Archive for the ‘Art’ Category

Last week my brother sent me an email of pictures of old cars that were taken at a car show. I replied asking him if he knew that I was into old cars. He said, nope he never knew about that about me. So it got me to thinking about my other siblings and what I think I know about them….this led me off to thinking about my oldest sister, Diane.

Diane was two siblings ahead me. When I was in grade school she was in junior high. But the real jump was when she hit high school. She just looked so much like a grown up then. I didn’t know her because she was in a different place, much older than me. I never thought much about that for years because we both got busy with life getting married, having kids, working and moving about. But what was a defining point was when she retired, starting emailing me more often, I get a phone call everyone once and a while and we are Facebook buddies.  In our adjustment of getting to know each other again I have learned some remarkable things about my “big sister”.

My sister is a quilter. I think if there was a category for it I would say she is a “Master Quilter” like I am a “Master Gardener”. She should be recognized because her work is sheer art. I have had the benefit of being a recipient of her work. It is beautiful, she told me they are small pieces she just threw together but I still displayed them proudly and find that I always tell people I know about this amazing gift my sister has.

In my pondering I got curious as to where this love of crafting came from? How long has she done it? And where did she find the time raising three kids and later remarrying into a huge blended family?

So we talked and I found out she has been into sewing in one form or fashion since she was four years old. Her desire to be a quilter came early in life. She practiced on scraps to hone her skill. Then the real breakthrough came. She worked for a place, Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals. They were looking for a Christmas charity project. That was back in the day when each piece was hand sewn. She and five of her coworkers auctioned off that quilt for $300 to give to charity. That is when the quilting fever hit! I never knew this about my sister.

New York. 1981. Chromogenic color print (printed c. 2005). 18 x 11 15/16″ (45.7 x 30.4 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Marvin Hoshino. © 2010 The Estate of Helen Levitt, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

I was cleaning out some old photo files the other day and ran across this set from the Africa Museum we used to visit in Belgium.

My friend Ann is 67 years old, she is a delightful person. Attractive, intelligent, engaging and to add to her attractive personality she tells me she loves to go clogging! “What the heck is that??” I ask her? She tells me it is kind of like a “hillbilly tap dance”. But in truth it is more akin to Riverdance.  And Ann loves it! She has asked me to come along and I have to admit…the temptation is growing. So where did clogging come from? What do those darn cloggers look like and do you need special gear to partake of this age old custom?

Clogging has its roots in Scots-Irish ancestry. You might conjure up images of little ladies coming out of a cuckoo clock to tell us the hour is starting. Far from it! Those darn cloggers look like you and me. They do wear costumes but this is usually just when they are performing. And unlike days gone by, wooden shoes are not usually worn for clogging. In today’s clogging world attaching small “jingle” type taps to the bottom of the shoe suffices. As you hear these folks “clog” around the floor you can hear the jingle under foot.

There is usually a leader or “cuer” that calls out the routines much like a caller does in square dancing. Clogging is a simple two-tap movement known as the double toe that is seen by kicking up the knee forward then letting it fall again naturally. According to the Southern California Clogging Association, “Because you don’t lift the foot very far off the floor, this kick forward and back makes two quick sounds: a tap as the ball of the foot brushes forward and another tap as it brushes back. The double toe is then usually followed by stepping onto the ball of that foot, which also makes a sound. Together, all of that makes a “double toe step.” The first two sounds of the “double toe step” fall on the upbeat (“and a”), and the step falls on the downbeat.”

So are you ready to try your hand–or should I say foot–at clogging? Age is not an issue as my friend Ann clearly has proven. The most important thing is to have a good time, enjoy the company, and get some fun loving exercise in to boot! Come on ya’ll let’s all go clogging!