I
looked, really looked, to see what
she was seeing and took in one-of-a-kind art—pastels, oils, watercolors and
mixed media. You may be thinking Picasso or Monet. Nope. Almost all the art
hanging on my walls was made by family or friends.
Each
piece is special to me and has a story. Here are some of my favorites.
My
niece made this oil painting when she was just fourteen years old! It measures
4 ft. x 5 ft. Because of its large size, my husband and I hung it at the top of
a staircase.
She
is also an excellent writer but decided to forego a career in the glamorous and
lucrative arts. Instead, she is studying to be a doctor and now draws gall
bladders and hearts.
A coworker
gave me this pen-and-ink drawing for my birthday. It was part of a series he called
“Beneath the Tile.” He believed that people were different on the inside than
how they appeared on the outside. The drawing is hanging above my desk to remind
me of that important lesson while I write.
This
is my baby portrait painted by a man who, along with his wife, made a
treacherous journey from Russia to America during the Cold War. Tibor
eventually found work as a janitor in Arizona. My dad learned of his artistic talent
and commissioned him to paint individual portraits of the females in the family.
My
sister painted three small canvases before she went through cancer treatment
and just after our mother died. She was inspired by colorful tiles on a
staircase while vacationing in Mexico. Sunny and bright, they remind me of the
Southwest where I grew up.
Many
years ago my college roommate and I were visiting her parents. Her mother
grabbed a box of pastels and a sketch pad and began to draw while we were
studying. She had almost completed it when the three of us decided to run an
errand.
While
we were out, their dog presumably upset that he wasn’t included in the outing,
lifted his leg on the back of the partially finished pastel leaning against a
chair. Max, a beautiful Samoyed with one blue and one green eye, is no longer
with us. But every time I look at this picture, I remember him.
Are
there treasured objects in your environment that have become so familiar you overlook
them?
I have an ostrich egg my father brought back from his travels. I used to have a great white shark's jaws (my father, again--Australia), but I mounted them outside over the backdoor of the beach house. Hatteras destroyed them due to the salt and humidity in the air. They developed mold and got mushy. Cartilage rather than bone, I suppose. It surprised me. I wouldn't have mounted them outside had I known. Even dead, the teeth were sharp. You could cut your fingers on them. They snagged fabric, too. (One of the reasons we decided to mount them and get them out of the way!)
ReplyDeleteBut if you are talking oblivious--I was in Costco yesterday. A little man stepped in front of my cart, took something to eat from a vendor, and then proceeded to eat it leisurely and blocked my path. He never looked my way or felt my eyes staring at him in disbelief. Sometimes I think people might be purposefully oblivious. Passive-aggressive?
You are surrounded by talented people, Kara. Appreciate your treasures!
A good reminder for most of us who take for granted wherever we are that we need to slow ourselves down to again see our surroundings. That applies equally to the treasures in our houses as to the location in which we live.
ReplyDelete~ Jim
E. B., a great white shark's jaws must be large and look rather menacing with razor sharp teeth. What a shame that they were ruined by the salt and humidity. I wouldn't have considered that possibility either. Your dad sounds like he's had wonderful adventures traveling.
ReplyDeleteThere are definitely some oblivious people out there. I was standing in a supermarket checkout line and the woman behind me apparently didn't notice me for awhile. All of a sudden she accused me of cutting in line. So strange.
Jim, good point about taking time to appreciate our surroundings! I'm grateful to live in a place that has clean air and safe water.
I once had an artist as a client who commented on the "yellow triangle" in a painting in the lobby. I asked him to show it to me. It was definitely there. I had just never seen it before.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful Kara. You have lovely items in your home made all the more precious by their provenance.
ReplyDeleteWarren, it's surprising to see something new in a familiar object we often walk past. When that happens in the future, I will refer to it as the "yellow triangle" experience.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kait! They are all special to me.
What wonderful paintings, Kara. I have a painting on my living room wall that was painted by a cousin of mine. She had an art degree, and we lost touch over the years and only reconnected at a family reunion a few months before she died. We were like sisters growing up since she lived across the road from me.Her daughters gave it to me because they knew I would cherish it. I also have a lovely black and white sketch of my barn and the brick sidewalk leading in that direction that a young man in a wheelchair drew for me from a snap shot that my daughter-in-law gave to him. It was a Christmas present for me. I have many pictures on my walls, some reproductions, some original and some photos I liked and had enlarged, matted and framed. As for a painting with a hidden person in it, years ago I painted the heads of four well-known clowns. Several months later, someone pointed out a fifth. The fifth was the shaded collar of one of the clowns that looked like the profile of a man. Now I see it whenever I look at that picture even though I didn't intentionally paint him.
ReplyDeleteKara, I love all your beautiful art! And all the wonderful stories. I stopped to think about what I have on my walls (and I haven't done that in a while) and remembered the stories behind them…the prints my father in law brought back from Japan after the war, the gorgeous framed piece of embroidered kimono silk my mother gave my daughter, artwork done by artists from my hometown, the painted silk abstract made by a friend. Thank you for waking me up to the beauty that's around me every day.
ReplyDeleteWhenever possible, I try to surround myself with things I love or which bring back wonderful memories. But I do try to keep it in perspective--they are "things," and I know I have too many physical things in my life.
ReplyDeleteE.B, you are describing a type of behavior that is fairly common to people with certain types of learning disabilities. They are oblivious. It takes specific instruction for them to learn many usual social norms.
I never thought of that, KM. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. He was alone (or at least I thought he was) and he was middle-age so it never occurred to me. Perhaps you are right.
ReplyDeleteI have to laugh. When I first started working after college, I had to supervise women who were older than my mother. Imagine my surprise when they acted like second graders. They had no learning disorders, they were just immature people.
But the oblivious gentleman, may well have had learning disorders. At first, I thought he might be deaf (Costco is loud), but he made no attempt at looking around or being aware of anyone but himself. If he doesn't have learning disorders, I feel sorry for his family. It must be all about him. But then, perhaps that's a problem for the families of those who have learning disorders. I have much to be thankful for.
Gloria, how nice that you have a painting your cousin made. It probably brings back good memories when you look at it.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that someone pointed out a fifth clown in your painting. It reminds me of watching clouds and seeing shapes and people in them. The unexpected clown in a painting could be an idea for a spooky short story...
Shari, you have many treasured objects in your house! I'd love to hear the stories and history associated with the prints. I imagine that the embroidered kimono piece, painted silk abstract and paintings from hometown artists are cherished items too.
KM, physical things seem to pile up in my home. I have a theory that they multiply when nobody is watching. I find that family photographs are the most difficult things to throw away even though I have duplicates and the images are saved on my computer.
That baby portrait is gorgeous! I have a melted "Dali-style" clock sculpture that I got in Spain when I studied abroad 15 years ago. Usually I just dust over it, but the other day I realized how freaking smart I was to buy it at the time. It's always there on the shelf, but if I took the time to really look at it, I can think back to that very cool time in my life. It's a treasure, indeed.
ReplyDeleteSometimes people don't value the things they have hanging on their walls. My mother once asked me if there was anything in the house that I would like to have when she's gone. I thought about it and remembered the beautiful oil painting of a lake surrounded by trees. The only thing I really wanted. When I told her about it, she couldn't remember it. When I took her to the place where it had hung, she said, "Oh, I gave that to the Salvation Army." In its place was a seaside print on velvet! Sigh!
ReplyDeleteYour Dali-style clock sculpture sounds like a very cool reminder of a special time, Sarah. What a wonderful experience to study abroad in Spain!
ReplyDeleteI love that story, Grace. I guess everyone has different taste in art. My guess is that the seaside print on velvet isn't hanging in your house.