More thoughts about daffodils...

This is another Grandville print I own that shows what a daffodil should look like at this time of year...

Not like this...

Luckily the snow has been melting all day and has been falling from the trees in big loud chunks. Hopefully tomorrow, spring will be on track again and the last of the daffodils can get started with their blooming too. I'm going to have to remember to get some more late season daffodils like the one Grandville depicted in his narcissus illustration. Actaea Poeticus is one of my favorites (it's also known as "pheasant's eye"). 

A day just full of events

Today is Mardi Gras so I thought I'd post something about my turn of the century fan from Switzerland. It's made of a lot of different crepe papers, some plain, and some with painted/printed designs (back then, it was not unusual to have gold ink printed on the crepe paper too).

The little figure has a die-cut scrap face glued to a cardboard body. She is dressed in more crepe paper and she is holding a pitchfork made of gold metallic paper glued onto cardboard. There are lots of pretty little gold decals floating on her costume and in the background. I think she looks like a little butterfly among the stars. 

But when you turn it over, you see a mirror (reflecting whoever is looking at it) and gold cut-out paper letters that spell out the word "hell" in french.

Well, and oh my. Not sure what to make of that. I'm assuming this was made for a Mardi Gras type holiday in Switzerland. Just another curious thing in my ephemera collection that I hope to find more about in the future. :-)

And today is also the day I got to see Rane again and to meet his friend Carse. I had NO problem recognizing Rane. And he had no problem recognizing me because apparently I have the same walk. :-/ That's what he said. I picked them up at Union Station and we went off to eat breakfast at Succotash and one of us (not me) had pear and pecan pancakes because today is also International Pancake Day. 

And while I was writing this I heard a racket on the deck and when I just checked to see what was going on, look who showed up after being gone for nearly two months...

Oh that Freddie. I opened the backdoor carefully to give him his plate of cat food but he managed to grab my leg. That surprised me so I dropped the plate and quickly got behind the screen door and Freddie got surprised himself and jumped backward. Gawd. That little raccoon was starving. Look how thin he is...

Freddie was a little put out because as we all know, he does not like to eat off of floors. He likes plates. But I was not going to take the time to carefully place another plate in front of him if he was going to grab and jump on me. So Freddie had to roll his food back onto the plate that was out there. Freddie's hunger eventually got the best of him and within a minute or two of impatient cat food rolling, he just started chomping on anything he could find.

Then it was time for a clean up and a short rest on the glider while that awful cat that smells like cigarettes made sure Freddie behaved.

I don't think he appreciated the feline supervision.

So off he went and we could tell where he was going by the dog barking we could hear as he travelled through each yard. Must be hard to be a raccoon in a dog and cat and possum world. 

Les Fleurs Animees (The Flowers Personified)

I was going to write about these prints some time closer to spring but when I was outside this morning, looking at the ground to see if the snowdrops might be coming up soon...well, spring may be two months away but not when it comes to my thoughts. At least the days are getting longer.

These hand-colored prints from 1867 were created by J J Grandville. There are many different editions of these prints published in different languages and sizes. I just started collecting the ones from 1867 because they were the easiest ones to find. 

Each print was sold separately (to be bound in book form later) and accompanied with a story about that flower. The premise behind this collection of 52 illustrated flowers was that the flowers were tired of humans comparing all of their emotions to flowers (especially in their poetry). They wanted to see how true the human perceptions were if the flowers were allowed to become human. Interesting concept, but the translated stories are not nearly as interesting as the illustrations. 

The prints were hand-colored and some areas were coated with gum arabic to give them a sheen. In this portrait of the grapevine (which represents "intoxication"), the grape leaf outfit and the grapes she's holding have been varnished with the gum arabic.

I love the combination of the stylistic beautiful with the realistic observation of the natural (Those bugs! Love them!).

Click on the images to see them larger. Sorry about the slight fuzziness but I had to photograph them through glass. :-)

Different Opinions On Men and Things

This print dated December 24, 1794 is another Laurie & Whittle hand-colored print. I'm drawn to anything antique that has a sense of humor to it. The attitudes of these two women is very modern, they may as well be on a modern day greeting card. :-)

In October, spaced a few days apart, I got to see two very successful bloggers talk (but not so much about men, more about things). Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka The Yarnharlot and Heather Armstrong, aka Dooce. You get very familiar with people and their blogs, you think you get to know them pretty well, so I was surprised to hear Stephanie's voice because it was a lot lower than what I expected and that Heather woman? She is tall, TALL. 

I like to hear stories about how people got to where they are. Ages ago I had a boyfriend who was a devotee of Guru Maharaj Ji (this was the 70s) and I liked to attend Satsang with him because I liked to hear the stories about how people turned themselves around and finally found their direction (by the way, I am not religious in any form or way, ever, but that doesn't mean my friends can't be). 

Listening to these two women talk about how they got to where they are now was the familiar story of focusing. And maybe being backed into a corner and having to figure out something. And maybe just general stubbornness. :-) Or any combination of the above.

Stephanie lost her job at a hospital in Toronto because of the SARS panic, her husband lost his job in the music industry related to the same panic. What to do, what to do? She decided that the only thing she was qualified to do was write and what she was passionate about was knitting so she just hauled herself to a publisher with a book proposal. It certainly shouldn't have worked out but seven books later?...she definitely found a niche and a voice for a lot of fellow knitters.

Heather lost her job because she blogged about where she worked...a little too honestly, even though it was probably all true and very funny. She was compelled to write so she then chose to write about her family instead. Well, that did not go over too well with her family. At all. But compelled she was to keep writing. She learned that if you write about your work situation, you could lose your job, write honestly about your family, you could make them really mad at you, write about becoming a mother and how that changes everything about you (while still retaining her murderous wit), there was an audience. You just have to be aware that you are visible to a lot of people and to be responsible for what you say. Which she is now, not that she has compromised anything about her humor.

When you listen to people talk about their lives in front of an audience, there is usually something in the back of your mind you're waiting to hear (at least that's how it is with me). Two people can hear one person's lecture and be mystified by each other's interpretation of what was just said. I'm always drawn to creative journeys of people but in October, I was in a major creative slump. Nothing interesting was happening with what I was drawing or what I was writing on the blog and I was getting really frustrated with myself. I couldn't get anywhere. That was my state of mind when I heard Heather talk. Someone asked her if she ever had writer's block and how she handled it. Heather said that when writer's block happens, and it does, she has written long enough to know that it will last two weeks. She just has to keep writing while she waits for the block to pass. And you know, she was right. I really appreciated her simple answer to something that causes me so much frustration. Just wait two weeks, everything will change.

If you haven't read either of these two people, check them out. They are FUNNY. And remember to check out the "Daily Chuck" on Dooce because that dog is the most patient dog on earth. :-)

"Ride With the Devil"

This is a scene from "Ride With the Devil," a film directed by Ang Lee about the American Civil War which was filmed in the Kansas City area in 1999. 

If you look behind the door, there is a little frame...

...and if you look in my house, you will now find it hanging on my dining room wall (um, but photographed on my front porch because I needed some good light).

I got the frame at an auction of props that were used in the movie. I put that little 1909 pumpkin in the frame because I liked the tension ripples that looked like they were emanating from that little clenched toothed jack-0-lantern (I'm not so enthused with that paper with the clamshell pattern, one of these days I've got to replace it with something simple and plain).

I've bought several things at auctions (you can find some really great stuff) but instead of getting better at it, I am decidedly getting worse. The last time I was bidding on something, the auctioneer had to stop the auction and ask me what I was doing. Was I actually trying to bid, and if I was, was I sure that I wanted to?  

I've been seeing a range of expressions in that little jack-o-lantern face. I know when I wrote about this little pumpkin before, I likened his expression to what I felt was being thrown at me by the turtles that day. Looking at it now, it's got kind of a confused but stunned expression. I think that was what the auctioneer was seeing on my face during the auction. :-)

Btw, no Freddie sightings since Monday. :-)

Starling. Starling. STARLING.

I collect just about every starling print I run across and because I do this, I now have a wall in my living room that is covered with starling prints. It's very Alfred Hitchcock but that's fine by me because I'm probably the only one who thinks the final scene in "The Birds" would be the ideal front yard. 

Some of the prints are charming and sweet like this  hand-colored Albin etching (second quarter 18th century).

And some of them are stunningly beautiful like this hand-colored lithograph by John Gould (third quarter 19th century). 

This particular print shows the feathers from baby to adult and the transition in between. Juvenile starlings are the oddest looking birds because all their stars appear on their bodies before the stars start appearing on their heads. For a length of time that seems like forever, their baby heads sit on top of adult starling bodies. When Starlinka was going through this stage, it was very funny. Such a goofy look. But cute!

And then there are some prints that are just plain.......mystifyingly weird. I love all of them regardless of how well they're executed but this one, it really is an odd one.

If you know anything about how perspective works, the horizon line is usually at eye level (at least for one and two point perspective). Working with that concept, this artist's viewpoint was at the bird's midwing. Fine. But if that's true, that "tree" behind the bird is awfully small. If you were a six foot tall man standing in front of this bird, maybe that tree is 8 or 9 feet tall but that bird would be 12 or more feet tall. Yikes. That bird is huge. HUGE. That shadow is huge! I adore birds but not when they're this big (aiyee!).

Nature. Art.

This is another Laurie & Whittle hand-colored print dated March 18, 1795. Click on the image if you want to see a larger view.

Hey.......you take these two women, combine them into one......that's me!

All Souls Day

Today is All Saints Day. Sunday is All Souls Day. In Mexican culture, these are the Days of the Dead, the days to remember and celebrate the lives of those who have passed away.

In the spirit of remembrance and in recognition of the Day of the Dead/All Souls Day, I want to write about the niche in my kitchen which holds my collection of good Spanish people, devils and cabbages (the cabbages just seemed to go together with the other two for some reason). They aren't exactly Day of the Dead decorations (no skulls) but I prefer to look at them as the good and "bad" that is in all of us, what makes us who we are. 

The large priest in the middle is a ceramic piece made by Lisa Smith that was purchased in Madrid, NM about 15 years ago.  

His hat, his head and his body are made in three separate pieces.

When you turn him around, he's a completely different person.

On one side he is a good strong priest and on the other side, I'm not quite sure who he is supposed to be but he looks like a dandy man out for some fun.

I think all of us have a little devil and hopefully more than a little good in us. 

These two priests are part of a procession made by a Peruvian artist which was purchased in Austin, TX about 15 years ago. Salt and pepper devils might seem a bit weird but at one time, devils were considered a symbol of good luck. I think it's interesting that the priests and the two devils are the same yellow and have similar red detailing. They're an oddly compatible pair of pairs.

I'm not sure what this little figure is but I think she's from Japan and I'm assuming she's supposed to hold candles. She's a mysterious little thing...

...but very, very focused. I imagine her hoping for good for everyone who needs it.


One little senora (who has just about had it from the bad girls behind her).

One bigger senora (still full of crema de cacao from the 20s).

And her Senor Matador (still full of Anis liqueur).

And then, the bad girls...

who apply their eyeliner...

as bad as the good girls.

Last year and this year have been big transition years for a lot of people I know, including myself (April was a numbing month). I don't mean to make light of some really serious things that have happened by tying them in to some dumb collection but this little collection of good Spanish people and devils has a lot of meaning for me. I don't know why. I see something different in the interactions between the characters whenever I take the time to look at them. The relationships, the symbols, the designs, the colors, the beauty. 

I got a call this morning from my dad who told me that his best friend Jack had passed away. I didn't know him that well but from what I've heard about Jack, he was full of the devil and had just as big a heart. The best kind of person you can be.

Supposedly on this one day, November 2, it is easier for the souls of the departed to visit the living so they can hear the thoughts and prayers of the people who loved them. To Jack and Bonnie and Ken, Uncle Bob, Aunt Helen, Aunt Dottie, and Uncle Ort, Lucy turtle, Bert, Natalie and Jack cat, all my love.

Springer spaniel

When I'm drawn to artwork, there's usually something familiar in it to me. Florals? They have to be flowers I'm growing in my yard. Art with starlings in it? I don't have to think about that one. Vintage rhinestone turtle pins? Old maids living with a parrot and a cat postcards? Yes and yes. So there is absolutely no reason for me to have come home with this charcoal drawing of a spaniel (at least I think it's a spaniel). I don't have a dog living with me. I have never had a dog of my own. One of these days I'd love to have one.....but so far, no reason for me to be so drawn to an image of a dog.

This drawing was probably done in the 1930s or 40s. I found it in an antique store in Independence, MO in the company of a lot of other drawings that this artist had drawn. The other charcoal sketches were of 1930s movie stars drawn from photos. Kind of interesting but they didn't have much personality. This drawing of a dog did. It's really a pretty drawing, the fur definitely looks like fur. But the thing that did it for me was the way the artist (a Miss Eleanor Catherine Orr) handled the reflection in the left eye. The way she erased a little spiral that looks like the number six. I just love that little touch and I have no idea why. Possibly because everything else is expertly done and that little spiral just makes no sense at all because it's so different from how everything else is handled in the drawing. But I'm rather drawn to that pouty little underbite too. :-)

Symptoms of Drowsiness. Symptoms of Laziness.

This is a hand-colored print dated December 17, 1794 (click on the image to see a larger view of it).

And as for the subject matter? Since it's around midnight, I've decided Violet is drowsy and Violet has decided I'm lazy (because I can't come up with a good idea for a post) so we're calling it a night. :-)

Something "P and D"...

...which (according to Michael, Michael Ray's namesake) is short for "precious and 'dorable."

Dick found these at an estate sale years ago. The woman who lived in the house was a portrait painter. She had boxes and boxes in her basement studio of these little painted sketches that were done on any kind of flat surface that would take paint. She painted on the back of cereal boxes, old computer galley paper, absolutely anything. 

Apparently, she used everything that came her way. It didn't even matter if there were existing creases in the cardboard before she started painting... 

I fell in love with these little girl paintings and Dick let me keep them. I was not so interested in the series she did of adolescent boys from the 70s. That's a bad age for a portrait, a bad era for fashion, and every kid back then had bad hair and lots of it. I passed on those portraits. 

However, these little paintings of the little girl are so darn sweet. I'm not sure if the photos they're based on are from the 60s, 50s or even earlier. 

This one is my favorite.

Two snout weevils, two hundred years apart

While writing this blog, I'm discovering things about myself that are a complete surprise to me. I have already written about how I discovered how drawn I am to things that are a little bit bad, not a lot, just enough to make things interesting. The other thing I just noticed is that this bug fascination of mine is not exactly new. I've always liked cicadas for their loudmouth enthusiasm, fireflies because they're just helpless sweet things being carried off to somewhere, and of course, butterflies (who is not entranced by butterflies?). But I don't think I really became aware of my sincere bug interest until I started photographing insects this summer. And I really realized this when I took this picture of a snout weevil after the rain on Saturday. 

Didn't I have something hanging in the living room that sort of looked like this?  Didn't I? I had to go in the house and check.

This hand-colored engraving is from 1796 and depicts a curculio beetle...another name for a sort of snout weevil. I had to have this print because I loved his expression. He looks likes he's in a southern Baptist church waving Hallelujah. 

I've collected a lot of hand-colored prints from dealers on eBay over the years.  There's a range of prices but you can get a very nice print, a hand-colored print, for under 20 bucks that is 200-300 years old. A hand-colored print (that means someone long ago took the time to add color with watercolor paint and sometimes painted gum arabic on areas to make them shiny). If you've never looked at the old prints for sale on eBay, get going. They're fun to own but fun to just look at on-line too.

Here is the other little print I bought from the same collection. She's a shining blue chrysis. Doesn't she look like a little girl princess flying above her own little island? Chrysidid wasps really are that cute.