Marie Renwald Arrowsmith

The Road to Enlightenment

Welcome to bluedutch.com, the homepage of Marie Arrowsmith née Renwald.


bluedutch.com is named for Jakob Vanderdutch, my first domestic rabbit, who is a blue Dutch. The Dutch can by identified by its characteristic markings, as given by Wikipedia:

"The blaze is an even wedge of white running up the rabbit's face. It is shaped by the cheeks which are the rounded circles of color on either side of the face. The neck marking is a white wedge on the back of the head. The saddle is to be a straight line running behind the shoulders and continuing underneath the rabbit to the undercut across the belly. The stops are located on the rear feet, which should be white from the toes to a point one third the length of the foot."

Jakob
Jakob, the blue Dutch.

In 2009, my husband and I were fortunate enough to purchase our first home, the beautiful AIA award-winning compound on Second Street in Santa Fe, designed by architect Joseph Andrade. The space is an inspiration in all aspects of my life; the design of this version of bluedutch.com is based on the compound.

Stairs
The stairs in the Second Street House.

So What is This About?

I am a native New Mexican and enjoy all things creative. I admire the poetry of Mary Oliver, and am an aspiring poet and creative nonfiction writer. I am passionate about graphic design, color, and type and love working with digital media, from photography to graphic illustration to webpage design.

I am a voracious reader, and spend much time thinking about ideas from literature and nonfiction. As a Unitarian Universalist, I am often contemplative about the world around me and my place in it; I love to think and write about the mystery of being from a spiritual perspective.

I have four wonderful house rabbits, which I believe are the most sensitive and soulful creatures I have ever encountered. Picking Blueberries, about a deer, by Mary Oliver, reminds me of my first rabbit, Sedgewick, and captures what I think is the special spirit and soulfulness of the prey animal.

I am a seismologist; I have a PhD in geophysics from Southern Methodist University. I currently work at Los Alamos National Laboratory in support of monitoring a Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. I am actively looking for opportunities in seismology and geophysics that support the verification mission. I also enjoy public outreach and interaction, and seek out ways to make the geosciences accessible to both the public and K-16 students.