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Learning to slow down, because life's too short ~ ~ ~

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Looking back and moving forward…

12.31.2021 by Barbara Grant //

I hope you’re enjoying this festive time of year, which is also a time here in the midwest to stay cozy like Ringo & Roxy. 

I hope you’re enjoying this festive time of year. Here in Wisconsin it’s time to stay cozy and soak up sun rays wherever you can find them. Roxy & Ringo are experts at this.

As we say farewell to 2021, I’d like to share a brief wrap-up of my little sphere of the art world: 

Art gallery showings are still quite limited since Covid restrictions began, but Side Street Studio opened its doors for a fun exhibit in November.

Cabinet of Curious Characters Show
Side Street Studio Arts in Downtown Elgin

Wikipedia defines a Cabinet Card as a style of photograph which was widely used for photographic portraiture after 1870. It consisted of a thin photograph mounted on a card. You may have a box of these in your attic. My Oddball Artist friends in the Chicago area invited me to participate in this project. We call it Vintage inspiration!

Great Aunt Enna & Her Flock
Great Aunt Enna & Her Flock
Great Aunt Enna & Her Flock (backside)
Great Aunt Enna & Her Flock (backside)

I completed the cover for Dreaming Gaia, the third book in the “Series of Dreams” by Paul Turelli, and it was published in November. I will begin work on the cover for the fourth book in this series as we go into the new year! Paul has framed my original artwork for each of these covers so far; he says he’s running out of room in his office!

Book Cover (back - spine - front)
Book Cover (back – spine – front)
Paul Turelli's study
Paul Turelli’s study

At the beginning of this year I chose a spot along a path where I go for daily walks. Maybe it’s the lack of exhibit opportunities during the pandemic that moved me, but I started a project. I began designing my own “Collection Post” of trash found as I hike with my pups. This “art installation” was looking pretty good till a recent storm came though with 70 mph wind gusts! But parts are still standing, so I will begin again…

Roxy, Ringo & Collection Post
Roxy, Ringo & Collection Post

I learned this idea of adorning nature from my friend Dorothy who lived on wooded property in Kettle Moraine State Forest. She cleared hidden spaces and decorated them, creating lovely sitting areas, sections for prayer and meditation, and a fairy garden for her granddaughter. She posted signage to keep visitors from getting lost and leading to forest exits, entrances and toboggan hills. She designed (and had constructed by a canvas company) a tent that was a replica of a red barn, and she lived in it during the warm months. And once she ordered ice block forms and built an igloo at the base of the woods – big enough for several of us to crawl into for a small gathering!

Dorothy with Buddy on her shoulder
Dorothy with Buddy on her shoulder

Every one of my grandkids has hiked “Dorothy’s Woods” with me, which inspired a series of paintings I named after her. She passed away very recently, but I will never forget her strength, courage and inventiveness.

Dorothy's Woods
Dorothy’s Woods

Dorothy is not the only one who has left my earthly sphere. I’ve said goodbye to a number of people who’ve  influenced my life in this last year. Please indulge me as I pay tribute to some of them:

Dave's funeral

Via zoom, I witnessed the funeral of Dave Lammert, the father of my three children and one who bravely served in Viet Nam. Cancer was another battle he fought with all that he had, and losing him was too soon for my kids. He left us on Thanksgiving Day around dinner time. I am thankful that Tobi held him as he breathed his last. She told me it was lovely; it was soft…and this gives us comfort 🙏

Shortly after Dave’s passing, I lost my precious friend Char, who encouraged my work and allowed me to exhibit in her space, Charlene’s Gallery Ten in Door County. Our relationship was about so much more than business. She had a collection of funny stories about her own faux pas, but it was her way of telling them that always had me in stitches. We seemed to revert back to our childhoods when we were together. Allow me to share just one of many examples: During a day of working hard in her gallery, we took a much needed break and went for a walk along a country road. We came upon an open field of lovely soft grass. We couldn’t resist and ran to flop on our backs and gaze up at the blue sky of floating clouds. It was simply heaven, and we agreed we could stay there forever…until Char admitted in a wee tentative voice, “Barb, I have to pee.” Agh…CHAR!!!” We love that one! Loved, and I will carry it with me always.

Char & Barb
Char & Barb
Charlene Berg
Charlene Berg
Bill Hibbard

One of Char’s gallery visitors was Bill Hibbard. Some in this neck of the woods will remember him as the travel editor of the Milwaukee Journal for many years. I copied this quote from his obituary: “I try to capture the mood of the place I’m visiting and to present the facts about it without puffery and in as fresh and entertaining a manner as I can.” Bill was retired when we moved next door to his family; we just knew him and his wife Edie as really good neighbors. She and I have plans to walk and talk near the shores of Lake Michigan, and she will tell me stories I never knew about their travels… 

Marliss & Bob

Bob’s former secretary, Marliss, lost her battle with cancer shortly after her closest friend Mary died. We all knew each other as employees of P.A. Bergner in Peoria, but our friendship continued long after we moved north. This is some of what Bob wrote to her family: “…an outstanding worker…more importantly, she became a dear friend. It saddens me that Covid prevented us from visiting in person these past few years. But it was always a delight to speak with her on the phone. I will miss her dearly.”

Karen Gaudes

My sweet friend Karen Gaudes, passed away without my knowing until I stopped into the gallery in our neighborhood where she worked. The news stunned me. Karen was the best sales person I ever knew; her genuine love for humankind and her passion for art is what drew me to her. I bought my fare share of items at Atypic Gallery because of her enthusiasm and kindness. Some years ago I walked in the shop, saw her smile and asked if I could capture it with my phone camera. She was shy about my request but relented when I said, “Just wait till you see how awesome you look!” And do you know, she used this photo as her profile pic thereafter! 😌

Finally, we visited our granddog Beamer at Thanksgiving time and said our last goodbyes knowing he would not be with us much longer. But he lived a good long life. Here are Roxy & Ringo dressed up to pay their respects, a moment of silence for their buddy ❤️ And there is “Beamie” on the lookout at Whitewater Lake.

Ringo & Roxy looking fancy
Ringo & Roxy looking fancy
Charley's beloved Beamer
Charley’s beloved Beamer

It’s been an emotional 365 days. As we move forward into the New Year, I plan to process it all by working in my studio; this has always been my best therapy.

Bob says, “Smile in 2022!”🎈

Sending peace ~ ~ ~

🙏

Categories // Newsletters Tags // art community, art therapy, artist friends, plans for the new year, recent art projects, saying goodbye to those who passed on

Bella had a Little Lamb…

09.21.2021 by Barbara Grant //

Bell & Molly resting

My 12 year old grandchild recently complained to me that the only problem she has with her family is the way they refer to Molly, their beloved blonde lab who has been with them since the year Bell was born. “They call her the dog!” she laments, “But Molly is family; she’s a member of our family.” 

Bell & Molly waiting

I’m pretty sure Molly has always been Bell’s best friend. One of my favorite pictures is one my daughter took of the two of them sitting side by side on the steps watching for the school bus to bring her older brother home.

I felt moved to send her a note in the mail and looked through my selection of cards for something appropriate. I came across one I made of a lamb standing in the framework of a barn door. And then because of Bell’s compassion for animals, I started thinking of the vintage nursery rhyme “Mary had a Little Lamb”.

"Sheep in Doorway" artwork

Most people around my age at least vaguely remember the story. The lamb’s fleece was white as snow. And everywhere Mary went the lamb was sure to go. And sure enough he followed her to school. Even way back in the pioneer days that was against the rules. His presence made the children laugh and play so the Teacher had to turn him out. But still he lingered near and waited patiently till Mary reappeared. And then he couldn’t help himself – he ran to her and laid his head upon her arm communicating that he wasn’t afraid because he trusted Mary to keep him safe. 

Lamb drawing

Her classmates asked the Teacher what made the lamb love Mary so much (and here comes the teaching moment that somehow eluded me all these years). The Teacher told them, “You all know Mary loves the lamb. Do you realize you could also create this type of bond with gentle animals, nourish their trust and make them want to follow you? If you are always kind you can do this, too.” 

Lamb drawing

This is my version of course. I embellished it, because after doing a little research I became enlighten as to the real message of the poem. My eyes were opened to the fact that Mary really did have a little lamb. It’s a true story.

Sarah Josepha Buell Hale

I’m glad I took the time to research this, because I learned some inspiring information about the teacher. It is my own assumption (after putting two & two together) that Mary’s wise teacher was, in real life, the poet who wrote about the incident of a little lamb who followed a girl to school and caused an uproar in the classroom. The author, Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, was born in New Hampshire in 1788 and lived till 1879 – a pretty long life and quite full! 

Lamb drawing

Sarah was not only a writer; she and her husband raised five children, she taught school, became an editor of a Boston-based Ladies Magazine and Literary Gazette and activist. She campaigned for the creation of Thanksgiving to be an American holiday and other worthy causes like the completion of The Bunker Hill Monument! During the push to finally raise the funds for this obelisk in 1830, she published a plea to society to “shake off the dominion of selfishness, and make the object of their ambition, moral and mental excellence, rather than wealth…”

A woman after my own heart. I’m going to tell Bell all about Sarah Josepha Buell Hale!

Lamb drawing

* Attached are the original poem and a few resources.

http://bostonliteraryhistory.com/chapter-4/sarah-josepha-hale-1788–1879-“mary’s-lamb”-poems-our-children-designed-families-sabbath.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Had_a_Little_Lamb

https://www.nps.gov/articles/bunker-hill-monument-fair.htm

https://www.nps.gov/bost/learn/historyculture/bhm.htm

Categories // Reading Tags // kindness, teaching moments, vintage nursery rhyme

The Tie Project

06.20.2021 by Barbara Grant //

A decade ago my family gathered in our hometown for the monumental task of emptying our parents’ home of things and memories that filled each room. We needed to accomplish this in a weekend! Fortunately I come from a large family; we were able to share the load of physical labor and decision making: what gets saved? what goes to charity? what gets tossed in the big rented garbage bin in the driveway?

The Tie Project

It was by fortune of luck and timing that I happened to be helping in my parents’ bedroom when my sister-in-law checked behind the door to discover my dad’s tie collection hanging on a rack. We were boxing up most of his wardrobe to give to the needy and my hurried inclination was to toss the ties in, also. But Mindy hesitated, ran her hands through the colorful silk designs and said, “Maybe someone could do something creative with these.” I paused, agreed and gathered them into a plastic bag and stashed them in the cabinet of my mom’s old Singer sewing machine (also being saved).

I’m close to my siblings, so it was fun to spend that weekend together at our old home, remembering our childhood. But it was also a harried and emotional time. I’m thankful that Mindy was able to discern the importance of my dad’s ties. It’s not just the beautiful fabric. It’s the memories I have of those neckties that he wore to church on Sundays, to weddings, to funerals. I remember their designs and colors. They’re familiar. My mom shopped for his clothes and made sure he dressed appropriately and looked classy escorting her. Some of those ties had been gifts from us.  

Years passed… 

On one of his visits to my home studio, my super creative grandson Logan was looking for something to do. I showed him the basket of ties, and we thought of various ideas. If I remember correctly, we thought it would be cool to make an ottoman cover. He loves machinery and enjoyed using my sewing machine, even though he could hardly reach the peddle. But visits are never long enough and our project was left unfinished.

  • Tie project 01
  • Tie project 06
  • Tie project 02
  • Tie project 07
  • Tie project 08
  • Tie project 09

The next time he came to visit his younger brother sidetracked us with so many other fun things to do outside. The tie project was ignored and once again remained unfinished. I decided to let him take the ties home to finish on his own time. I knew he’d have fun with it, because he’s the type of kid who needs to stay busy, always learning new things, interested in new technology. (He laments that he has to finish school while what he really wants to do is start his own business and be a CEO.) Anyway, I forgot all about the tie project until three years later…

A box came in the mail that said do not open until Christmas. Logan had grown up and learned how to use his own machines and researched how to quilt. He had started over from the beginning to design a quilt of his great-grandfather’s ties for me. And not only that – he documented his progression through each step of this process by videotaping his work!

  • Logan's tie project 01
    FaceTime with Logan when I opened my gift
  • Logan's tie project 03
    Surprise!

Of course, I was beside myself happy and so touched by his loving gift. For many months I wrapped up in it on the couch in the evenings. But then I realized I was going to cause wear and tear and didn’t want to wreck this work of love and art. It now hangs in the guest bedroom for all to see.  

  • Logan's tie project 05

If you have time to watch The Tie Project video you’ll witness Logan’s fearless creativity! I’ve edited 30 minutes down to less than 15, and because of that I needed to removed his voice explaining all his tips and tricks on how to construct this beautiful and sentimental work of art. That’s a bummer, but I added some nice music 🎶

Categories // Limelights on my friends Tags // cleaning out family home, creative kids, grandson's thoughtfulness, necktie quilt, sentimental gift

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