Here you will find a few words, alongside the works.
Keeping up with the Joneses
I love an idiom. And the culture it can capture.
"Keeping Up With the Joneses" is spot on American. To me it describes what happens when the American Dream becomes grotesque. When the pursuit of happiness and freedom leads to a warped and twisted captivity.
Keeping Up With the Joneses, Watercolor, 22" x 30"
The idiom finds its origins in a 1913 comic strip by the same title. Arthur R. Momand was the creator and the term made its way into a few silent animations.
Keeping Up With the Joneses, Watercolor, 22" x 30"
Ranging from the accumulation of stuff that quickly loses its luster, sick social graces, self-glorifying chatter, and debt beyond measure - it is a pattern of behavior to appear on equal social-economic footing or ground.
Appearances were significant in my childhood home. I wonder if it was simply my mother's German perfectionism or her attempt to never appear "less than" our fully American counterparts?
Most recently I saw this pull within myself as my children wrestled with their college choices. Was I (or my family) "less than" because they made one choice over another? Did my children feel that way?
“But these were essentially the accoutrements that appeal to all people who are not actually rich but who want to look rich, though all they manage to do is look like each other: damasks, ebony, plants, rugs and bronzes, anything dark and gleaming-everything that all people of a certain class affect so as to be like all other people of a certain class. And his arrangements looked so much like everyone else’s that they were unremarkable, though he saw them as something truly distinctive.”
der Brombeermann
I grew up with folklore and fairy tales.
A Brombeermann is the symbol figure of the town of Wanfried, Germany. Some say this dates back to August 30, 1608 when Wanfried became a "city". A stipulation for city status perhaps included a provision for Moritz der Gelehrte - The deliverance of blackberries in the mornings to his Schloß in Eschwege when he was in residence.
Another version includes a beautiful story.
I am reminded of mythology as I read it. You can find it in a book written by Wilhelm Pippart, first printed in 1939, titled der Brombeermann. Wilhelm Pippart was a teacher and to me his writing is delightful to read. Maybe because his writing reminds me of the manner in which I was told and read fairy tales, with vivid detail and on occasion rhyme.
In the introduction Wilhelm Pippart is referred to as a Heimatdichter. In English, a "regional writer" but the German word Heimatdichter denotes more a person who drafts prose, poetry and collects stories of heimat. The book is a collection of tales and poems featuring characters such as sprites, fairies, gray ladies and magical books set in woods filled with moss, waterfalls and flowering fields.
Here is my brief and loose retelling in English:
A dwarf was watching over Frau Holle's jewels. (Her most favorite of the dwarves.) He was most intrigued by her pearl and diamond necklace. As he was playing with this magical strand, it caught upon a rosebush and broke. But where each pearl and diamond rolled - strawberries, raspberries, currants, blueberry and blackberry bushes sprouted. Blackberries in the greatest abundance. A spell had been cast.
The only way to turn them back into their original form was to gather them all by day's end and before the owl was heard. The dwarf quickly accepted this quest to make amends for his mistake. Frau Holle encouraging him to not lose courage and to arm himself with patience and endurance as he set out.
Quickly he set out upon his way, taking a cane basket upon his back to fill. He sprinted from bush to bush claiming the berries as his basket became heavier and heavier upon his back. Then at the end of the day. As dusk approached, every berry was in the basket except for one last full blackberry which remained. As he reached to pluck it from its height, the sun set and the owl was heard. Immediately the basket which had been full emptied.
This repeated itself day after day. The dwarf became ancient. Moss grew in his hat and throughout his knee length beard. His clothes became worn and tattered. The only thing which remind new was the basket he carried upon his back.
Each day the dwarf kept his courage and went about his task only to be baffled by day's end. Throughout this time, berries fill the land, mimicing the reflective jewel tones found within the magical necklace.
After a thousand years had passed, Frau Holle returned to the dwarf, now known as der Brombeermann- the blackberry man. Sharing his burden, she reached and picked the last berry before the owl's voice was heard. Immediately a ray of jewel like colors radiated from the basket, covering the land. Her necklace was returned to its original state. They say you could hear elves burst forth in song in celebration of the Brombermann.
It is now said that the people of Wanfried take upon themselves the diligence and perserverance of the Brombeermann. I suppose I love the story so much because it is a piece of home to me.
I'm sure many versions of this tale exist. This year, I had the opportunity to see and hear a portion set to music. A childhood friend composed a beautiful piece. It is written in the old dialect of Wanfried and was sung this year in the Evangeliche Kirche of Wanfried. Enjoy!
Backyard Sketch
Last May, I began recording a series of sketches of the flora in my little corner of the world.
It was a self imposed project to foster appreciation and gratitude.
Personally, I needed to gain an appreciation for the part of the world I am currently planted in. In the summer months, I find rural South Carolina's nature to be highly uncivilized. Especially the heat and the snakes.
Simultaneously, I wanted to improve my drawing skills through drawing from life, while learning the names of all the items growing around me.
People in Florence, South Carolina will say that its people are its landscape. I would say that is true. Geographically speaking it is flat with many southern small town sensibilities, accented through a metropolis of azaleas, camellias and pine trees.
And so these backyard sketches have provided an appreciation for botany, gardeners, the seasons and natural order. I have loved the intricacies found in creation which I have discovered through closer study of these plants.
So in celebration of earth day, here are a few of my favorites from the past year.
“This world is a great sculptor’s shop. We are statues and there is a rumor going around that some of us are some day going to come to life.”
Defined
I had a conversation yesterday with a friend. She was describing how she is motivated by concepts. Defining things in her life help her, such as having a word for the year.
And I was thinking, "Huh, wonder what my word for right now is?"
It has been a very focused past two months, of work. Both in and out of the studio.
I've been wondering why it's felt so intense and then I recalled what all the "day job" has experienced since January: the snow days, the flu epidemic and then the tragedy in Florida. All those items will shake up the day to day, just a little bit.
And I thought, "Hmm, I could use a good word right about now."
One of the perks of teaching is that you typically work with people who are life long learners and have wonderful knowledge to share.
So on a day, (like today) when you are feeling very bleh, because the pollen is not your friend and you know you need the energy of a Duracell Battery Factory to teach middle school kids in the Spring Time . . . you put on your most comfy flats, roll up the cuffs of the grey wool pants, and put on the softest sweater you own.
And what greets you in your hall? YOUR word! And I quote . . .
"You look so cute and very hygge today!"
hygge ???
(I love working with a good ELA teacher! They are some of the most insightful people I know.)
See the definition below of hygge from the Oxford University Press:
hygge
Pronunciation /ˈhʊɡə//ˈh(j)uːɡə/ noun
A quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture)
So I am declaring this as the year of hygge for me. In and outside of the studio.
Continued contentment, comfort and enjoyment in what I paint and how I paint. An appreciation for the simple. Thankfulness for work and the ability to do so. And delight in that there is time for the sacred in it all. I'm saying Good-bye to Artist Angst. Hello to hygee.
I knew there was a reason why I've been needing and burning through all those Carolina Wren candles! It's all been part of this hygge and the Danish way! :-)