1926

While making cards with old photos I wonder about the people in the pictures - the babies must be feeling what babies feel today, but how different was it to be an adult in this city in 1926?

When I was out today I found myself looking for buildings and places these two might have seen. Certainly the salt air and ocean view would have been the same, but the 1920's era buildings still standing are surrounded by a very different city from the one they lived in. Looking through inherited cookbooks I see they even had different tastes in food - lots of things in aspic, entire sections of dishes for invalids, but the same emphasis on lots of produce and seasonal, fresh foods that we have today.

furniture

I’m listening to the wind blow outside and can feel a little breeze blowing in underneath the 80-old-door that leads to my tiny balcony.

This line of cards I’m working in is based on furniture from the 1890′s which is the age of the things I’ve inherited from my mother’s family. When I see a side-by-side like the one in this picture I probably came in by the back door and left my shoes in the mud-room because I’m in a relative’s house.

Right now I’m only looking at pictures though, and at the glue all over my hands.

bugs

One of the things my family and I love to do when we’re at my mother’s is to go to the vide greniers (flea markets). There is a schedule of which town will have one each weekend, some are bigger than others (the one in my mother’s village is especially large and includes a horse fair), or are near friends, but they all are equally likely to have some fabulous thing that we never knew we wanted until we see it.

I especially love ephemera and old documents, and am always surprised at the range of things in the stalls. These bugs and the little girl with her bunnies that I found last time are keeping me happily distracted from some technical difficulties I’m having that are interfering with production. Like many people I love creating and get frustrated with any problems that arise after I make something (and I’m a total chicken when it comes to selling). So, what a good time to get out some bits and pieces and think of what to make next.

bath

I am starting up a few new lines of works including several series of cards so I'm looking through vintage photos like the one above – what a darling with her curly mop.

I spent the day with a friend who lives in an artist colony created from a group of old industrial buildings, what a fantastic thing to be part of. The energy there is great, and how nice to have so many people around for collaborations. Art can be such a solitary pursuit, but seeing and talking about people’s work is so energizing. I have been lucky enough to be part of a creative group for a few years now, it is so helpful to have someone else look at what I’m doing to see what I cannot. And to mention that I have neglected my blog.