Thoughts and perceptions and stinkin' thinkin'

I met Olivera in front of the dog pound in San Francisco around 1980. He had just adopted a dalmatian. He was Brazilian and he had a motorcycle, a Yamaha. On our first date we rode across the Golden Gate Bridge on his bike late on a Sunday night. It was misty and there was no traffic, just us speeding across the bridge together. Lights flickered in the distance in the fog. When we approached Sausalito, it twinkled like a white lit Christmas tree that was a definite fire hazard because of too many lights plugged into one socket. It was very romantic...but as it turned out, not for me and Olivera.

I found out that Olivera was not a very interesting person and soon got bored and got a little mean and started to work in words such as "independent" and "Connecticut" into the conversation because I knew he couldn't pronounce them. I gave up on Olivera but he didn't give up on me. He called for another date but I said I was busy and to call me in a year. A year would go by and he'd call to see what was going on in my life. Then he'd ask for a date and I would say no, call me in a year. This went on for years. The last time he called, he said one thing he could count on was that things were always the same when it came to me. And that time, I forget if he even asked for a date.

I don't think he meant what he said as a compliment (ha ha ha) but it was definitely true. If anyone wrote my biography, I'm sure they would be bewildered by how little happened with so much time. I'm not sure what to think of that, to tell you the truth. When you come from a family of dramatic characters, having a long period of calm is something soooo nice that it's hard to give up. Doesn't make for interesting conversation though.

But that's my own perception of myself. And I could be wrong.

Everyone has a voice in their head that causes some problems when it starts talking and won't shut up. That nagging critical voice that just keeps going once it starts. When Stephanie Pearl-McPhee talked about the creative process at her book signing last October, she talked about how she had  a really difficult time with the voice in her head while she was writing. It was relentless in making fun of her for even thinking of writing, let alone something about knitting. She finally came to terms with the voice and since she is a knitter, especially a knitter of socks, she told it to "put a sock in it." But she also said that if anyone really, really knew her deep inside, they would just hate her. And there she was in an auditorium full of fans still at full attention waiting to get their books signed. So who is right?

 

And then there are people who have no little voices in their head and you really wish you could send over the one that belongs to you. I read a book years ago called "Shooting the Boh." It was a true-life adventure of a woman on a rafting trip that attempted to go down an uncharted river in Borneo. Once I started reading it, I could not put it down. It was fascinating. But the more I read, the more I realized that I really didn't like the person telling the story. And as I read further, realized the people that she was writing about and making sniggering comments about, had a hard time dealing with her too. It really made me laugh to read her account because even while recording the things that happened, spending time rewriting the things that happened, she never was aware of what was really happening. But then, I guess both perceptions could be right, I'd lean more to what other people thought of her however. Ha ha ha. Interesting book, insufferable person.

I can't post something without a picture so I found this linoleum block print my friend Janet printed on January 17, 1973 when she was sixteen. She's the one who saw the Russian "War and Peace" with me. She was also the one who kicked Gina Lollobrigida in the shin but that story will have to wait for later. This print is a self portrait of Janet (but she'd deny that). Janet, Pam and I were all artistic girls when we were in high school but Janet always felt like she could never be as "good" as Pam and me. I just had that feeling. Maybe she told me. I don't think she continued with an art career but she was good. Really good. I think she had a grown up voice in her head before she became a grown up. That kind of sucks. I'm not sure what I'm saying here...just that a little voice is probably a good thing but when it stops you from doing what you want to do, follow the advice my friend Lucy told me....tell that voice to "shut up and sit down!"

It works.

Somebody got busy with some scissors...

This is the third in a series of collages I own that were created by a Victorian girl. I'm still no closer to figuring out the decade they were made but it's been fun studying the various parts of it to see what time periods they came from.

The young girl who made this series of assemblages got more experimental in this one because this time she used something other than paper...lace. Real lace. I hope her mom never found out where she got it or what she cut it out from. Cutting up her dad's atlas is one thing but cutting up some of mom's clothes? That's a part of the story I don't want to find out.

I was wondering why the woman character wasn't glued firmly onto the paper. 

When I tipped her skirt up a bit (sorry, Ma'am), I found an additional chair (er, bench) under her.

I've been trying to google "Jas. King Mfg. of Rustic Work, New Haven, Conn.," or anything related to rustic benches in the New Haven area but I've come up with nothing. And since rustic furniture was popular during the Victorian era, it doesn't help to have a time period that spans about 60 years to try and date these things.

I've been curious about where those black and white cut paper prints come from. Like I've said before, they could have come from a Sears Roebuck catalog but would they be selling live plants? This particular piece has a print of a grapevine in the pot on the right, a hyacinth in the pot on the left and some sort of flowering tree behind the woman. I'm thinking newspaper or lady's magazine. 

There were several women's magazines available in the 1800s (The Godey's Lady's Book, Peterson's Magazine, etc.) and included in them was some advertising. Or perhaps these cut out images are from a newspaper. I don't know. And it would really help if I could actually find one of these magazines to examine. Maybe the drawings of the women were also copied from these magazines. I wish I knew because the placement of those two roses on the woman's bodice are um, a little weird. I'd be curious to see how closely this drawing was modeled after the fashion illustration in the magazine.

Perhaps it is time to consult a real historian.

When I was growing up in Michigan, my friend Janet and I got to see the first half of the Russian "War and Peace" movie that was playing at the Detroit Institute of Arts around 1970. At intermission (the film is 7-8 hours long, they were showing only the first half that night), the two of us snuck off into the museum galleries before the second part started. We weren't supposed to be there....everything was dark and vast...except for one removed room that had a few spotlights. It was the puppet room and inside there was a Remo Bufano "puppet" that looked down on us. Its head hit the ceiling, its feet touched the floor. It certainly made a memorable presence because museum ceilings aren't short! That room was so cool, unexpected and scary with all those different sized puppets staring back at us, only a few of them lit in the darkness. I love museums. Love the serious mood of an altered reality they hold within them. 

I once called the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art here in KC about a textile I had collected because I could not figure out where it was from. They don't do estimates but I was able to make an appt. and come in with my peculiar metal embroidered stumpworked peacock and have it looked at. I had a couple experts jump in and contribute their thoughts about the when and why and where of the textile. I'm wondering if it's time for another appointment with these Victorian pieces because it sure would help to have a Victorian expert explain it all to me.

And I do love a museum visit, especially when it's in a restricted area.    :-)

Every one of these little pieces was pasted onto a page from a book with maps in it from 1853. This is the map that this one was pasted on. In the lower left there is a guide to emblems used in the map (unfortunately cropped off by our little Victorian girl) that indicate the level of barbarism vs. civlilized state of each area on the map.

Modern art made by two Modern girls

Years ago there were two little girls who lived up the street who every once in a while would come to my door and sell me...well, anything they could quickly find. Usually they were selling coloring book pages, but sometimes it would be something like pine cones (um, collected from my front yard, I wasn't supposed to know that). 

I always bought everything they had with the change I had on hand. After a while I was getting a little suspicious of the drawings I was getting because one time I asked which one of them drew the picture they were selling and neither one would take credit for it. I have a feeling they were picking up discarded drawings from school, their other sister, or friend's houses and then bringing them to me to sell because I bought a lot. Ha ha ha. One day I asked these two little entrepreneurs what they were going to do with all this money they were getting. They both piped up, "We're saving our money to buy convertibles."

They moved out of the neighborhood years ago (and they probably have their convertibles by now) but before they left, they made this drawing on posterboard for me. Well, I think they drew it.....

...at least their names are on it. And I didn't have to pay for it. Ha ha ha.

They have some interesting imagery. Lots of eyeball or eye related shapes...

Kitties (they knew I liked cats but when Violet saw them coming, she would flatten herself to the ground and hide under the car)...

Ying Yangs (three of them!)...

The earth wearing an "equator belt"...

But no flowers (I just assumed all girls added flowers, well, I do, they're easy to draw). Instead they drew some interesting geometric shapes and cross sections...

Those girls were silly. It was always confusing figuring out who was who because one of them, the younger one, had one major growth spurt over the year and was soon a head taller than her older sister. I wonder what silliness those two are up to these days...and what kind of convertible cars they ended up driving.

In the spirit of the new year coming...

Victorian art made by a Victorian girl

This is the second in a series of six collages  I own that a little girl made in the mid to late 1800s. 

I'm not sure exactly when they were made but not earlier than 1853 (because of the date on the maps from a geography book or atlas that were used as the backing pieces).

This is the map on the back of this particular piece. Click on the image if you want to see it in more detail.

Based on what the woman is wearing, she's probably from the 1870s. If she was wearing something from the 1850s, it would have been a hoop skirt sticking out equally from all sides. In the 1870s, skirts got flatter in the front and fuller in the back because of the use of bustles. 

I'm mystified how women did anything in hoop skirts. No wonder they had to have servants to raise the children, clean the house...basically have other people do absolutely everything for them, including getting dressed. I don't even know how they sat down or what happened if they got caught in a wind gust. If you had to spend your day in a hoop skirt, would you see anyone under the age of five if they were in the same room with you? This kid is on good behavior because her mom can actually see her and if she wanted to, she could actually reach out and touch her. Hoop skirts are just bizarre, not that bustles aren't too.

The Sears-Roebuck catalog became available in 1894 but I'm not sure if these little black and white cutouts are from that or something else (perhaps a newspaper?). That's something I still have to research.

But until I figure out exactly when these collages were created, it's still fun to look at the details. This cornice of pleated paper is impressive. It must have been pretty when it was first made because the blue paper that was used is very thick and heavily pigmented with a mat blue.

The bed pillows are "embroidered" with the initials "M" and "F." 

This little compote (or calling card receiver?) on the blue table may or may not have come from a Sears-Roebuck catalog. If it did, that would date these collages to almost the end of the 19th century. I just have a feeling they were made earlier than that, based on the fashions alone. By the time I get to the sixth collage in this collection, I hope to have them dated with a time period I'm confident is close to accurate. :-)

Click on the images if you want to see them bigger. There's a lot of detail in these collages but unfortunately I lost some of it when scanning because of the multiple thicknesses of paper. :-/

More big skirts

This is one of six collages I own that some little girl created in the mid to late 1800s. She was a busy and inventive little thing. Why do I say that?

Because somebody raided her dad's library and used some maps from a book as the back pieces for all the things that needed pasting. Here is the map she used on the back of this one (it's an old one, notice that some states are missing)...

Maybe it was just an old atlas that was way out of date (I think it's dated 1853), or an old schoolbook but I prefer to think that she was on a mission to make a lot of paper dolls with whatever she could find. She sure had a lot of things available to cut and paste like pages from what looks like a Sears Catalog, wallpaper, tin foil, and tissue paper.

There are a lot of sweet details like these pillows with the initials "F" and "F" embroidered on them...

...the hanging magazine/letter holder that actually holds "mail..."

...and the once poofy drapes that are gathered in a tieback.

If you want to see more detail, just click on any of the images to enlarge them. :-)

c1840 paper doll

This darling little girl was made by some little kid in the first half of the 19th century. She was found in an early book with the silk ribbon which may or may not have been part of her outfit. Here is her front...

...and when you turn her around, here is her back...

If you very, very carefully remove her dress by gently pulling it over her head, you can see her cute little undergarments. The dress is cut in one piece with an opening for the head. Once it's folded in half, her head fits through the neck opening and just the smallest of folds at the top of the shoulders holds her dress on. That dress is very secure on her once it's on however. I'm really surprised it's never been torn because it's a very tight fit. Little hands back then must have been extraordinarily patient and careful.

October 1930 and 1931

I am smitten with how little kids solve design challenges. When I draw a jack-o-lantern, it's the classic one we've all seen or learned in school. Three equilateral triangles, usually the same size, and an open mouth with three remaining teeth. End of design process.

This little kid was learning how to design and carefully cut with scissors at the same time. You can see the fold marks that were made in the faces while the young artist aimed for symmetry. I like the little Batman Joker style face on the pumpkin on the right. When the paper was folded in half, it was cut with a full smile so when the paper was unfolded, the little guy had a double smile going on at the top. Probably a mistake but it sure is cute. I like how the two pumpkins are sitting on the fence too. One sits on top of a post while the other one gets himself safe and comfortably situated between two posts. 

I'm not sure if the same kid cut out the cat silhouette. That was a pretty common design used in the 20s and 30s but even so, some pretty good cutting. I'm wondering if maybe the teacher (or the mom) cut out that particular shape.

At the bottom of the above little piece of art is written "3rd Grade October 1930?" The art below doesn't have any written identification on it but is probably from the same year because the paper and coloration is the same as the one shown above. 

It kind of reminds me of boyband brother trios. The cute one always gets to be in the middle. 

At the bottom of this piece of art is written "4th grade October 1931." That's just the sweetest little pumpkin face ever. Why should such a cute little pumpkin have any concerns  about a big owl and a big bat joining him? October nights are pretty darn nice. Even nicer when others drop by to enjoy them with you. :-)

Madalene and Louisa Pasley, Victorian Entomologists

I'm not sure how I feel about having a checkpoint list to confirm whether I'm legitimately drawn to something or not. Independent thinking and slightly naughty kids? Check. Art created by kids? Check. Insects? Check and check. I might bore myself with my newly discovered predictability but I still like what's on my checkpoint list. :-)

I bought the book "The Adventures of Madalene and Louisa, Pages from the album of L. and M. S. Pasley, Victorian Entomologists" a long time ago. It was published in 1980, is out of print, but you can still find it at some on-line booksellers.

The two girls who created the stories and drawings were sisters and created this album from ages 12-16 (they were born in 1847 and 1848). No relative seems to know why the two girls chose to portray themselves as "middle-aged spinsters"-just one of those odd private jokes between sisters that would set them off in laughter I suppose. I think these two girls were absolutely brilliant (and goofballs at the same time). I love to find evidence of silliness like this from the past.

These girls loved to "entomologize." That's all they wanted to do but sometimes they were forced to hang out with their older sister Georgie who they said "had been sent away to a school where she was made to drink quantities of calomel which had made her SOUR." The album was drawn and written by the two sisters (not Georgie) and tells their stories of chasing insects despite their sister Georgie and Mr. Mitchell (their drawing instructor) messing with their plans. Those kids were on a mission with their bugs. They were just as determined to go after the bugs as the bugs were determined to thwart their plans in unexpected ways. Reminds me of my summer. :-)

The story of "The Rare Larva"

We discover a beetle larva in a dead tree,

with great effort it is secured

in a collecting case.

It however bursts the ends out

and another method

has to be adopted.

I think it's really funny that one of the sister's faces turns red with all the exertion...but not the other. :-)

I also think it's funny how CONSUMED they are with the chasing of bugs. And that Mr. Mitchell (in the above illustration) is totally unaware of being surrounded by insects (for him, he could only see Lake Windermere, that was apparently the only thing he thought worth drawing). He has no idea that there is a big mosquito thing drilling a hole in his head. When you're aware of insects, they look just like this illustration- they become huge and they are everywhere. What is bewildering to me is that there are so many Mr. Mitchells out there, people who just don't see that there is a whole other world being lived around them.

I'm thinking owning a camera might have something to do with it too. Sherry said that once I started taking pictures, I would soon be looking at the world with a photographer's eyes. When I get a better camera, I am going to be insufferable.

Jack-O-Lantern (1909)

I got this little jack-0-lantern at a flea market around 1995. It came from a small collection of drawings that belonged to a schoolteacher from a long time ago (the date on the back of this little pumpkin is 1909!). He was drawn in pencil on newsprint with an applied watercolor wash and then he was cut out.

I just love the two little nostrils at the bottom of the triangle nose. And those individually drawn teeth create quite the expression. :-) Reminds me of the look I was getting from the turtles today when I was cleaning up their favorite side of the backyard. They were not happy about the cleanup. If turtles had teeth, this is the exact expression I was feeling from them today. 

Pitchfork girl (21st century)

This was done by my former boss's daughter Adrienne about 5 years ago (she was probably about the same age as the "parasol lady" artist when she drew this). Adrienne is a very thoughtful, smart, sweet, kind girl but when she draws, she has an entirely different personality. I admire how she avoided having to draw hands and feet with this particular character. Smart thinking, Adrienne! I also really like how this character is putting her weight on the left foot (making her left hip move up a little) and then putting the right foot slightly forward. That's a pretty sophisticated pose since just about everybody else would have made the length of the legs symmetric and even. 

Parasol lady (mid 19th century)

I'm thinking she must be thinking..."Must keep this parasol clean whatever it takes." So there she goes, balancing that pristine parasol on the tips of her big sausage fingers.  And that's kind of a hard thing to do because balancing is an issue when you have two left arms.

But seriously, I love this little drawing---especially the hands.  Hands are very hard to draw and this little girl just went for it and got them in there big and proud.