The Fabled Ondine
Born not of air, not of earth
But of the wave, searching ever
For the heart of a mortal man.
Ondine, exquisite spirit of the sea
Forming mind showers of it's braided
Glittering spray
And haunting sirens call
To the mortal man who came to her
By way of a haunted sea
A mortal to love for a moment...or all eternity.
Pat, author of the journal, "Here, There and Everywhere 2nd Edition," has asked the Blogsphere to tell her the story of how we chose our screen names. I have shared this story once before on my AOL Journal, but I haven't shared about it since I moved to Blogspot. So, here is how I came up with the name "OndineMonet." It was an easy choice for me, I simply blended my favorite legend, the mermaid Ondine, and my favorite artist, Claude Monet.
The name Ondine has been given to many different things. There is a restaurant in Sausalito, California, a band, a faucet company, and even a curse. But it is the 3 act ballet, "Ondine" which was written especially for Margot Fonteyne, by Frederick Ashton, that I enjoy the most. The ballet is based on the legend that tells of Ondine's transcendent journey to live with the mortal seafarer she had lost her heart to. His name was Palemon, but through her metamorphosis from sea nymph to human woman, she began to age, in time she lost her otherworldly beauty to her mortality. One day Ondine found the man she so desperaretly loved, had given himself to another and she, in her despair, cursed the man. The man from whom she first heart the human heartbeat. With a kiss from Ondine, he dies and she takes him home with her to the sea...for eternity. Ondine is sometimes spelled "Undine" in German folklore.
The poem, which I put at the top of this entry, sent to me by a lovely lady I met one day, who came by to visit my art journal, "Ellipsis...The Moonlight Gallery." She had left me a comment that many year's ago, there was a perfume named Ondine, and she just happened to have saved the poem that was written for the perfumes ad. Holly and I marveled at how wonderful it can be to to discover something lovely, such as an obscure poem, and not realize how it can touch someone years later. Someone we have no idea we will meet. If not for the Internet, I would never have met Holly, and I, would have never heard of this poem. I am not sure if I ever shared this with Holly, but the day she emailed it to me, was just awful, but getting this simple poem, and her act of kindness, completely lifted my spirits...for the rest of the week in fact. Things happen for a reason...this was no coincidence, I believe I was destined to meet Holly, and like all I have met through my journal...I am so glad I did. :) Thanks again Holly!
As for Monet, well he has been my favorite Impressionist painter, since I was a small child. The first time I saw Monet's "Water Lillies," I was amazed. I couldn't take my eyes off it. The colors, the way it seemed to flow on a gentle breeze. It has remained one of my very favorite pieces of art, my whole life. As you can see by the photo below, #3, I have been inspired at times, to try taking photos with an impressionist feel. This is not easy to do. So much has to be working in your favor. I just happened to get lucky one day last year, while visiting the Japanese Tea Garden, in Golden Gate Park. The flowers in garden had just begun to bloom, and there was a very gentle breeze flowing up into the garden from the Pacific ocean, which is about 3 blocks from the garden. The sky was slightly cloudy, which allowed for some interesting shadow play.
I have to say...it was one of the best days I had with the camera last spring. A truly peaceful and mind soothing day. I came home exhausted, but oh-so-calm. So, that's it. I got my screen name from a mermaid legend, and my favorite artist. :) Now, have some fun, and share about your screen name with Pat. As she says, "write up and entry and comeback and leave here a link." Just follow the link below. Thanks Pat, for the awesome idea! Also, drop by and say hello to Holly, she is a lovely lady, whose kindess I have always appreciated.
-OndineMonet
Pat "Here, There, and Everywhere 2nd Edition"
Holly "Diary of a Mad Angry Displaced Replaced Housewife"
1. Ondine's Cliff-Artist Unknown
2. Ondine's Village-Artist Unknown
3. Ondine's Moments(Retired)-OndineMonet -GGP, San Francisco, 2004
4. Water Lillies 1916 -Claude Monet
4 comments:
I had figured the monet part lol.. but I didn't know anything about Ondine.. so, that was very interesting! I'm glad you shared the story.
I like Ondine Village Picture..
This may be sacrilege, but I like your water lilies better than C.M.'s!
K.
Hi Carly!
Oh my, what a nice posting! Thanks for your mention of me, and no, I never knew about your bad day and how the poem lifted your spirits! I am so glad. See, there WAS a reason that poem was in my scrapbook for about 30 years! It was waiting for me to "meet" Carly...
BTW, my journal is now private, as my ex and ow/wife were reading it.
Hugs,
HOLLY
As you know I was named after Claude Monet the artist. I am glad you included the water lilies in your blog. Do you remember me ??????? I am still here.
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