It Runs in the Family

Art is "the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance."  This is referenced from a dicitionary.  I realized that it would be hard to define art since it encompasses so many things, ideas, feelings and mediums.  I did, however, like this definition more than many that I came across.
People have always told me I am artistic, and I guess I am.  My head swims all the time with projects....things I want to make, paint, create. 
I was thinking about this artistic nature, and I realized that there are a lot of artists in my family.  I don't know if the talent is an inherited trait or if the passion is just something shared and passed along in families.  I just know that when I work on a project with someone in my family or see something that they have done, it makes my heart sing!  It is nice to be able to share this.

My son, Joseph, is a particularly gifted artist.  Not only does he draw and paint, but he can sing, play the guitar, and create electronic music.  He is a fantastic writer.  This probably comes not only from his creative nature, but also from his avid reading.  Joseph certainly 'has it all,' in terms of being artistic.

I started a little 'art gallery' in my back hallway.  It is filled with paintings by Joseph.  There is one small watercolor displayed in this area that Madeline painted.  She actually mailed it to me in the form of a postcard from Philadelphia.  It is lovely fall colors and it said "Happy Thanksgiving."  I love it and wanted to frame it, so we went to Michael's and found a mat that would cover up the writing and accent the artwork.  Then we found a frame that would fit.  It is perfect and I like having it displayed amongst the many works by Joseph.  I actually have more artwork from my family members to display, but I am running out of wall space!

Jimmy doesn't do a lot of artwork, but he is more creative than he gives himself credit for.  I think there is an artistic beast living inside him, but he doesn't seem to have the patience or the desire to feed and nurture this beast.
I have a picture of a cat on the beach (2 of my favorite things!) that Jimmy did at school.  It is black and white because it was done on scratchboard.  This is a technique where you take a special type of black board and use a stylus to scratch away the black to create a picture that shows up white.  It is really quite cool looking.  Jimmy doesn't stake claim to this cat picture.  He says Joseph did it.  However, I could swear it was created by Jimmy.  I really love it and I look forward to adding it back into my little art gallery.

Also in this gallery are several paintings by Joseph.  He tends to lean towards abstraction.  The thing I love best about his paintings, particulary the latest ones, is that they are so bright and colorful.  Joseph knows how to use color and create paintings that are quite eye-catching. 
I do have some other paintings and drawings by Joseph that are not so abstract.  I have one hanging out in my little hallway that Mom calls "the Devil."  It might be what Joseph intended but I just view it more as a man in a red cloak.  At any rate, this is a fantastic picture and I love having it hanging in my house.  I have always heard that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I know this is true especially when viewing a piece of artwork.

Mom had a picture hanging in her breakfast room for years that Joseph did.  It was always one of my favorites.  When she moved to Stratford Court, she didn't have a place for it, so I added it to my gallery.  It has blues, reds and oranges, and I love the peaceful nature of the picture.  Mom and I both thought it was New York because we love New York and there are tall buildings at nighttime in the picture.  When I took the picture apart to get it ready to hang in my house, I saw on the back "Arizona Sunset."  Joseph had titled it this and I never knew it!  After studying it again, it really doesn't necessarily look like New York and the colors certainly do look like an Arizona sunset.

Two other abstract paintings I have hanging Joseph did for me and gave them to me as gifts.  I really love these and appreciate the fact that he wanted to give me some of his artwork.  I will treasure them always.  I have two other abstract paintings of his that I brought from Grandma's house.  I suppose they are paintings he did for her.  I hung both of these in my little gallery.  Recently when Joseph came to visit he saw one of the paintings and said it wasn't really finished!  I hung it up anyway.  I know that artists' worst critics are themselves.  No one but Joseph would know that the piece is unfinished.  And so it hangs 'as is' in my house.

Joseph also did another awesome piece that hung in Mom's living room for years.  I remember when he did it and said he wanted to give it to Grandma for Christmas.  I had it framed nicely in a black frame and she proudly hung it under a pen and ink of her home that her friend, Betsy, did for her many years prior.  Joseph's piece is also a pen and ink.  I admire it for many reasons, one being the difficulty I find in this medium.  I never could master the art of pen and ink.  I find it difficult.  It is harder to correct mistakes or have any sort of 'do over.'  Anyone who can create something great with pen and ink is a winner in my book.  The picture Joseph did looks like the interior of an old church.  There is a crucifix in the picture and a brick wall or altar.  There are people milling about.  I don't know what he entitled this piece, but I think it is quite good.  It now hangs in my dining room and I am proud to have it in my collection.

Madeline has a picture in her room that she created in high school.  Now that she has moved back home, she wants to take it down.  I asked her not to because I love it so much!  I don't think it looks juvenile at all....I think it is beautiful and I know and love the artist.  It is a picture of a dancer.  It is quite colorful.  This picture was done with paints and with torn paper art.  Everyone who sees it really loves it, except maybe Madeline.  But, she is a good daughter and left it up to please her mother!

Our house is filled with all sorts of art projects done by family members.  Some of it is displayed and some of it is just stored away.  I have recently discovered a place in St. Petersburg called Painting with a Twist.  This is a really fun place to go and I think I'm 'hooked.'  Madeline went with me recently and she, too, seems to have caught the bug!  Painting with a Twist is an art studio.  You sign up and go on a particular night and everyone in the class paints the same picture.  The instruction is good, but they also focus on having fun!  It is a great way to paint and not take the piece or yourself too seriously.  Madeline and I painted a piece called Fiesta Crab.  We both thought our paintings turned out respectably, and we did have fun.  I'm sure we will go back soon.
The first time I went to Painting with a Twist, I went with a large group from church.  We had a private party....we took up the whole studio!  We painted a picture called Heron at the Beach.  Mine turned out okay, although I know it could be much better.  I left it on the kitchen counter and when we got up the next day Jim asked me why I painted a black swan on a beach.  Yikes!  That is one painting that didn't go up on any wall!
The second time I went I painted a picture called Blue Flowers.  It turned out pretty decent and Mom asked if she could have it and hang it on her wall in her little den at Stratford Court.  It matches her furniture perfectly and actually looks pretty good in there!  I teased her and said I would never hang it on my wall, but I really might if I had a place for it.  I get to see it every day when I visit Mom.

I also have a painting I brought from Mom's that my cousin's wife, Phyllis, painted.  Mom had it hanging in the bedroom where I always slept when I went to Shelby.  I love this painting.  It is a white egret on a black background.  I think it is very striking.  I wanted to have something Phyllis had painted hanging in my house, so I found a place for it and I love having it.  Phyllis is really a talented artist.  Mom and Jessie both had several of her paintings throughout their homes.  She paints a lot of flowers and still lifes.  I love her work. 
When Jim and I got married, Phyllis painted a large picture of a vase of flowers for us.  It has orange, peach and green hues and we had it hanging in our first apartment.  It moved with us from house to house and finally we moved to Fairway Drive in Shelby.  It didn't seem to work in that house like we wanted it to, but Mom said she would like it.  So, she hung it in her hallway and it looks great there.  I have my name on it so that one day I can have it back.  I will either find a home for it here or pass it along to one of my children.
Our family has a tendency to pass around our artwork and heirlooms.  It certainly is a great way to keep those things "all in the family."

I have always loved to do counted cross stitch.  I guess that is more of a craft than art, but somehow I like to say I do arts and crafts.  I think there is definitely a cross-over and both take creativity.  My cross stitch pieces are all over the place.  I know Jessie had several pieces, one of which has ended up on the kitchen wall of Mom's new place.  It is a picture of a pink pig and it says "If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself."  Mom also has a piece I did for her hanging in her bathroom now.  She brought it from her home in Shelby.  I has a grey mouse hanging tightly onto a large rope.  It says "When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on."  I guess we all feel like that from time to time!
I have a few pieces in my house as well.  I have one that is a beagle.  I did it when Jim and I first got married.  We had 2 beagles named Brandy and Louie.  Louie was 'my' dog.  I really loved him.  He was so sweet.  This cross stitch looks just like him.  Although it has been about 35 years since we got Louie, I still love looking at this cross stitch picture.

I gave many of my cross-stitch pictures to Martha.  I think they are scattered around the Yeltons' house in Shelby and their condo in Myrtle Beach.  Martha was great at cross-stitch too.  That was one artistic thing we shared.  I know we used to buy patterns and floss and talk about our various cross-stitch projects.  Martha always liked to say she didn't do anything artistic, but she did.  She may not have been obssessed with it like I have always been, but she certainly did her share of creative projects.
One thing I love that I made for Martha years ago was a cross stitch apron.  Neither of us wore aprons much, but we both agreed that we SHOULD wear them from time to time.  We both cooked and entertained, and there is nothing worse than getting food on you right before your guests arrive!  The apron I made Martha was a striped denim apron and the top part had a cross-stitch hamburger on it!  It sounds a bit ridiculous, but it is so cute.  Last time I was at the Yeltons, I saw it hanging in their pantry.  It sent a little pang through me, but then it made me smile in remembrance.

In the Yelton's condo at Myrtle Beach, there is a wooden painting of a lighthouse above Porter's bed.  I did this for him when he was little.  He went through a lighthouse obssession phase, so I made this for his birthday one  year.  I love it.  The pieces are painted almost like a puzzle and then arranged into the wooden frame to create the picture of the lighthouse.  I wish I had a photograph of it, but I never did take one.  It is sort of unusal and something I really enjoyed making.  The last time Martha and I were together in her beach condo, I remember standing there looking at this piece and talking about it.  It's funny how the smallest things can be stuck in your memory somewhere.  Thank God for those wonderful memories!

After Paul Porter died, I made a cross-stitch picture for Ellen.  She has it hanging in her kitchen.  It looks like a quilt and says something like "Families are like quilts:  lives pieced together, stitched with smiles, tears, colored with memories and bound with love."  Ellen is a talented quilter, and there was a special quilt at Paul's funeral.  (That is a story that could be another whole blog.)  Anyway, I knew how Ellen was hurting after the loss of her daddy, so I made this cross-stitch for her.  I hope she was comforted by it and felt the love that was put into it.  Our family is close and we do love to reminisce about our wonderful memories.  This piece seemed very appropriate at the time.

I have three wooden barstools out on my lanai.  They were just inexpensive stools and they started looking very weathered.  I was going to throw them out and buy new ones.  My sister-in-law, Linda, told me not to throw them out.  She told me I should paint them.  She thought they could look like painted bar stools often seen in beachside restaurants.  I tell Linda she gets me in trouble all the time.  She continually comes up with projects that I really 'have to do'!  Once something is in my head, I really do HAVE to do it or it nags at me.  So, guess what?  I painted the barstools.  I must say that I am glad Linda urged me to do this.  I used some leftover off white paint and painted the stools then I painted colorful fish on two of them and a crab on one of them.  I put a thick varnish on them to protect them from the weather.  I did these one afternoon.  It was Father's Day, as a matter of fact.  We had been to the beach and came home to swim and lounge by the pool.  Jim got on his trusty float and next thing I knew he was asleep IN the pool!  I had to stay out there for fear he would drown, and I don't sit idle very well.  I looked at the stools I had painted that were waiting for the decoration, so I went in and got my paints and just painted these little creatures on them that afternoon!
I still have a long list of ideas that Linda has told me I have to do!  I always say, 'so many projects, so little time.'  I just hope I live long enough to create all the things I have on my list!

Porter is very artistic and creative.  He makes the most wonderful gifts.  We always comment that his gifts have a lot of thought put into them.  When you receive a homemade gift from Porter, you can feel special because you know it was created and intended just for you.  This past Christmas he made posters for us, each personalized and filled with kind words, inside jokes and pictures.  I have mine hanging in my laundry room.  I see it and enjoy it often, as I am in my laundry room way more often than I'd like to be!  I do laundry in there, and I also keep the litter box and cat food in the laundry room.  Leo and Peabo receive my attention in what I call their "apartment" several times a day!  Mom has her Christmas gift from Porter now hanging on her bedroom wall at Stratford Court.  Before that she had it in her breakfast room in Shelby.

Porter loves to tease me about all my arts and crafts and my obssession with them, but I know it is all in good fun.  He also says I have inspired him to do some of the things he has done.  That always makes me feel good.
Our family all loves Thanksgiving.  The Yeltons come to Clearwater on Thanksgiving and we have a ball!  Porter tells me that no matter where he goes to college or where he lives, he will be at my house on Thanksgiving no matter what!  Of course, I love the idea of that, but I know that one day things might change and he might not be able to come.  But as long as he DOES come, I intend to make Thanksgiving a memorable holiday for us all.
Besides the traditional Macy's Parade, eating a huge meal, and Fall decor, we also play a lot of games and we participate in the local Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning.  But I think the thing that always creates the most laughs and the most memories are the arts and crafts that I come up with for us all to do.  I have begged Porter to never grow up, because I love to come up with these projects every year.  After all, he IS the baby of the family!

The picture frames, seashell crafts, needlework pictures, paintings, scrapbooks, calendars, magnets, painted barstools and other handmade creations that are all over my house and the houses of many of my friends and family members are just reminders of the love and caring that goes into creating something homemade.  The sharing of these items and the passing around from person to person, home to home, is a reflection of this love and caring.  Arts and crafts are meant to be seen and enjoyed by many.  This is the way an artist or a craftsman can share this creative expression.  Next time you look at a painting or a handmade object, just soak in the beauty of the art itself and the act of its creation.

And many memories are made of this.

Shell Magnets that I made
(Linda's prompting)

Frame Madeline made for me one Christmas



Joseph's artwork



More of Joseph's artwork

A painting by Joseph

Another painting by Joseph

A painting Joseph did for me in high school...
a little girl hugging her daddy's leg

Joseph's work entitled "Night Watchman"
I have had this hanging in my house since he was in high school.

"Arizona Sunset"

This was the last birthday card I made and sent Martha. 
  Inside it said: Sisters are different flowers from the same garden.

Thanksgiving card I made

A picture from a page out of a calendar I made for Mom

I made these for my dear sisters-in-law

I painted this frog and a turtle to go with it when I was in high school.
Mom always had them in her sunrooms.  Now Porter has them.

Joseph's pen and ink
(at Mom's house....now in mine)

Cross stitch by Mary

From coloring contest last Thanksgiving!

This is one of Porter's creations for me
a few Christmases ago.



I painted this stepstool for Jessie and Bob when I was in
junior high school.  She had it in her kitchen until she moved to Sterling House.
It is in Mom's laundry room in Shelby right now. 
(It says:  Kissing Don't Last....Jessie's Cooking Do!)

 

Madeline's dancer



Painting I did in high school



Christmas tree I made out of auger shells



I painted these snowmen charger plates for
my bridge friends last Christmas



Top of one of the painted barstools

Top of another of the barstools

Top of the third painted barstool

Painted barstool



Our first painting from Phyllis





This is a picture of the kit similar to the one I made for Ellen.

   



Porter cousins holding the special quilt

 



Something Old.....

I love to play bridge.  I love everything about it.  The game is so interesting....never dull.  Some days it seems like the first day you ever played.  Some days bridge is like something you could do in your sleep. I think most bridge players feel the same way.  Once you play bridge, other card games pale in comparison.

Just as much as I love the game itself, I love all the other aspects of being in a bridge group.  My bridge friends and I always joke that we come for the food and the conversation....the laughs and the 'information."  I swear, I wouldn't know how to find a good plumber or know the best trashy novel to read if it weren't for my bridge friends.  We often leave with little notes written on our tallies with the phone number of a cleaning service or a website to find out about park hours. 

The best part of being in a bridge group, however, is the friends you make.  My bridge friends are some very important people in my life.  I am not sure what I would do without them.  They make me laugh, cheer me up, listen to me whine, come up with great social outings, bring food when I'm sick, or call to check on me just because they sense something's just not quite right.  They take me to physical therapy after surgery when I can't drive and they ask about my mom and my children.  Bridge friends are the best source for good old belly laughter and a shoulder to cry on when you are sad.  I hope my bridge friends know how much they mean to me.

On the eve of the first anniversary of my sister's death, my bridge friend, Carol, passed away after a short but fiercely aggressive bout with cancer.  I still can't believe she is gone and I already miss her very much.  It will really hit home when our group gears back up for our regular bridge Fridays this Fall.  I know Carol thought of our bridge group as her very best group of friends.  She felt the sisterly bond that we all feel.

Mom encouraged me to learn how to play bridge.  I can't thank her enough for that little push towards this incredible game.  I use the word game lightly, as it is really so much more than that. 
Mom played bridge.  She played in some ladies' groups and she and my dad played with other couples.  But when I think of Mom and bridge, I think of her with those incredible ladies who served as her best friends.....literally for life.  She would meet with Edith, Edna and Arzie some mornings and they would enjoy playing bridge.  Sometimes I tagged along and I remember so well sitting on the sofa at Edna's house watching tv and eating gumdrops and drinking Pepsi.  I could hear my mom and her friends laughing and talking and discussing important matters.  I know all too well now how meaningful that was.
As I said, bridge friends are awesome!

I loved all of these ladies for different reasons.  Edna was funny.  She always made me laugh and I thought she was an amazing woman.  When I got married, she gave me an antique bowl from her house with the nicest note.  She wanted me to have something of hers that I would look at and think of her.  She knew me all too well!  I have that bowl on the dresser in my bedroom and every time I look at it, I do think of Edna.  I am so thankful that she thought enough of me to give me a little piece of her home to grace my home.  It has been proudly displayed for 36 years!

I have another bowl that reminds me of the bowl Edna gave me.  It is green, my second favorite color, and it came from Jessie's house.  When Jessie moved into Sterling House, she told Martha and me to pick out some things from her house that we might like.  I took this bowl.  I think I was drawn to it because of the bowl I had gotten from Edna.  It's funny how one thing can spark another.  I keep this bowl on a table in my living room.  Both of these antique bowls remind me so much of two ladies who made an impact on my life.  Neither Jessie nor Edna are here with me on this earth, but I have a little tangible bit from them to enjoy looking at each day to go along with the love I have for them in my heart.

Jessie was like a second mother to me.  I can never say enough good about her.  Jessie gave me countless things throughout my lifetime, but certain things stand out.  One was a glass swan-shaped dish.  She gave it to me on my 16th birthday with a note saying that it came from my late grandmother's house.  My grandmother died when I was 7 and I have some very fond memories of her, but I don't think I really had anything to remember her by.  I treasure this swan and I keep it behind glass doors along with some other treasures in my secretary (which also came from my grandmother's house and then my house when I was growing up).  I remember Jessie telling me she didn't think it was very 'valuable,' but she just wanted me to have it.  She had no idea how valuable that swan is to me.  I really appreciate Jessie thinking to give me something from Nanma's house.  It was just so like her to be this thoughtful.  I think she knew just how sentimental I am.

Another equally thoughtful gift was a punchbowl.  Jessie gave this to me when she no longer used it.  I know this punchbowl must be at least 60 years old.  Jessie always had wonderful holiday get-togethers at her house.  Jessie, being Jessie, had a separate punch bowl for the kids.  It was always filled with some yummy punch and an ice ring.  Jessie always did things up the right way!  I have used that punch bowl so many times.....and always with some type of ice ring floating in the punch.  This punch bowl has seen many birthday parties, Christmas brunches, Thanksgiving get-togethers, and many other parties.  All gatherings seem more special with punch!

Speaking of Jessie, another item I took from her house when she downsized is a Fenton glass candy dish.  It's one of those beautifully 'old-fashioned' looking dishes.  The best part of this dish, besides the fact that it was Jessie's, is that it is green and pink!  I was drawn to it because of the colors and the style.  It has little 'feet' on the bottom, a bumpy surface and ruffled edges.  I think it was a common item back in the day!
Interestingly, we were in Mt. Dora, FL last week and Madeline and I went in several shops.  The two things she was drawn to were cute little teapots (I'll have to admit, they were really pretty) and some amazing art glass in a gallery just filled with nothing but all sorts of art glass.  As current and modern as this art glass was, I realized how much it really reminds me of some of the old Fenton glass.  I guess artistic beauty doesn't know what decade it is.
I keep this candy dish on the end table in my den.  It is always full of Dove chocolates, Hershey kisses, or minature candy bars.  I pulled it out of my china cabinet to put candy in for bridge one night and I realized how much I love it and that I wanted to keep it out on display at all times.  I am glad I did.  Not only do I have a little chocolate at my fingertips at all times, but I have another lovely memory of my sweet aunt.

Several years ago my cousin Ellen sent all of the girl cousins an invitation to a little luncheon.  She mentioned that she had a 'surprise' for us.  We were all speculating about what the surprise could possibly be!  Ellen is another one of those thoughtful people that I love, and like me, she is very sentimental.  When she was cleaning out her parents' house to sell, I went over to sit with her and go through boxes and boxes of pictures that came from Porter Brothers.  We had a ball laughing, then crying, then reminiscing, then laughing some more!  Ellen has a fantastic memory.  But back to the surprise for the girl cousins.....no, she wasn't pregnant, didn't reveal some deep dark secret, nor had she won the lottery.  Ellen had found some of our Grandma Porter's crocheted doilies.  She had them cleaned and did some repair work on them.  Some of these doilies were small and some large.  They were different shapes and different patterns.  She had them gift wrapped and we each just chose a box.  I remember getting a small round doily and Martha got a large diamond shaped one.  After we got home from Ellen's, Martha and I decided to trade because she liked the small one better.  I kept my large doily draped on the back of a chair in my living room up until a few months ago.  I have been carrying it around trying to find a shadow box for it.  I thought I would frame it in a large shadow box and hang it on the wall.  It seemed that would preserve it better.  I am afraid it will eventually get messed up on the back of my chair.  I love that Ellen took the time to do this for each of us and that she did it in such a creative way.  That Ellen is something else!
My Grandma Porter died when I was 5 years old and I do remember her, but the memories are very few and very vague.  This doily is just a little piece of my Porter past and I treasure it.

When Mom and Dad moved into their new home on Lynhurst Lane, Mom gave me a soup tureen.  I remember this soup tureen sitting on our kitchen table on Ridgeview Drive.  I love it.  I don't know that Mom served soup out of it very often, but it always looked lovely in our kitchen.  I have displayed that soup tureen in my kitchen for the past 31 years.  It was on my kitchen table for a long time, but now I have it in my hutch in the breakfast room.  It is a fond memory of my mom and the kitchen I spent most of my growing up years in.
Next to this tureen in the hutch, I have another soup tureen.  This was given to me by my friend, Josephine.  It amazes me sometimes the thoughtfulness of some people. 
Josephine is a lovely lady.  I don't see her much any more, but I loved the time I did spend with her.  I was in a theater group for mnay years and that is where I met Josephine.  Like bridge groups, theater groups are a special breed and when you are doing theater, there is a strong bond amongst the members.
Josephine's mother passed away and Josephine had to take care of all her mother's affairs and do something with her possessions.  She saw this soup tureen and it was something she didn't care to keep for herself or her daughter, so she gave it to me.  I didn't know Josephine's mother, but I really love the tureen and appreciate Josephine giving it to me.  She told me she knew I loved to cook and that I appreciated antiques, so she wanted me to have it.
Our little theater group has dispersed, but I will always remember Joesphine fondly whenever I look at that tureen.  She may not even remember giving it to me, but the lasting pleasure it will bring me is priceless.

Marie is another friend I met through the theater group.  Marie is an inspiration.  I don't see her much any more, but I like to keep up with what's going on in her life.  Marie is over 90 and she goes like the energizer bunny!  I recently learned that she just returned from a trip to The Holy Land.  That trip is on my bucket list and I'm not giving up on it.  If Marie can do it, then so can I!
Like Jessie, Marie downsized.  One time at theater rehearsal, she brought me a little surprise.  She gave me a small cut glass plate.  It is so beautiful.....just like Marie.  She has no idea that whenever I serve something on this lovely little plate, I have to tell people about her!  It provides not only a means of serving food, but also as a story-telling prompt!

So many wonderful people have come in and out of my life.  There is a saying about people coming into your life....some for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.  If you stop and think about this, it really makes you appreciate each and every person you deal with, even if it is for a brief time. 
It is a joy to have these gifts that can remind me of these people that God placed in my life for a needed reason, the ones that made a their mark if only for a season, or the truly special people who will be in my life forever.

And memories are made of this.

Bowl from Edna

Cut glass plate from Marie

Swan from Nanma's

Fenton candy dish from Jessie's



Soup tureen from Mom's house



Soup tureen from Josephine

Bowl from Jessie's



Dear bridge friends



More dear bridge friends

Bridge friends by chair
with my Grandma's doily from Ellen



And another picture of bridge friends