But what if we approach this as an opportunity. What if my ancestors were able to reach out in Love to offer support, companionship, or even just curiosity. I know that I'd be curious about my daughter, or my great, great granddaughter.
So this month at the Library we are going to take our imaginations on a walk over to the Veil. We are going to bring photos of ancestors - well, copies of these photos - and have a bit of conversation with those who have preceeded us. For those who don't have ancestor photos we could imagine meeting great leaders of the past: Sojourner Truth, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gandhi, the Buddha, Jesus ben Joseph, whoever seems interesting to you.
So the idea is to dress your relative in clothes or surround her/him with the accoutrements of your imagined conversation. Here is Sarah:
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.
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. Helen also had 7 children: JohnnyNellieJimmyJessieNannyLuluBob. Like that. (John, Helen, James, Jessica, Nancy, Lucy, Mary Emma) (And I am pretty full with two!) I imagine that Helen and Sarah were great friends indeed. I wish that I had known them, but through my cards maybe I have. *Kisses to you both.*
I have 9! envelopes of ephemera, ATC, and whatever else I can stuff in there as comment-prizes for the All Hallows Blog Party post below. Leave a comment and I will put you in the hat to get a chance to be drawn for the prizes on All Hallow Eve. I will contact you by email if I can or leave a post here of the winners on November 1st to get your mailing addresses.
See you at the Library-Swap tonight!
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 
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