List of Fifty Beautiful Items

Brent Fales

1. My daughter Kailynn.
2. My wife on our wedding day.
3. A sunset following a thunderstorm.
4. A waterfall into a stream in a forest.
5. The tooth of time along the Santa Fe Trail.
6. Clair De Lune by Claude Debussy.
7. Coronado Heights, Kansas.
8. Angels in the Architecture by Frank Ticheli.
9. The American Flag at the Smithsonian American History Museum.
10. The Star-Spangled Banner, “A Love Song to Our Country” arranged by Jack Stamp.
11. The portrait of my dog Spence.
12. The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo.
13. The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci.
14. The Lovers Arch in Cabo San Lucas.
15. St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow.
16. The Reflection pool/ National Mall in Washington D.C.
17. Sky and Water I by M.C. Escher.
18. Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar.
19. My drum sets.
20. Mount Rushmore
21. V-J Day in Times Square by Alfred Eisenstaedt.
22. Earthrise from the moon by William A. Anders
23. My Mother in law’s vintage upright piano.
24. A lightning storm in the night sky.
25. A composer’s score.
26. Picture of my dad and I on top of Mt. Baldy.
27. Tom Sawyer by Rush.
28. The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh.
29. The Treasury at Petra.
30. The Wright Brother’s Wright Flyer.
31. Gutenberg’s Printing Press.
32. The Declaration of Independence.
33. Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin.
34. Waves crashing over a lighthouse.
35. Triple self-portrait by Norman Rockwell.
36. Arlington National Cemetery.
37. Darth Vader mosaic by Robert Silvers
38. 1963 Ford Galaxie 500.
39. Mickey’s 60th Birthday plate by Walt Disney.
40. Photograph of Beep (My grandpa) smiling by Beth Cain.
41. Tornado forming on a Kansas horizon.
 42. Dogs playing Poker by Marcellus Coolidge.
43. Redwood National Forest.
44. Alphabet cross stitch artwork by Jennifer Fales.
45. Jostedalsbreen National Park (Glacier) in Norway.
46. John’s Hopkins University Campus tapestry in my Nana’s living room.
47. The Hope Diamond.
48. Jayhawk made of yarn tapestry in my Grammy’s basement.
49. The First Ladies collection of dresses at the Smithsonian.
50. The Grand Canyon.

My thoughts about five of the fifty beautiful things

Of the fifty beautiful things that I chose, it was very difficult to narrow it down to five items off
the list. For me, so many of the items are related to one another that picking one without another is
impossible, so I had to incorporate a few of the items as pairs. Many of the items that I chose for this
project are pieces of art that are specifically important to me and have a sentimental value to me in why
I consider them to be so beautiful.

To start with the item at the top of my list, hands down, in my daughter Kailynn. She is my
greatest blessing and by far the most beautiful creature and form of art I have ever seen in my life. The
only image that even comes close to her radiant beauty is the image I have of my wife, her mother, and
the day the first time I saw her in her wedding dress completely took my breath away. These two ladies
of my life make every day better than the day before. They make my life better for being a part of theirs.
Without my wife, I have no Kailynn, so it’s not fair to not have one without the other. My daughter is so
full of life and is constantly trying to figure out the world and how things work. She is the sweetest and
most caring little person I have ever met. She is only two and a half years old and yet I feel like she has
always been a part of our world. Again, I say she and my wife are a package deal, because the reality is
Kailynn was our own wedding present to ourselves and the culmination of love between a husband and
wife.

The next item on my list is again two separate items that go hand in hand with each other. One
is the visual representation of the others auditory counterpart. While they are both independently
beautiful on their own, when they are together they are magnificent. They are the Star-Spangled Banner
arr. By Jack Stamp and the flag that inspired it at the Smithsonian. The flag at the Smithsonian is, to me,
one of the most beautiful artifacts I have ever seen. It is a massive flag even though it is torn and worn
out. To know the story behind this flag just gives you chills, knowing how many men gave their lives at
Fort McHenry to keep that flag flying through what one can only imagine as hell on earth and when you
see it, it is one of the most somber things I have ever seen. Then there is Jack Stamps arrangement of
the Star-Spangled banner which he calls “A Love song to our Country”. This rendition of it brings me to
tears when I hear it, it is just so beautiful. When I hear the song, I can picture that flag and the two items
together just put me in a place of tranquil peace.

The next item on my list would have to be my drum sets. I say sets, because yes, I have more
than one, and it is too hard to think of them as just one favorite drum. The truth is each one alone could
probably create a list of fifty of the most beautiful things to me. As we discussed in class the other day
about arts and crafts, I really think that the craft is the vehicle to the art. Therefore, I consider myself to
be an artist in that I am a musician, but my craft, is the drums. They are such an intertwined entity that
you can’t have one without the other. I own five drum sets and each one has its own place in my heart
for its beauty and connection to me. One of them I have had for going on twenty years. It is a wine-red
color made of birch and mahogany. Another drum set that I have is an electric drum set that allows me
to play lots of drums without having to buy them and having sampled sounds. The drum set that I tour
around with and play the most is my natural finished drum set that is made of maple wood and you can
see the natural wood grain in its finish. The final two drum sets that I own are vintage drum sets, one
being a red drum set that was built in West-Germany during the late sixties, and the other my vintage
radio king drum set that is a white marine pearl finish and was built in the 1920’s. All of these drums are
their own piece of art visually, and I get to create art while playing on them. Art that is used to create
more art.

The next thing that is a piece of beauty to me is this picture I have of two men standing on top
of a mountain with a rock from the mountain next to the picture inside the frame. The two men are my
father and myself, when I was fifteen years old. We went to Philmont Scout Reservation in Cimarron,
New Mexico. While there, we went backpacking over a hundred miles in ten days. The photograph is of
the two of us putting our arms around each other and all you can see is the back of us. I love this picture
because it takes me right back to the moment standing there with my dad. While others see the two of
us standing there, I am instantly transported back to the top of that mountain looking out over the
world and taking in the beauty of the New Mexico world. I feel the sense of accomplishment that I had
from climbing that Mountain. I feel the cold wind blowing at the top of that mountain, and I am
reminded of the whole trip that I got to spend with my dad. The picture doesn’t show it, but it was a
step into manhood and learning to overcome adversary and learning that if you put your mind to it, you
can accomplish anything.

The last image that I chose may be the only actual painting on this list. I chose Norman
Rockwell’s Triple Self-portrait. It was hard to pick just one of Rockwell’s pieces of art, however I chose
this one because I love how multifaceted it is. It shows the different levels of self and his interpretation
of himself. I think this is wonderfully accurate of us all. We all see ourselves through our own lens and
interpretation of what we feel we look like and want others to see. Then there is our physical outward
appearance of what we look like and who we are and then finally there is the aspect of taking a step
back and seeing ourselves as ever changing. I like how the actual self portrait is actually looking back at
the viewer via the artist on the canvas, you actually get to see Norman Rockwell’s self portrait in the art,
but he also shows you the process and his interpretation of his self-image. I think that it is beautiful
because it reminds me to always be mindful of how others interpret their own image and that it might
be different then how you may see them.