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This is an aerial view of the farm in upstate New York where I grew up. A highschool friend sent it to me last year. It was in one of those Christmas photo cards — very retro. Based on how the house looks, I think it was probably taken in the late 50s or early 60s. She found it amongst here fathers things, after he passed away. I scanned it and uploaded it to Photoshop and zoomed in and — whoa— there was my father standing there. Almost in the center of the photo is a gas tank that was used for filling the tractors and truck and the family car. He is standing right there.
I uploaded this because I want to make a quilt of the family homestead. I have done a couple of sketches in my class with Elizabeth Barton. I think it tugged on some buried brain cells. The night after I was looking at the photo and reminiscing, I had a dream and I was walking through the house and I remembered almost every detail of each room.
We had a very successful SAQA meeting today. I think we had about 12 people here and we had some great conversation about entering shows, photography and critiquing. We have decided to meet monthly.
I spent a lot of time, after the meeting, reading my second week lesson for the class and doing some more sketching.
For today’s 3 X 3, I decided that I wanted to do some foiling on red silk. I didn’t have a thermofax screen small enough so I made one. Here is today’s piece.
We got a lot of snow last night, but by this morning, it had turned to slush. And by the time I took Scooter for a walk, after the meeting, this was all that was left in our neighborhood.
What a great photographic gift from your high school friend! Isn’t it funny how those memories remain in our subconscious, often resurfacing in our dreams! I dream of my Nana’s big old Victorian home – and like you, I can recall all of the rooms in detail. She had a fabulous old wood-burning stove in her kitchen – with a cute little electric stove next to it. She rarely used the latter, preferring the wood burning one that she was accustomed to.
Thanks for the walk down memory lane!
xo
What a treasured gift – the photo and memories & dream. I;ve been negligent in my blog reading and went back to the beginning of the month for the explantion of your 3×3’s. I am enjoying these little treasures very much.
Oh Geri, how wonderful to have a photo of your old childhood home come to you this way. It must have brought back many memories. No wonder you had a dream about it. I often travel back in time when I daydream. If I could just get those ethereal dreams onto a sketchpad, I’d have one heck of a bunch of inspiration. It will be interesting to see what you create from your sketches.
I love that the photo came to you this away, showed you your father from a distance (literally and figuratively) and is now inspiring you to do art about it! And I love the dream thing — amazing how our minds work, so that you were able to “go back” to your past like that. I’ll look forward to what this inspiration yields in your work!
Love your little 3×3. I’m looking forward to seeing your farm quilt.
You are so lucky to have many SAQA members near you.
Have a good day.
Your family farm is beautiful. It is very similar to the one we lived on, gas tank and all. It is kind of eery what our subconscious sends up in our dreams. I have gone touring in my grandparents house a lot. I guess because I spent a lot of time with them. I look forward to seeing what you create with your drawings. You 3×3 this evening is so pretty and delicate. I love your neighborhood. We have friends that are nearby in the Sellwood District and I love the neighborhoods there. I wish all of our snow would disappear overnight, but another 5-7 inches is on the way. Wishing you a beautiful day. xo