So: I am the European American mom of two Asian American children. As I stroll with them through our lives I am more conscious of inter-racial practices than I used to be.
Tell me this: have you ever told a story and if the person was a different race than you are: you mentioned it, but otherwise you didn't? Have you ever told North American History as if it started with European travels?
Here is something I would like to hear often: white people called European American as often as black people are called African American. And Asian Americans too. And European Africans, and European Australians. And on. For example: "The first president of the U.S. was a European American."
Kinda changes one's perceptions, eh?
Because I have noticed that in telling my children North American history, when I say "the Americans did thus and so", and then "the African's did..." or the "Native Americans did..." I am differentiating everybody but me. I am making everybody different but me. But we European Americans are about as different and the same as people of African American heritage, and have been hanging out on this continent a fraction of the time that Asian Americans have, to say nothing of the folk who lived here before them.
The point is that we are making uncomfortable assumptions if we qualify everyone but ourselves.
My children's racial ancestors didn't come from "away" any more than mine did.
And here is another question: If having a father who is African American makes one black, then how come having a European American mother doesn't make one white??
Just wondering.
We had an ice storm. It blew out my telephone, but we kept our power. Odd thing about the beauty of events like these ... crystal shimmers on every last thing it touches, but heavy and devastating if one or another cannot hold the weight. Something here about bending under the force of it, accepting that it marks and changes us, and we unbend in the sun that melts the ice later. But refuse to let the heaviness move us and we are liable to snap. 
Sarah is my great, great grandmother - my mother's father's father's mother. She was pretty intelligent and well educated, I think. She married a judge who's first wife had died and ended up having 7 children and step-children. In her photo she was wearing a pretty severe dress (as was the custom back in that day) and it occurred to me that she might like some of the dressing freedoms that we have today. I chose some light blue print for her but then seemed to hear about how she would actually like to try on this red. here she is turning this way and that in the mirror, as we will do, testing the look on her. I think that Sarah was an amazing woman and that I would have like getting to know her. Her best friend was Helen:
Helen is another of my great, great grandmothers - my mother's father's mother's mother. Helen and Sarah spent some time in Logansport, Indiana befor Helen moved to Neenah, Wisconsin with her husband. They did that thing of marrying their children to one and other. Perhaps not the best of ideas for Nellie and Zach, but that's what happened. Anyway, when I started my conversation with Helen, it turned out that she was very interested with the fact that my two children were born in Asia. Helen wanted to be dresed in Chinese or Viet Namese clothes. Pretty sweet. Helen was an avid gardener and ended up moving to southern California in 1905. When my great aunt (Emma, but we called her Bob - I wish that I knew that story) was still alive I had a chance to visit that house A. Maz. Ing. 
We celebrate the abundance of a year of our work. Some of it was difficult, some of it a joy, but the dreams we had last year have produced the abundance upon which we will survive the winter ahead. Would you like to 
This year, for my party with you, I drew upon some work I did about 30 years ago. This is a twisted column vase. I figured out how to make crochet spiral up to the Heavens! I like how it looks. Yes, I crocheted all of these pots for the party; I have had this long fascination with 
I hadn't done any crocheting in a long time and it was good to have an excuse to do it again. I thought that I might 
This is Shanna, who wishes you Glad Harvest. Her dress was embellished with buttons, keys and other fripperies from my junk drawer.
Please meet Franna, who, as her bird so boldly exclaims, is the voting fairy. She wants you to know that she heard on public radio that the polls only indicate the probable voting preferances of those of us who are registered to vote, while the choices of those who are actually, statistically, most likely to vote show a slightly different picture. This year's presidential election is therefore possibly in the feet of the "under 30, unmarried and non-white" crowd. This is what Shanna has to say to you: "Get your feets to the polls on the 4th of November!!!"
In case you are wondering, Franna's dress is made from cut paper snippetts left over from an ATC making foray. Her wings and the golden eagle coin on her stand are color photocopies of a bead ribbon and chocolate coin wrapper that I had - yeah, in my junk drawer. 
Here is Roxanna. Her dress is a luscious blend of paper cut snippetts, leftovers from the flag-string behind her and some sparkles from my junk drawer. Her wings and bird were found in my prototype book Your Artist Journal which is in redesign at the moment.
And finally meet Deeanna, who is another Voter/Woman of Power. Her Junque Couture includes color photocopies of ancient Chinese key reproductions, a glass heart, that bead ribbon again, an iron gear whatchamacallit and a copper colored foil candy wrapper.
Check out the wall paper: 
What IS that noise outside? Com'on. Let's go check it out ... What is that over there?
Oh! It is the Gnomies!
Hi Gnomies! How are you all this fine fall day?
Mamma Gnomie reports that they are all well. She wanted to know if their mining work had disturbed us. It really didn't, I just forgot that Autumn is the best time for them to gather their gold for the year. Young Gnomie showed us shere the King was:
He is offering us a tour. Shall we see what they have been up to?
Someone scouts from above, and, using ancient Gnomie methods, locates where to dig.
Look what Green Gnomie found!!
It is getting close to suppertime. I have a big feast laid out - will you all come back to my house and share it with me? Yes? Great! 
Oh! No! There are the squashes! I forgot to make the soup! - Hey, you all wouldn't mind if I got out my magic wand and kinda, well, made it that way, would you?
Oh, look what the Gnomies brought: over there on the left - some gold coins! How generous they are. You can see how much they love what they do:
And they loooove that 
Now for dessert: I have made you some Great Wheel cookies. 
The Great Wheel is how the Old Ones in north-western Europe imagined the year and the turning of the seasons. Here, let me show you:
See how we move around the wheel? 
Well, the Wheel is moving into the time of slowing down, turning inward: indeed, we are moving into the time of dreaming. 
Birds are the symbol, especially at this time of year, of journeys, and, because they are inhabitants of the skies, of Heaven.
We have been making decorations. (I am a Geminii. I can use the royal "we" with myself.)
But I have been working on some particular embellishments!
See you Sunday morning, on the button!
And a peek at what I am working on this morning:
And who is wandering around in my felt collection??
Stay tuned... My party is scheduled for Sunday the 26th, along with the other 
Then I snipped a circle with tabs for the bottom
And used some shipping newsprint with gel medium as if I was putting papier mache over all:
Half way done:
I added some flowers cut from thick paper, for texture:
And colored tissue on top of that for some color:
These are not Chaska's instructions. Don't follow all this if you want to make what she did. This is just, well, my mind's eye says that this will be great, you just maybe don't know that yet.
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Creative New Year's Resolutions
4 years ago
