This week SUNDAY POSTCARD ART (sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com) has a gypsy soul…I can identify! We went to Romania specifically to see the Romani gypsies (or “travelers” as they’re called.) They’ve always been fascinating to me…their art, their very secretive culture, their stories and their way of life. We only saw a bit of their closed communities, but found that they’re well integrated in Romanian society (finally!!) By the way, Romania is a spectacularly beautiful country steeped in history, myths and legends…as are the Romani people!
Anahata Katkin is an Alaskan-born, Atlanta based mixed media artist and business owner. She’s DIGITALMANIA’s “in-residence” artist for this week. (https://www.flickr.com/groups/digitalmania/) Her art is varied and interesting. Here are a couple of her creations…
…and here are my creations, inspired by Anahata…
More and more, the world around us is blooming with the flowers of summer. I must admit that I’m still wary and cautious, although the temptation to let it slide is strong. Please stay safe, dear ones…and let’s hope for brighter, more relaxed days ahead. Perhaps…even a vaccine cure-all!
Sending my love and best wishes for your good health and happiness,
MY STORY IN 6 WORDS...WE ARE GUESTS ON MOTHER EARTH
Wildlife across the planet is stretching its legs, less inhibited from the hustle and bustle of humanity. Air pollution is plummeting in some of the most polluted cities around the globe. People are walking, biking, running, reading, talking with friends and family (even if it’s via FaceTime) while physically distancing…and attending virtual concerts, dinners and meetings. Most humans are proving their resiliency while dealing with the threat of COVID-19. Just wondering how much longer until we’re back to “normal…” whatever the new NORMAL will be. Hoping you and yours are doing well and will remain vigilant.
This week, TAKE A WORD challenge blog (takeaword.blogspot.com) decided on the theme “STAYING HOME.” Here are my art pieces for this theme…
That’s it for now, dear ones. Be safe and enjoy a week of contentmentpeppered with joy.
MY LIFE IN 6 WORDS: SLAVES LOSE EVERYTHING IN THEIR CHAINS…
This is an odd way to start a blog posting, I agree. But, the reason for the 6 words above is that I’ve just re-read UNCLE TOM’S CABIN by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, it had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the young United States. It’s actually believed to have helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War. I’ve read many slavery-related books, but this is THE AMERICAN CLASSIC. It gives real insight into all aspects of slavery. It inspired me to create two pieces of art for SUNDAY POSTCARD ART (sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com) who declared their theme for this week to be…simply…ART! The first relates directly to slavery and the second is my nod to one of my favorite periods for the arts…an intellectual, social and artistic explosion…THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE period in New York City’s 1920’s. It was a true blossoming of African American culture…particularly the creative arts. Here, we heard the birth of JAZZ.
Choose joy, as our lives open up, bit by bit…but please continue to be safe and cautious. You’re precious to me.
Sending big hugs…Hope to see you for my next posting.
MY STORY IN 6 WORDS: I wonder when ‘lockdown” will end.
Hello, dear ones. I hope you’re not cleaning footprints off your walls as we all become more anxious for that feeling of freedom! I guess the key for Michael and me is keeping busy… doing things we enjoy. How are you passing your time?
My art challenge groups are as busy and demanding as ever…sometimes requiring me to stretch out of my comfort zone as I create. I’m realizing that most of my art is reality-based, so when I’m presented with a theme that requires a more whimsical approach, it’s difficult for my mind to work that way! I try, though, in the hopes that my mind and art will expand their boundaries.
DIGITALMANIA, (https://www.flickr.com/groups/digitalmania) is a perfect example of my aforementioned problem THIS WEEK. Our “artist-in-residence” is SUZANNE SBARGE, a contemporary artist who likes to depict hybrid characters and creatures, exploring the place of animals in the human imagination. She works with current, extinct and imagined animals and fauna in a surreal manner. Here are a couple of HER creations…
The days seem long and there’s little variation from one to the next. Is that how it is for you as well? For me, art heals all…as does getting lost in a good book, some good music, some conversation with my honey…the truth is I don’t mind being home as long as I can go out for necessities. Staying home and safe makes good sense to me! It’s much more difficult if you don’t have things you enjoy to keep you busy! Rock on, dear ones…we’ve still got some time to go before we’re “unlocked.”
On the art front, my online art challenge groups have been busy…and I’ve been busy getting reacquainted with old cyber art friends. It’s fun and challenging to create art in accordance with themes declared by each group.
TAKE A WORD (takeaword.blogspot.com) asked participants to include at least one EYE in our creations…OK- I did!
THE THREE MUSES (thethreemuseschallenge.blogspot.com) requested a bit of MAIL ART…
DIGITALMANIA (https://www.flickr.com/groups/digitalmania/) introduced us to a Romanian artist who works in mixed media…Emanuel M. Ologeanu. Our challenge…to create art inspired by this artist. Here’s some of his art…
TELLING MY STORY IN 6 WORDS…The Coronavirus continues its killing spree!
I’d like to extend my heartfelt sympathy to all those affected and infected by this dreaded virus. It’s leading us through some unprecedented times of stress and sorrow. Please stay in and stay safe…let’s fight this TOGETHER.
Take care of yourself and do think to reach out to those who are dear but far away and those who are alone in their struggle to maintain calm. We’re all in this together…no matter where we’re located!!
TELLING MY STORY IN 6 WORDS…We struggle in quarantine…stay connected.
We’re fighting a different kind of war now…all over the world…a world in quarantine. Keeping busy, doing meaningful things that are constructive and feel good are key for me. I’ve spent some time learning of an art movement about which I knew little. Born out of World War 1, the DADA Movement reacted against the carnage of that war. It was anti-art and had a strong negative and destructive element. DADA artists and writers were concerned with shock, protest and nonsense…rejecting all tradition, they sought complete freedom. Online art group, DIGITALMANIA (https://www.flickr.com/groups/digitalmania/), has declared this week’s theme to be DADA art. Very interesting period in art and literature…I wouldn’t have done too well creating art in that period, as it made no sense and was not concerned with all the properties usually associated with art. In any case, here are my DADA creations…
SUNDAY POSTCARD ART’s challenge theme for this week (https://sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com/) is one of my favorite…theatre!! I’m honoring one of my most beloved live theatre shows that eventually became a movie…WAR HORSE. It was very emotional for me…and a great learning experience. I found it incredible that a mechanical horse…lifesized…became so real to me. It was an excellent story and stunning production. I highly recommend it if it comes around again and you haven’t seen it!
Another production impressed me with it’s acting, it’s unique staging and an excellent storyline. We enjoyed this in Toronto, Ontario, Canada…THE BLUE DRAGON…
Thanks for checking in. Do enjoy your week and try to reach out to loved ones as well as those alone. We must fight this war together!
“We all share the earth together.” Audrey Shenandoah
In response to the Trump administration revoking reservation status to Massachusetts’ MASHPEE WAMPANOAG tribe, I opted to make this my entry for the Sunday Postcard Art Challenge (https://sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com/) this week. In 2015, President Barack Obama bestowed special land designations to the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe. In taking this action, Trump is undoing yet another piece of Obama’s humane legacy…a further slap in the face for our country’s First People and to former President, Barack Obama!
I’m posting this poem of peace and unity, written by my friend and international Iroquois spokeswoman, Deer Clan Mother, Audrey Shenandoah. RIP, dear friend. You are missed and loved.
TELLING MY STORY IN 6 WORDS…Distant shores opening arms to immigrants
Searching for new home…
Freedom across the ocean-
Tears flooding the seas
Michael and I visited New York City recently…before the Coronavirus scare exploded…and we spent quite a bit of time exploring the Lower East Side of the city…the area where most immigrants coming to our shores settled, at least, for a time…
Note: Click on each picture to enlarge
In the 19th century, more and more people from across the oceans and seas began piling onto ships, like sardines in a can, only to crowd into American cities… thousands of newly arrived immigrants came to New York City seeking a better life than the one they’d left behind… hoping for a new beginning in their new land. They came from Ireland, Germany and later, Italy, Eastern Europe, Russia and China, among other places…a veritable melting pot of nationalities, races and religions…a fine example of cultural diversity.
The population doubled every decade from 1800-1880 and buildings that were once single-family dwellings were increasingly divided into multiple living spaces to accommodate this growing population. Known as TENEMENTS, these narrow, low-rise apartment buildings, concentrated in the city’s lower east side, were all too often cramped, lacked indoor plumbing, proper ventilation and enough windows to provide needed light. They occupied nearly all of the lots on which they were originally built…usually 25 feet wide and 100 feet long. In 1872, there were about 20,000 tenement houses containing about 160,000 families-about 500,000 people. Some buildings contained as many as 126 families-about 700 inhabitants…in a narrow structure only 5-7 stories high. An individual apartment sometimes housed a family of as many as 10 people.
All archival photos and sketches courtesy of the Library of Congress, New York Public Library and Jacob Riis
By 1900, about 2.3 million people, (two-thirds of New York City’s population at the time,) were living in tenement housing, longing for just a GLIMPSE OF SKY from their small rooms. Their only “escape” from the dingy tenements was the streets where they could enjoy the sunshine, fresh air and the other new immigrants with whom they could share common experiences as well as news from back home. In addition, they could shop from the pushcarts of enterprising newcomers who sold goods of all kinds. The streets were their arteries of life.
Many families worked out of their cramped apartments sewing clothes, rolling cigars, fixing shoes, making hats, constructing collars, taking in laundry…they called it “piece work.” The atmosphere was suffocating! These tenements were in multi-use neighborhoods and situated close to factories, docks, slaughterhouses and power stations that provided employment to some of the residents. Convenient to get to work, but it meant living with increased air pollution, loud noise, and putrid smells. There were also issues with rats, mice, and roaches. The occupants of these buildings frequently emptied their filth and refuse into the public streets. HOWEVER, the rent, though a major expense for most residents, was cheaper than they could get anywhere else. In 1892, 2 rooms in an attic cost $3-5 per month; 3 rooms cost $6-12 per month and 4 rooms ran about $12-16 per month. As a family’s financial position improved, they often sought better housing…and as it worsened, they were forced to seek cheaper quarters.
In the early 1900’s, with the help of social reformers who put pressure on the city to pass city housing laws, the lot of the tenement dweller was greatly improved.
Today, in modern times, it’s the Latin American and the Asian communities that continue to experience harsh living conditions in tenement areas of New York City…especially in Chinatown.
Almost all of us have relatives or friends who came from someplace other than the United States. Imagine how hard it was for them to learn English and find a job to support their families or themselves while living in such horrendous conditions…yet they did, building a city known for its cultural diversity- indeed a country built on the strength and hard work of these early immigrants. They came, not only to New York City but to Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and other pockets in the U.S.A. They made their new streets and neighborhoods the very arteries of their new lives and built on each hurdle they overcame. I’m grateful for all the early immigrants built for us…and continue to contribute to each of our lives as new immigrants join us today.
