Art Archives - Be Kind, Thrift and Rewind

I have always found Tasha Tudor and her work to be a great inspiration. She was an extremely talented illustrator, a writer, and loved working with her hands. She enjoyed gardening, growing flax, spinning, weaving, basket making, sewing; she had numerous creative outlets that she excelled at. Tasha Tudor was born in 1915 in Boston, Massachusetts. She was the daughter or a naval architect and a portrait painter. She took to gardening at a very young age and enjoyed the simpler things in life like milking her cow. She didn’t show much interest in becoming “a debutante and coming out into Boston society.” “I was teased in school because I was so connected with the past, wore old-fashioned dresses, and wouldn’t cut my hair. ” (1)

In 1938 Tudor married and started a family. She published and illustrated her first book, Pumpkin Moonshine in 1938 also. She and her husband, along with two children lived in Webster, New Hampshire, where the couple had bought an old farm. In 1942 Tudor began designing greeting cards for Herbert Duller, Inc. By 1943 a watercolor she had done was on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1944 she illustrated and released a book called Mother Goose. The success of this book allowed her and her husband to buy a farm that had an old homestead upon its grounds, from 1789. Tasha had two more children after moving there, in total two boys and two girls.

Tudor’s illustrations often were filled with pictures from her life; her own children, flowers and plants that she lovingly grew and her pets. She really enjoyed Christmas and Valentine’s Day and passed this enthusiasm on to her children. She also loved to put on marionette shows while her children were young. This brought in extra spending money and was fun for the entire family.

Her son, Thomas, went abroad for school and when he returned he brought home a corgi dog which became very attached to Tasha. She went on to adopt up to twelve corgis dogs and even created a story called “Corgiville Fair”, which was published and a huge success in 1971. By 1972 she was eager to move to Vermont and purchase a smaller home than the larger home she had raised her children in. Her marriage had ended in 1961 and a second brief marriage was also behind her. She bought some land in southeastern Vermont that had secluded acreage and some forested areas. Her son Seth built her a home based on another home she liked, owned by friends, that was a Cape Cod style farmhouse from 1750. He also built her a barn for her many animals and a staging area for marionette shows. She cut back on her illustration work the year she moved, but later on, she continued to work until her early eighties. Tasha illustrated nearly a hundred books in her lifetime.

Tasha continued her love for gardening in her Vermont home. The pictures of her home show a landscape filled with daffodils, lettuce poppies, dame’s rockets, roses, and many other flowers. Her home was filled with antiques and precious pieces passed down through her family for many years. In Vermont, she raised goats instead of cows and enjoyed having her grandchildren come to visit and dress up in her vintage clothing. She died in 2008 in Marlboro, Vermont. Her daughters, Bethany Tudor, and Efner Holmes, also became successful illustrators and writers.

The last twenty years of her life she became well known worldwide and her books were translated into many languages. There are numerous books written about her life and work. If you would like to find out more I recommend viewing the Tudor family website. I have the books Tasha Tudor’s Heirloom Crafts and The Private World of Tasha Tudor. I really enjoy sitting and reading these books, as well as the inspiration I derive from seeing all the beautiful pictures. There is a museum in Brattleboro, Vermont that is dedicated to her life’s work and they have various events and show the PBS documentaries about Tasha’s life.

“My antique clothing collection is a great folly of mine. The majority are from the 1830’s, but I have examples from every style and decade from 1770 to 1870. It is very common for a friend who tries on one of my old dresses to feel transported to another time. It gives a different perspective on life.” (2)

tasha tudor

(1) pg. 20 The Private World of Tasha Tudor

(2) pg.66 The Private World of Tasha Tudor

All photos from Flickr, except the last three which were taken from my book. The photographer is Richard brown for those photos. All written material by Marilyn Lavender. © Marilyn Lavender, 2016. “All rights reserved.”

Upcycling Links for September, DIY and Shopping from Etsy

September 25, 2016

09/252016

This month’s upcycling links feature a variety of houseware items and three clothing upcycles. I like the shadow box upcycle for the reason that it reminds me of my wooden typography drawer which I have had for many years. It used to belong to a friend of mine who was the President of the Typographical Union at the New York Times years ago. In lieu of having a wooden typographical box this would be a great way to create a similar type of wall unit that can hold small knick-knacks and collectibles. Particularly helpful is that you could decide how high you want your shelves to be, for instance in the photo of the one holding various CD’s.

The gage dress upcycle I found posted at the Felted Fox blog. Apparently Nicole Prestholdt isn’t currently blogging but she had some great ideas in her previous posts. My favorites so far are the gage dress upcycle and her wrap crop top made from a men’s shirt. Both of them could be worn in fall with a sweater. If you are searching for a new fall/winter clothing item to upcycle you might want to consider her African Print Sweatshirt DIY, which offers a stylish, unique look, and you get to choose if you want very colorful African fabric or earth tones. She posted it as a spring item but I say carry the bright colors into fall and enjoy! Either way a sweatshirt will keep you warm on a chilly day.

If you are looking to buy upcycled clothing instead of making your own, you might want to check out the Etsy shop GarageCoutureClothes. Erin, the designer, made this steampunk harness and vest piece from recycled ties.

The piano bookshelf is a beautiful piece of furniture. It is a great idea if you have an old piano around and would like to recycle it. The mahogany finish is stunning. The bookshelf looks as if it has another long life span ahead of it. That is the whole idea behind upcycling, especially if the item is solid such as furniture.

Steampunk harness by Erin of GarageCoutureClothes

http://www.recyclart.org/2013/01/piano-bookshelf-2/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Recyclart+(Recyclart)

The upcycled drawers turned into side tables are another good idea. Simple and no advanced carpentry skills needed. A bit of imagination and paint can turn old drawers into a handy side table, or as the linked post shows, you could stack the drawers to create a bookcase. I have a couple of stacks of old wooden wine boxes used that way in my apartment.

The wind chimes made from old bottle caps are just so cheerful and unique looking. I particularly like the ones made with multi-colored caps. They didn’t give DIY instructions but it seems rather obvious how to put them together.

Upcycled drawers from Hometalk

I found some robot sculptures made by assemblage artist Jen Hardwick. Her Etsy shop has a line of robots that can be used as Christmas ornaments, as well as other crafts, such as found object jewelry and art work. The photos I attached link to her shop and are among the robots that I like so much. They sure are adorably cute and cheerful.

Well I hope you enjoyed this post about upcycling links. I am hoping to make this a monthly post going forward. There are a lot of great upcycling ideas out there and many artists and crafts people making them!

Upcycled wind chimes from Astute Homestead

bottle-cap-wind-chime-2nd

r-bot-wood-blocks-salvaged-metal-found-obkects

Robot ornaments by Jen Hardwick

Robot hanging decor by Jen Hardwick

A Few Pictures of Old City Philadelphia and Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens

September 10, 2016

09/102016

I have been to Philadelphia several times the last few months and each time I thoroughly enjoyed its lovely old architecture. The historical buildings such as City Hall, the Philadelphia Contributionship and the Union League of Philadelphia are all beautiful, as well as the old houses in Old City Philadelphia.

I don’t know much about these buildings – so far my visits have been focused on just exploring and shopping at vintage shops – but I wanted to share some of the pictures with you.

Philadelphia’s City Hall is one of the largest municipal buildings “in the United States and one of the largest in the world.” (1) It has 700 rooms and was designed by the architect John McArthur, Jr. It was built between 1871 and 1901 with a construction cost of $24 million. It is a truly beautiful building, built in the Second Empire Style. I have walked by and through the exterior a few times and even that is an awesome experience to see how lovely it is. One particularly hot, humid day mothers had brought their children and small toddlers out so that they could run back and forth in joy where the spurting shoots of water spout out. The children were giggling and thoroughly amused. Musicians were playing under the archway where you walk from one side of the building through to the other.

During the 1950’s, a few of the major city officials briefly thought about tearing down City Hall and replacing it. They discovered through estimates that to demolish the structure would bankrupt the city due to the extensive masonry construction involved in building it. I, for one, am very glad they kept it. In 1976 City Hall was named a National Historic Landmark.

The Philadelphia Contributionship was built in 1835-36 for the purpose of housing a fire-insurance company for homes. It is the oldest property-insurance company in the United States. It was built in the Greek Revival style.

Along the side streets and alley walkways you often see small signs stating that some houses were built around 1794. One thing I did not see such an abundance of in the Old City area was flowers along the streets and fronts of houses. The architecture is beautiful though and it is great to see such old history, along with simple elegant structures alive and well today.

That is all in this post about the architecture. If I get a chance to go again and have a trip where that is my main focus then I perhaps can do another post with more history about more of the various structures in Old City Philadelphia.

On South Street, the creative and artistic area of town, there is a large piece of “public artwork” by Isaiah Zagar. It is now called the Philadelphia Magic Gardens . It is a very large mosaic piece made from all kinds of recycled materials. Zagar began this piece in 1994, near his studio at 1020 South Street. He had been busy in the entire area since the late 60’s with various projects and adding his mosaics to walls on either private or public land. The area was in need of renovations and had many abandoned lots. “The Zagars (Isaiah and Julia, his wife), along with other locals revitalized the South Street area into an ‘artistic haven.’” (2) In 2002 the owner of the vacant lots Isaiah had transformed wanted to sell the land his artwork was installed upon. The community assisted Zagar in a legal battle, which they won in 2004. Once they were able to keep the land, Isaiah’s work was named Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, and the space became a nonprofit with its aim to preserve this particular site as well as the rest of the South Street neighborhoods’ mosaics that Isaiah had worked on. Once this was under way, Zagar continued his work by “excavating tunnels and grottos” and proceeding to add his mosaics all around the structure.

In 2008 the Philadelphia Magic Gardens opened to the public and began to host various activities and tours. Concerts, exhibitions and private rentals for special occasions are now available. Zagar has mural workshops available and many other creative programs. He has created over 200 murals in either Philadelphia or other places in the world. I have attached a link to a youtube video if you would like to find out more about his work.

My daughter was the one who first told me about the South Street area. The first couple of times I went to Philadelphia I hadn’t headed over behind the old historical structures. When I ventured there I absolutely loved the area. It reminds me of the way the West Village was before 9/11 and before so many corporations leased the retail properties in the area. There are corporate stores on South Street, yet also a large amount of small privately run businesses. The artistic vein of creativity is very much alive in this area of Philadelphia. I am looking forward to going back there this fall at some point once my foot heals from my recent surgery.

I hope you are enjoying the last days of summer. I will have another upcycled links post ready for you very soon!

contribution building

Old houses built about 1796. Some have plaques stating when built.

Philadelphia photos

Philadelphia old city

The Union League of Philadelphia founded in 1862.

near Liberty Bell

old historical building in philly

Philadelphia

City Hall

Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens

magic-gardens-south-street

Magic Gardens Philly

Magic Garden Philadelphia

(1) ” Philadelphia City hall, Philadelphia”2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
(2) (https://www.phillymagicgardens.org/

My Daughter’s Apartment Is So Vintage Punk

January 9, 2016

01/092016

My daughter Emily’s apartment is so vintage punk. It is cozy, comfy and slightly crooked due to the floors being slanted. It looks so quintessentially her. She has a mannequin she refers to as “Lisa” who stands naked at the rear of her vintage bathtub. A cut-out of a red fox sits between the wall and the tub. Not many people I know have such an interesting bathroom. I mean Lisa and her red fox are quite striking. The walls in the bathroom have more vintage punk art on them. Emily has an assortment of collages she has made and her paint palette also hangs up with its dried paints displayed.

Emily’s assortments of cameras are sitting on top of a vintage old metal rack organizer. A “Ladies” sign is perched on top of a black case. Her little teddy bear “Teddy” sits to the side of the rack with his friend “Wolf”, both from her childhood.

My daughter told me with a look of sneaky delightful joy that she enjoys screwing screws into the wall. She is the daughter of a carpenter so that explains that. On these screws she has perched several drawers which hold a variety of items she likes to display, such as her Mary candle and a can of Heinz beans. Where we lived when Emily was a baby was a large Hispanic neighborhood and those candles were very popular, as were any items displaying pictures of Mary. Off to one corner she has a small altar area with several Mary items displayed. Another drawer holds an old typewriter. Emily is a big fan of typewriters. She values the occasion to sit and type a poem sometimes.

It snowed on Christmas Day, adding to the charm of the apartment, with its large windows creating a view of the snow flickering slowly down to the ground. Emily has a small collection of cactuses she is growing and a tiny fern in her kitchen; they are all growing out of old Café Bustelo cans.

She also has a drawer that she collaged in the inside sitting on the floor near her dining table. This also says “Coffee” since coffee is a big part of Emily’s life. She has been a barista most of the last eleven years.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit in Denver and Boulder, Colorado. I also got a big kick out of she’s Emily’s first apartment that she has had on her own. The building is old and was damaged in a fire. Her landlord bought it for way below the going rate, fixed up the part that was destroyed and is making a nice profit on the place. She is lucky that she lives so close to her work place and a bus ride away from school.

Well I hope you all are enjoying the beginning of the New Year! I am hopeful this year will bring some steady, long-term employment for me and other good things.

Lisa punk decor- steampunk vintage punk