From Thanksgiving to Snow and Cold
Growing up in Syracuse, NY, I've seen my share of snow. I came to Buffalo in 1980, so I missed the famous blizzard of 1977, but when I was a kid, I recall the blizzard of 1966 in Syracuse. The snow was so deep, it covered our house. I mean you could not look out of a window in our house. That's saying something - our picture windows must be somewhere between 8 - 10 feet off the ground level, and the snow simply drifted over our house ... creating an igloo effect. To get into our house there was a virtual snow tunnel
to the front door since the snow drifts merged with the snow on the roof.
It was fun playing in that weather ... and I remember that days later, after the eventual meltdown, I discoverd that I had been having snow ball fights and digging snow caves ... somewhere above a number of parked cars. The cars were so far below snow that we never realize they were there.
This is a very old watercolor of a very old house, along a ... you guessed it, a very old road connecting Camillus with Marcellus, outside of Syracuse. It's a beautiful stretch of country road that twists and turns with steep hills rising up on either side, ... you're sort of hidden from the rest of the world. Along side of you, a gurgling stream (0r if it's springtime, a raging one) keeps pace with your car. It was along here that I'd hear Mom talk about tales of Ireland and of distant relatives. Supposedly, Mom had a distant cousin or two that farmed along the beautiful rolling hills in Marcellus - Jr. Shay. This is a sort of enchanting drive for me, I know all of the backroads around here - rolling hills, hidden or dissappearing lakes, and numerous streams. As a kid, we'd go looking for rocks here, or along connected roads between here, Skaneateles Lake, and elsewhere. Very New York ... very, very, .... memorable. This painting, althouth an early work and not nearly of the quality of her other paintings, hangs above my bed.
Painting No 411 - Still Life and Thanksgiving
My Mom was always very close to her older brother Marty. I recall the many times when Mom would be on the phone with Uncle Marty laughing and laughing - he had quite a sense of humor and was very outgoing. Uncle Marty was also very creative and artistic but since he had a job that was demanding (manager of a grocery store) he didn't have as much free time to create like my Mom did. On the other hand, he really enjoyed working on his house, landscaping, collecting antiques, and working on various projects (e.g., building a bar in his basement).
I recall many get-togethers with my Uncle Marty, Aunt Martha and my cousins over the years. I am so thankful that Aunt Martha stayed with my Dad while my Mom was recovering from her heart problem. I am especially grateful that my Aunt Martha helped arrange a family reunion this last spring. It gave me a chance to see my cousins again and meet Devon and Justine, Jonah, David, Kelly and Brooke. Thank you Aunt Martha!
This painting - and I don't recall its title, so I'm just calling it No. 411, this painting was based on my Uncle Marty's antiques, so I thought it was fitting to post it along with this write-up.
Frenzy
The previous post was the watercolor - Gentle Eyes of Wisdom, by Gloria Garrity. I posted that one first because it was my earliest recollection of Mom painting ... it was finished in 1963, but I remember sitting there watching her work. I remember being proud of Mom at a very early age, I'll never forget Mom and Dad's friends coming over and seeing this (and Aunt Martha and Uncle Marty and family) ... this wall mount - about 5 feet in height, 4 feet wide, ... it was a ceramic firing of St. Francis of Assisi holding a bird, the ceramic was mounted to a deep brown wood frame and it nearly covered half the wall.
The previous watercolor, Gentle Eyes, somewhat resembles the ceramic firing, the face, holding the bird. Nature, religion or deep held beliefs are often at the center of Mom's work.
This one - Frenzy, was made during the 1970's, Mom and I would sit and discuss environmental degradation ... we didn't live far from a factory, Solvay Process, a part of Allied Chemical Corp. and seeing those smoke stacks as a kid left a deep impression on me (hopefully not in my lungs too). Anyway, Frenzy is a lino-cut, the artist uses a cutting tool to dig deeply into a linoleum block (much easier than when Mom first started carving into actual wood blocks). Ink is then applied to the block. Rice paper is carefully placed over the inked block, and what comes back is a negative image. This one depicts environmental pollution, it's round like a globe and the swirling images are of ... birds and fish? ... fighting, struggling in a swirling frenzy ....
Present for Mom
It's always a challenge to find the right gift for my Mom. She's artistic and stylish, but, she likes to hunt down her own treasures. When I was a kid, we'd go out on country journeys looking for rocks to fit into intricate locations in Mom's rock garden or rock wall.
I have done pretty good over the years, finding cool things that fits my Mom's eye. Mary is also pretty good at it, we often shop on vacation, sometimes in out of the way locations, looking for rare finds. This Christmas I know what to get. After Mom saw pictures of her pictures - my digital photographs of some of her art work, she had mentioned that she would love to have a collection of some of her work, in print form. So, I plan on taking more pictures over the coming weeks and assembling a portfolio or album. Most of Mom's paintings are off somewhere, sold, hanging in homes or businesses. But, what remains I'll try to collect and photograph, capture and digitize.
Mom wants this collection because on rare occasions, when people come over, she wants to be able to show them. So after working for years, Mom started at age 35, worked seriously at art when Dad was laid-off from work, until her arthritis got too bad, maybe to age 65, she created quite a collection of varied work. It ranges from abstract to realism, from watercolors to pottery, lino-cuts (easily over 100), to all sorts of odd-creations. Mostly Mom was known as a painter (watercolors) and a graphic artist - lino-cuts. The lino-cuts were sold at Allentown Art Fest and other similar shows, and she made quite of lot money from these. The linocuts were often about nature, sometimes very symbolic, always creative. Many were in fact representative of deeper concepts or ideas - such as the environmental movement, back in the 70's - which also had a profound impact on me, and vice-versa, with Mom.
I love all of Mom's work. The symbolic and abstract, and the realism. Over the next few weeks, I'll try and display some of it.
Fall Flowers
Mary picked some fall flowers from the backyard and made a nice arrangement. It's well past the time of brilliant summer flowers, but, seeing a bit of color outdoors, this time of year is always exciting and uplifting. So we brought them inside to enjoy.
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Dad ran out of Phenobarbital. He was prescribed with it years ago, after his brain seizure at Thanksgiving. Since he isn't driving anymore, and hasn't had a seizure since, Mary (my wife and pharmacist, and everything else!) suggested that Dad simply not get refills. Phenobarbital is known to cause drowsiness and cognitive impairment.
Mary and I talked with Mom and Dad Monday night. Dad was so much better, more coherent, and conversational! What a great change. I said to Mom, "This is a nice Christmas present." Mom said, "Oh, it's much more than that!"
Let's keep praying that Dad keeps on going strong. I'm also praying for Aunt Martha, Aunt Ena, Mom .... etc. ... and I'm thankful for angels like Nagulinie.
to the front door since the snow drifts merged with the snow on the roof.
