Art Quilters Around The World

       For some reason my pictures aren't showing up on the Art Quilters Aroind The World but to view the others in this challenge, click on the website from my sidebar.

       Our challenge for this time is "Folk Lore". A great topic with so many choices!!! I finally decided on the tale of Johnny Appleseed. Johnny Appleseed, a favorite American legend, was a real person named John Chapman. This man was a part of American Expansion West. As the story goes he loved apples and also wanted to make sure no one would ever go hungry.  Born in 1774, (his father fought in the Revolutionary War) he traveled West from his birthplace in Massachusetts to the unsettled Ohio frontier, planting apple seeds every wher he went. If you would like to read more about Johnny Appleseed, here is a link to follow. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Appleseed

     In creating my quilt for Johnny Appleseed, I used a fusible technique combined with quite a bit of hand stitching and embellishments. I had just taken a workshop with Deborah Boschert, a fellow SAQA member,  who showed her technique on fusing. Here is a link to her website if you'd like more info on her.  http://deborahsstudio.com/  I also used some of my own hand dyed fabrics.

                         

                              

                               

Memory Monday

   

     As I said last week, I am back at Mizzou. I have morning classes..a couple education classes (very forgettable) and a couple of memorable art classes! To reiterate, having never had art before, I took the first level of everything! Now I am taking Weaving I which I am loving! My big sister Judy, is expecting her first baby so I am weaving her a baby blanket.. 

     Weaving is so relaxing! Getting it set up is the most difficult part, but once that is done, the rest is just repetitive action. The building where the class is held is open all hours, so I could go in any time when no one else was there and really let my mind wander while weaving! Almost a form of mediation!

                                     

So I'm thinking, maybe I could be a weaver! This was in 1961... The true hippy era had just barely gotten started. In fact the term "hippy" wasn't even being used much. The "Beatnik" period was probably better known then. I found this explanation of the difference between the two. 

     "The major difference between the hippies and the beatniks is that the hippies were more aggressively political and public than the beatniks were.

The beatniks were a smaller group that was centered around art and artists.  They were typified by poets such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg.  They did reject the values of contemporary society, but they did so mainly in a sober, quiet way.  They did things like wearing black clothes and withdrawing from society in a relatively individual and solitary way.

By contrast, the hippies were "in your face."  They wore bright clothes and had a very clear public presence.  When they withdrew from society, they did it in communes and groups.  Unlike the beats, they were very explicitly political.  They felt that they could change the world through their actions in a way that the beats did not."

      Having just missed the years of sex and drugs and rock n roll, the protest years, I have often wondered if I would have gotten swept away with it all. I certainly liked to party and I loved the art scene! But then, I was brought up by a couple of pretty remarkable fun-loving parents who instilled in us early on a sense of responsibility and caring, so chances are I would not have run away to a commune or any thing too radical!!!

   

Memory Monday

     After a bittersweet year at Illinois College, I did some investigating and discovered that with my transfer grades from IC combined with the few decent grades gained at Mizzou and great diligence on my part I could graduate from University of Missouri nearly on schedule. That would mean summer school in which I did enroll that year.

     Ah, summer school! A totally different life style! By now I had almost all of those pesky science and math classes out of the way and could concentrate on those subjects I loved! English and Art! With a few boring Education classes thrown in. The profs were much more relaxed; I had all my classes in the morning which gave time for other activities in the afternoon!

     There was a small private lake just out of Columbia which had been turned into a wonderful summer retreat for college students in the summer. For a small fee you could spread out your towel, take advantage of the great outdoors and actually get some studying done while tanning! No alcohol was allowed but they did have a concession stand. I spent many hours out there.

       

      And this was the summer I met the love of my life! I didn't know it at the time; I was dating a friend of his and we all ran around together. One of my good friends, who was also in summer school  living off campus, had a big crush on him so every night, after I got back to the dorm, I would have to give Joanie a call to report on what "DickieDo" (that was the nickname his buddies gave him!) was up to!

      I continued to have a wonderful time in college.....parties, drive in theater, the lake, the favorite pubs...but I had learned my lesson! I did study and did make really good grades for a change for which my parents were very proud!

Memory Monday #91

       I almost forgot about Memory Monday! I've been busy doing other stuff... Some art things, doctors appointments, the ongoing eating out, etc. So here I am still at Illinois College, now in my second semester. Still being a bit of a brat! My classes are all very good. They are much smaller then the big University; therefore, one feels a part of it all and I had very good instructors. I'm actually making pretty good grades...A's and B's! Could it be that I am  growing up little bit?

     I still like to have a good time. But I have discovered that one can have a good time and still be responsible for classes. For one thing being in a small college is like living in a small town, everyone knows your business! So one is compelled to do well because somebody is going to know otherwise if you're just screwing around! I was also feeling a sense of guilt towards my parents for having messed up so badly for two years. Whoa! another sign of growing up!

     In my dorm which I described earlier, we had a house mother. We had hours meaning that we had to be in at a certain time. And these were closely adhered to, overseen by said house mother. She was a rather elegant lady, at least in her own mind. Her favorite girls were the darlings who dressed properly, who spoke properly, and were very endearing to her. I, on the other hand, was not one of her favorites. I was a very respectful person as that is how I was taught. But I was not a kiss up... Never was, never will be!

     As colleges did and still do, there were often many interesting concerts and lectures. This one weekend, there was a concert by a popular music group,The Brothers Four.

.... A fairly well-known group in the 60s. Several of my friends and I went to the concert then afterwords, we all went to the local pub. To our great surprise and pleasure the Brothers Four also showed up there! We were having a great time drinking and flirting with these famous guys! Suddenly one of our bunch realized it was almost time to be back at the dorm. We did not have cars, so we ran the several blocks from the pub back to campus. We got there just minutes late, laughing and still on a energetic high from having such a good time! Of course, our house mother who met us at the door, did not think the situation nearly as hilarious.

     The next day she called me into her office and proceeded to really chew me out! Even to this day 50+ years later, I can still hear her words ringing in my ears. She told me that I was the bad apple in the barrel, that I was corrupting all of the sweet little girls, and she hoped that after she spoke to the dean of women I would be expelled from the school. I met  later with the dean of women, and she was very understanding of my situation. She saw in me a much better person than the house mother did. Of course, I had been wrong in coming in late as had the others, but it was not the crime of the century as the house mother seemed to think! So I, and the others who were late, did have to serve time by losing some privileges. If I remember right, it was something like not being able to leave our rooms for a few nights...like being grounded by one's parents!

     I survived my year at Illinois College. I made good grades; I learned a lot; I made many good friends;

And I did some research and discovered that I could return to the University of Missouri having redeemed myself grade wise.