Count and Countess, Pierre and Natasha?

Adrienne Wetmore
from page 645-646, volume 2 of original text
collage, ink
made 11/4/11
Pevear/Volokhonsky translation page 1129-1131