The small, powerful gesture
My father once said I have a talent for the small, powerful gesture.
That's what my aunt (my mother's sister) told me when we were talking, about a week ago.
For Christmas, I sent her a framed copy of a 1947 newspaper photo of my aunt as a child. She's in a group shot of kids, so I put one of these mini-frames around her face. I also included a note about when the photo originally appeared in her hometown paper.
You should've heard my aunt's reaction: apparently the photo had the impact of "an atomic bomb," but in a good way. Auntie N was blown away, and so were her sons when they saw it. And then she reminded me of a small gift I'd given her years ago that she still loves, and told me what my father said when they were talking about it. Apparently he said, "Oh, she's always doing things like that. She's good at finding something little that means a lot."
Auntie N found their friendship (and yes, it was just a friendship) especially comforting after my mom and then Uncle L died... my dad was a terrific listener, with a sly sense of humor. It touched me to hear Auntie N reminisce about my dad, and how I did things to make him proud even when I wasn't trying to impress him.
I've been thinking about the small, powerful gesture a lot these days. What is an ATC if not a small, powerful gesture? I mean my ATC to be a palm-sized gift of what I've observed.
The kind of scrutiny that leads to creative expression can also come back to bite you in the ass, though. I'm reminded of that as I re-read a favorite book, Mixed: My Life in Black And White. Angela Nissel is now a contributing writer for the sitcom "Scrubs", but back in the 1970s and 1980s she was just a half-black, half-white girl painfully aware of the pressure to be either-or. It made her the screamingly funny person she is today, but man -- some parts are hard to read. No, I'm not of mixed race, but I've lived through some of the same small, powerful gestures that life will gift you with, if you're a relatively light-skinned African-American woman.
I guess I bring this all up to say I'm grateful I have so many kinds of art that express the poignancy, humor and beauty I see in my life. And I'm grateful I have the tools with which to experience all of these. I'm well-educated, well-read, middle-class (barely), able to express myself in words and images, and I have people who listen, watch and cheer me on.
I am spoiled, and I'd like to keep it that way.
That's what my aunt (my mother's sister) told me when we were talking, about a week ago.For Christmas, I sent her a framed copy of a 1947 newspaper photo of my aunt as a child. She's in a group shot of kids, so I put one of these mini-frames around her face. I also included a note about when the photo originally appeared in her hometown paper.
You should've heard my aunt's reaction: apparently the photo had the impact of "an atomic bomb," but in a good way. Auntie N was blown away, and so were her sons when they saw it. And then she reminded me of a small gift I'd given her years ago that she still loves, and told me what my father said when they were talking about it. Apparently he said, "Oh, she's always doing things like that. She's good at finding something little that means a lot."
Auntie N found their friendship (and yes, it was just a friendship) especially comforting after my mom and then Uncle L died... my dad was a terrific listener, with a sly sense of humor. It touched me to hear Auntie N reminisce about my dad, and how I did things to make him proud even when I wasn't trying to impress him.
I've been thinking about the small, powerful gesture a lot these days. What is an ATC if not a small, powerful gesture? I mean my ATC to be a palm-sized gift of what I've observed.
The kind of scrutiny that leads to creative expression can also come back to bite you in the ass, though. I'm reminded of that as I re-read a favorite book, Mixed: My Life in Black And White. Angela Nissel is now a contributing writer for the sitcom "Scrubs", but back in the 1970s and 1980s she was just a half-black, half-white girl painfully aware of the pressure to be either-or. It made her the screamingly funny person she is today, but man -- some parts are hard to read. No, I'm not of mixed race, but I've lived through some of the same small, powerful gestures that life will gift you with, if you're a relatively light-skinned African-American woman.
I guess I bring this all up to say I'm grateful I have so many kinds of art that express the poignancy, humor and beauty I see in my life. And I'm grateful I have the tools with which to experience all of these. I'm well-educated, well-read, middle-class (barely), able to express myself in words and images, and I have people who listen, watch and cheer me on.
I am spoiled, and I'd like to keep it that way.
ATCs, etc.
Well, thank y'all so much for the praise and flattery about the ATC with the transparency door! I did decide to make a couple more; one's done, the other will be soon. (Tally, check your mailbox.)
I realized I'd only done two with hedgehogs (part of the "Forest Floor" theme of this year's Artfest) so I might incorporate them into a couple more ATCs. Plus, woodland mythical creatures -- when else am I going to get such an opportunity to use the various brass/transparency/stamped wings in my stash? This is also a great chance to put to work some of that Greek mythology clogging my brain.
In other news, I made some calls to relatives about more genealogy stuff. I'm distantly related to the head pastor of a prominent African American church in the South, and he clarified a couple of relationships. It gets hard to keep track of these people, since most of them were farmers with lots of kids, who named their children after their siblings: "Bob Smith" names his daughter "Mary" after his sister "Mary," who was named for her aunt "Mary."
But I figured out that if I can get a death certificate for the pastor's grandfather, I'll figure out more about my own grandfather's female relatives. Generally, men are easier to track down than women, since their names usually stay the same for life. (And they're never listed as "Mr. Wife's Name" in official documents.) But our family genealogy expert explained to me that death certificates often list a person's mother by her maiden name -- which of course helps you find other relatives. Here's hoping.
I realized I'd only done two with hedgehogs (part of the "Forest Floor" theme of this year's Artfest) so I might incorporate them into a couple more ATCs. Plus, woodland mythical creatures -- when else am I going to get such an opportunity to use the various brass/transparency/stamped wings in my stash? This is also a great chance to put to work some of that Greek mythology clogging my brain.
In other news, I made some calls to relatives about more genealogy stuff. I'm distantly related to the head pastor of a prominent African American church in the South, and he clarified a couple of relationships. It gets hard to keep track of these people, since most of them were farmers with lots of kids, who named their children after their siblings: "Bob Smith" names his daughter "Mary" after his sister "Mary," who was named for her aunt "Mary."
But I figured out that if I can get a death certificate for the pastor's grandfather, I'll figure out more about my own grandfather's female relatives. Generally, men are easier to track down than women, since their names usually stay the same for life. (And they're never listed as "Mr. Wife's Name" in official documents.) But our family genealogy expert explained to me that death certificates often list a person's mother by her maiden name -- which of course helps you find other relatives. Here's hoping.
About half done with the ATCs
This one I finished up tonight... it's called "Welcome to Artfest." It's the fourteenth of 27 I need to make for the Artfest ATC book. (Each swap participant gets a 25-card book, and the last two go to a book to be raffled off, and a final one for Teesha and Tracy.)I emailed the host of the swap, Bee Shay (who will also be my instructor on the final day) and asked her to clarify about the ATCs. We can make each card an original design, or we can make 26 good-quality copies of one design. I thought about doing the second option, but by the time I'd asked, I'd already made seven or eight ATCs, so I figured I might as well keep making individual cards. Plus, some of the dimensional ones I've made, like this one, I can't really make copies of easily.
This is the first time I've made an ATC with a door. I'm tempted to keep it for myself, but how can I keep such a heartbreaking-work-of-staggering-genius to myself?