hey, i'm feeling pretty daggone good---going on day 2...i even applied a full face of makeup today after about 2 years of going nekkid...this is pretty significant because for 7 solid years i was a very very happy consultant with mary kay cosmetics and my face was my canvas and i simply did not feel dressed until i at least applied foundation... hehehehe i was really all about the skin care...i can come close to not bathing at all if my only option was a deoderant bar of soap...nope,not on this skin... i'm all about a good quality shower gel with matching lotion and body spray. right now my favorite is something called bella ecco that i ran across at the natural foods store...when i had a hospital procedure done a month ago the rn who prepped me kept remarking on how soft my skin was (i kept thinking she really wanted to add the words "for someone your age")...she made 2 other nurses touch my feet and arms (with my permission of course as i sat demurely and gloated)
at lunch time today, i stopped in at the library and picked up some quilt related books and also checked out The Art of Romare Bearden...my interest sparked by the discussion at some of the blogs about collage work. Reading about his back ground took me some place...his grandparents owned a boarding house in Pittsburg that primarily housed 'coloured folk' who left the south to work in the mills of which my great grandfather was one of those 'folk'...now my imagination (this is the poet in me) lead me to ponder the what if of my great-grandfather staying in the boarding house ran by Romare Bearden's grand parents and where Mr Bearden worked for a short spell while in high school and what if the young Romare had an occassion or two or many to help my great-grandfather up the stairs to his room after a weekend of drinking and partying after payday and a week long's work of toiling in the mills...it was the Bethlehem Mill to be exact...I have his worker's id badge. What if my great grand entertained the young Romare with stories on the front porch of 'life for folk down south' which I read was a favorite past time for the young and older Bearden. There are days I just love the way my mind works :) Relating totally unrelated news stories and bizarre events is a little gift that the muse gives me from time to time.
I don't know whether your grandfather knew Romare Bearden, but I do know that I love his work. SFMOMA had an exhibit of his work recently and it was fabulous. His work is very quilty. His grandmother was a quilter and he was influenced by her work. I like your piece from Mrs. Mel's class.
ReplyDeleteGerrie, I'm going to call the Speed Museum to see if they have any pieces in their collection. I agree that the pieces are quilt like. I would love to see his works in exhibition!
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of collages, Romare Bearden's the first artist that comes to my mind. I was so sorry I missed the exhibit when it was here in D.C., but my little 4-year old goddaughter went. When her mother asked her what did she see, she told me, "really pretty paint-things." lol.
ReplyDeleteI love the way your poet mind works! I'm thinking Bethlehem Mill would be the title of a great literary work of some sort...hmmm...;)
ReplyDeletePeace,
Michele
Hey Karoda, do you remember me telling you about August Wilson's play, "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" from last semesters intro to theater class? When I read Romare Bearden on the screen, I sat straight up! Not only because I get to "claim" Romare as a Pennsylvanian :-D but more importantly August Wilson was greatly inspired by Romare's work..and he used all kinds of things in his play that reflected Romare's vision. I have a website link for ya to check out (if ya haven't seen it already) but yeah girl, I wouldn't doubt for a second that you're related ;-D His work is phenonmenal and has always stood alone. The website is: http://www.nga.gov/education/classroom/bearden/coda1.shtm
ReplyDeletejust love that quilting is taking you to so many places!! Seems like a natural progression (quilting) since you incorporate so many things into just your daily consciousness..
Love ya