Collage with a Cause

About a month ago I received a letter and a pendant from someone I don't even know.  It was a lovely, hand written letter, you know, the kind people don't send anymore.  The letter detailed the gratitude and pride that the sender had for a family member of mine who is serving in the military overseas.  The pendant was in the design of the Blue Star Banner.  An enclosure card detailed the history of the Blue Star Banner. The banner, designed in 1917, is seeing a resurgence in use among families of those deployed overseas.  This bit of nostalgia and history is bittersweet, yet  heartwarming.

I created these three collages in response to the gift I received from the Commander's wife.  I will send these to her, and she can use them to send to other families of servicemen and servicewomen who are serving overseas.

Whatever you may think of politics and war, the men and women overseas are deserving of gratitude and appreciation for their service and sacrifice.  May they all return safely home.

Happy Rally Day - and trivia ad nauseum....

I found this sweet postcard invitation for Rally Day

What is Rally Day?  I asked myself. A quick check of Google and Wikipedia, found many possible answers. One source says Rally Day is a "warm-hearted homecoming when friends greet one another again," after Labor Day. There are girl scout rally days, church rally days and legislative rally days. Many car clubs use Rally Day to signify a car show - Rally Day in Wiltsire, England brings 10,000 people together to celebrate rally cars. 
The real Rally Day began at Smith College in 1876 as a celebration of George Washington's birthday. Over the years the celebration has included speeches, awards, performances, music from the glee club, square dancing, carnivals, formal teas, and dinners. This year's Rally Day is today, February 23.

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732. You probably know all the good stuff he did from your American History courses, but did you know he was a high school drop out and never went to college. He never learned Latin, Greek or any foreign language, like his contemporaries. He married late in life, at the ripe old age of 27 and was the happy step-father to Martha's two children.

While Martha was devoted to George, she was a less willing first-lady and is quoted as saying "I think I am more like a state prisoner than anything else, there is certain bounds set for me which I must not depart from..."

Two year's after his departure from office, George fell ill with pneumonia. The pneumonia probably isn't what killed him, though. Most likely, the doctor's prescribed treatment of blood-letting and doses of Mercury Chloride did him in.

But his legacy as the Father of our Country is what we celebrate on Rally Day. Don't forget to put on your Rally Day hats, and send out your Rally Day cards. Be sure to bake yourself a Martha Washington cake (see recipe below) and celebrate Rally Day!

And certainly, don't forget what Martha said:

I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.
                                                                                             -Martha Washington

Happy Rally Day!

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Martha Washington's Great Cake
(One of Mrs. Washington's favorite recipes- I love how this is written, what about bake times and temps and how big of a pan do you need to accommodate 40 eggs and 4 pounds of butter and sugar?!?!)

Take 40 eggs and divide the whites from the yolks and beat them to a froth. Then work 4 pounds of butter to a cream and put the whites of eggs to it a Spoon full at a time till it is well work'd. Then put 4 pounds of sugar finely powdered to it in the same manner then put in the Yolks of eggs and 5 pounds of flour and 5 pounds of fruit. 2 hours will bake it. Add to it half an ounce of mace and nutmeg half a pint of wine and some fresh brandy.
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(Although Postcardy pointed out on Postcards, Etc. that my postcard is most likely for a children's Sunday School Rally, I still like all the interesting stuff I dug up. Check out Postcardy for some more George Washington facts.)

10 Things I Learned

Fall is that funny time of year, I look forward to all that it is, cool, colorful, changing, crisp, cozy, but it has its bittersweet bits as well. It is a nostalgic time of year for me. Each fall I find myself thinking about all the things my mom taught me. I never got to thank her for these lessons. With my gratitude for her, I will share them with you:

1. Save everything, you never know when you will need it. I think my studio was meant to be. When we were moving our business into the studio, Kerry and I certainly had a head start getting it set up, with all the wonderful art supplies that my mom had collected over the years. Now it is where I have set up my things: art, sewing, collage, painting.

2. Surround yourself with beautiful things, in the garden, on your walls, in your home. Those things don't have to be expensive, just put care in what you do and how you do them.

3. Never save the good china, silver or crystal for a special day. What is the point of having all those special things if they are hidden away in a cabinet, or in a box?

4. And, if it breaks, that’s okay. After all, they are just things.

5. Always have enough good food and drink in the house to entertain at the drop of a hat.  Anyone who knows me, knows I can throw a party in a minute.

6. Everyone is beautiful, in his own way. This one drove me nuts as a teenager. I actually think it was part of a song lyric from the 70's that my mom tormented me with--does anyone recognize it? Always the optimist, my mom could find beauty in anyone or anything. I appreciate it now.

7. Be inclusive, the more the merrier. Holidays and parties were grand affairs at our house!

8. Never turn away a friend. Whatever a friend or relative needed, my mom was sure to try and accommodate.

9. Laughter is necessary and contagious. My home was always filled with laughter and happiness.

10. Be kind, it’s that simple.

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I wrote that post three years ago and posted it on the blog I shared with my friend and business partner, Kerry.  I can’t believe that time goes by so quickly.  With just a few minor modifications it still applies today.  The only change is that since then, Kerry and I have closed our jewelry business and no longer run it out of my backyard studio.  The Schoolhouse, as it is known by many, was my mom’s studio dream, and today is where I house all my art supplies and work on collages and such. 

I miss her more than I could express in words.  Sometimes it is too raw and bitter, other times that pain has mellowed.  I hope that I can honor her memory and the lessons she passed on and shared.  Sometimes I need reminders.  Numbers 6 – 10 are so important and so often overlooked in today’s society.  They are a good reminder to me about how I want to live my life and who I want to be.

It has been 12 years since my mom died. It was too soon, so sudden, and we had way too many plans for her to go. But her legacy lives on in so many ways. And I hope that I learned enough of her lessons so that I can continue her vision.

The Studio

This is where I create:

Here is the back story:
(written by my friend, and former business partner, Kerry)

The historic little blue building has lived many lives.   What was once Lafayette’s kindergarten, a storage facility and even a wash house, is a building with a history and with history comes a story.    This one involves an artist, a mother and daughter, a friendship, dreams and a pair of red cowboy boots.

Helen, a Birch and Douglas Elementary Schools art teacher and artist, started renovations on the little blue building with the dream of turning it into an art studio for herself.  New cherry wood floors, walls and electricity were added but renovations stopped with her sudden death and the little blue building sat.  In the coming years it was used as a storage facility by her daughter Rachel.  It sat untouched for 7 years until Rachel and Kerry were looking for a place to expand their jewelry design business.  The perfect place was right there in front of them in what everyone called “the schoolhouse.”

 In the spring of 2005, renovations started.  It was messy, dusty and sometimes overwhelming.  But with determination and help from friends, everything was hauled out and cleaned and we began to see what a fabulous place we had.  We found many treasures while we cleaned, including a bag of Milagros that we swore kept mysteriously moving around every time we set them down.   Each time we discovered them again we knew this was the right place for us to be.  A friendly mannequin we nicknamed Paco sat in the corner with a bandaged arm.  We still hope he is out there somewhere riding around Lafayette.  Boxes and boxes of art supplies and treasures we named collageables, were waiting for us to transform them into art.    One item we don’t have a story for but we find intriguing are the red cowboy boots that hang from the ceiling rafter.  It is the one item we never moved and probably never will.  They must be important, because everyone notices them and everyone has something nice to say about them.   We like to think of the red boots as the logo for what we now call “The Helen Parker Art Studio.”

In the fall of 2005, we moved in with our jewelry business and found that we wanted to create more than jewelry in our little studio.  We started experimenting with our own art and world’s of ideas came to us.  We always say we are full of ideas and it seems they never stop, so we had to share.  In December we started classes for local women to come and create fine crafts with us.  The classes filled each month and we have a nice group of regulars as well as new people each time.  We love sharing our ideas and love meeting all of the fascinating, creative, bright women who join us.  We hosted coffee hours each Friday for women to just stop by and talk, get ideas or just connect with other women.  The Studio became a second home for us; and we hope it feels the same way for everyone else who joins us there.

written by my good friend Kerry
who you can now find on her blog Type A Mom Type 1 Kid.