an image of a painting of a man being tended by a woman

Waxing Poetic about Wax and Other Loves

I’m a fan of Peter Paul Rubens: his high drama, the fleshy rose of female cheeks and statuesque curves, vermilion fabrics and wine-colored tassels dripping from elaborate couches and mantles. I once spent a happy afternoon at the National Gallery in London, losing my cool and track of time amidst sensual lines and mythologic women. …

an image of a painting of jesus on the cross with two women

“Rally Round the Standard of the Cross”

In his opening devotional this fall, President Worthen expressed concern that at BYU “our sense of community has lessened, and our sense of loneliness and isolation has increased.”  The solution he proposed to our waning sense of belonging is to knit our hearts together in a community that gives more weight to what we have …

an image of a full moon rising over a mountain range

On Wobbling Moons and Disciplines

I’m a sucker for astronomical clickbait. “The Moon is Wobbling!” got me. My world tilted on its axis when I discovered the rock that existed peripherally at the foggy edges of perception is a bit like a staggering drunk on his way home from the pub: reliably unstable on his feet, creating mild annoyance in …

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A Field Guide of Campus Locales and Associated Memories

Locker 5NW11, Harold B. Lee Library, 40°14’55.6” N, 111°38’58.4” W The existence of rentable lockers, scattered across various BYU campus buildings, flies under the radar of many students. Well, at least it did for me. The particular lockers pictured here [i] stand along the back wall of the Harold B. Lee library’s fifth floor, beige rectangles …

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In Praise of Mobility

This past year, my experience with COVID has taught me the importance of mobility. I realize I had taken for granted going out and getting around, and having access to work, stores, and face-to-face church services. Perhaps like me, you only discovered this when your ability to leave home, go to school or work, go …

an image of a bed with a white sheet and a black pillow

Making Your Bed, Living Your Life

I have always hated making my bed. It’s a funny thing to hate, because making a bed really isn’t a particularly terrible task. When you make a bed, you just shake out and smooth your sheets and your blanket. Pretty simple. You don’t have to get your hands dirty, you don’t have to exert much …

an image of a large group of people are hanging on a wall

Professor Heather Belnap on Public Advocacy for Women in the Arts and Student Mentorship

“My work in teaching and studying feminist art history,” says Heather Belnap, associate professor of art history in the department of Comparative Arts and Letters, “is about the recovery of lost voices and recognizing the historic contributions of women.” But in addition to conventional scholarly projects, publications and academic endeavors, Professor Belnap adds that her …