For This I Am Grateful

The days of Two Thousand and Seven have been unlike most of my days over the last forty years. I have done no painting, and only a little writing. I have attended few meetings and tackled no projects. I have simply been a grandmother to two charmers. (Hey, they are mine, I can say that!)

The children have only a few months left to live in our house. We hope they will live nearby, but Susan and I, along with Fred, Vinnie, Boomie and Green (our cats) will miss them when that time comes.

I know this is supposed to be a blog about my life as an artist -- what affects my process, what I have accomplished, what influences my thoughts. The truth is my life as an artist has had no production and no accomplishments. It has, however, had a great many new influences this year. I have learned a lot through Lucy's eyes and will through Belle's as well before they move. I hope when I return my dismantled studio to the rooms now occupied by my daughter and her little ones, I will approach my work with renewed enthusiasm, vigor and understanding.

Someone recently suggested celebrating Christmas with young children. Well, I have had the joy of Christmas every day. On this last day of 2007, for this I am grateful.

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If you are a regular reader of this blog, please accept my apologies for the scarcity of posts over the last few weeks. Once again I have attempted to complete partially finished entries and to edit photos so that my personal record will be a little more complete. So, if you get a blog-update email or two or three in the next day or so, it may just be an past-due Post. Read it or not.
I appreciate the comments and personal emails which this year has brought, I thank you and wish for you a Happy New Year.

AAB

Thanks for Little Girls

Attitude

My nephew's wedding today will be in the country with no convenient restaurant nearby so we pitched in to help my sister with last night's rehearsal dinner. I used black and wine cloths topped with pumpkins, leaves and tiny chrysanthemums for the tables.

As I laundered the cloths, Lucy loved the way the shiny fabric felt. I loved the way she reminded me of Monet's painting of his wife in a kimono or perhaps a John Singer Sargent painting of . . . almost anyone.

I think it's the Attitude.



AAB

We're Ready. Are You?

Last year, in my blog reading, I found a lovely little poem by Sandra Liatsos. Here is the beginning. . . . It seems to fit today (I apologize that I didn't note the blog.)

"Halloween Wind"
The wind came trick-or-treating
down our quiet street.
It rattled all the windows, and then we heard it beat
on every door of every house
where shutters banged and clattered. . . .

I've mostly been skipping Halloween in the last few years. It seems more fun this year.We've decorated. (Lucy added the chalk on floor and windows.)We've shopped for treats.We've tried on costumes.We've practiced Trick or Treating.

We're ready, are you?
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

AAB

To Just Celebrate Beauty

This week, the moon appeared high in the dining room window. It was not a full moon, but in the clear sky, it glowed with charm. I pulled everyone from the table and we went to the porch for a better look. The five of us sat quietly on the front steps -- my daughters, granddaughters and I -- and celebrated it's beauty. We thought about my son-in-law under that same moon on the other side of the world. Younger daughter sang a short moon song for the little ones and, suddenly, I thought of my moon viewing experience while in Japan.

I decided to make this a special occasion. I returned inside to prepare an impromptu treat. I didn't have a pampas grass arrangement on the table or sweet bean dumplings like my Japanese hostess, Mrs. Kimura, but I did have some very special dishes and I scooped tiny ice cream balls to mimic the dumplings. I placed the tiny dishes and the large plate of moon-colored balls in the freezer and returned to the porch. Soon the night grew chilly and we said, "Good night, moon." I retrieved the cold treats and explained the significance of the moon shape and grass patterns on the gray glaze which had been created in one of the oldest pottery areas in Japan. Older daughter contributed some very thin Moravian ginger cookies which we learned to love while living near Old Salem, NC. I think I'll try to plan ahead next year for the October Harvest Moon, but this was a pretty neat party.

Will the little ones remember a celebration of the moon at their grandmother's house? Will it be one of those experiences which pops up as an unexpected memory like this one for me? Will it become part of who they are? Will they watch the moon and think of tiny scoops of ice cream served with tiny spoons and wonder why? Will they learn to just celebrate beauty?

A Note: During my years of participating in Sister City exchanges with Takarazuka, Japan, I had many unique experiences. Generally, I traveled alone with an exhibition which I helped uncrate and install. Each day during the exhibition, I was hosted by some wonderful people and given the assistance of an interpreter and sometimes a driver. At some point, the official schedules shifted as old friends began to request my time for a particular day, a special meal, or just to visit in their homes. So, I was invited to go their favorite temple or shrine in the mountains, to visit shopping districts, local craftsmen and museums, to share seasonal meals and family celebrations.

At the end of each visit, there was an official gift which the mayor of the city presented to me. On my last trip, he suggested that I select my own! I was a little stunned. I would be accompanied on this shopping trip by a couple of city of officials. I asked if there was a budget. It was a challenge -- perhaps a test! My choice must fit the budget, be an appropriate official gift, indicate that I had learned something about the culture and . . . be something I liked. As I opened my special dishes, the mayor was the only one who was surprised. He approved.

AAB

Street Talk -- Sunset Walk

The street where I live has historic roots. It was named for General Nathanial Greene of American Revolutionary fame. Come walk with us.

It is the address of the Municipal Building which houses our consolidated City and County governments and the headquarters library of our regional system.

Its Signers' monument marks the burial site of two of Georgia's three signers of The Declaration of Independence. (No one really knows where the third one was buried after a tiny little duel.)










In just thirteen of its blocks, there are two magnificent old textile mills which are now being developed for mixed use, an unbelievable 'deconsecrated' church which is now a community cultural center, a snaggled-toothed array of churches, historic homes, office buildings, empty lots, and 'modern' eyesores along with the Salvation Army and the Bus Station. . . and my neighborhood.





Lucy and I walked the wide green space down the middle of the street just at sunset this week. We only walked four of the long blocks, but we stopped along the way to speak with neighbors, lost a stroller wheel, checked out the monuments and watched a few clouds.

Lucy's Mamma wondered where we were and called.


We were busy taking these pictures with the iPHone.

The Big Word is "WOW!"

It's been a while since my colors haven't come in professional quality and paintings were not properly framed, but now this finger painted watercolor has been on my refrigerator for two months. There are crayons and baby kittens under the dining table, stickers on the French doors to the living room and finger prints 'hugged' onto my knees. If you've been reading along, you know that there is a not quite two-year old in residence.

Recently both Martha and Nita wrote about the little artists in their families. Nita mentioned the unexpected directions a four-year old takes -- not always what you think. Martha wrote about the inspiration found in a four-year old's painting and that the "four-year old" is now headed to college for a design career. My little artist and her Mamma used fingers on semi-moist glitter-filled watercolor pans for this painting -- an exploration which included feeling, tasting and smelling.

So, I thought about the effect of little children on artists' observations, thought processes and studios. I decided it is the freedom, the excitement and the discovery. It's the freedom to play, to be joyous, to be silly and child-like. It's the excitement of new powers of observation so that suddenly directions are different. It's the discovery of color, dirt, bugs, light, big trucks, ants, texture, flowers, water, water, and what can be done with water . . . all of which leads to exploration of new processes, new subjects, new points of view. It's the WOW! of every minute of the day.

When I left the house this morning, there was a painting session going on in the dining room. I wondered whether there would be a new "masterpiece" at the end of the day. When I returned, it was on the mantel. WOW!

I recommend that artists occasionally borrow a two year old or maybe a four year old.