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It Is Wartime Again….And Again…..And…

Posted on by Sandy Webster

I am going to take this one small break from my usual blog entries of the things happening in my very small and somewhat protected life. It is a need to address another war.

I wish I could have found an image of the whole small quilt about the atrocities in Chechnya 1999. It is in the upper left and was a series of small engravings done on fabric of a woman survivor of this horrific war perpetrated by Russia. We see today how brutal they can be in war. This piece had nine patches where we see the mother holding the hand of a younger son as they wave goodbye to an older one going to fight against the Russian aggression. She goes to her church to pray for her son in another. She helps to feed those women hiding in the sewers of Grozny in another. She asks a Russian general if she can claim the body of her son left on the battle field. She buries her son. The last image is of her in a chair looking at a family album. It is all she has left of her son.

I don’t know if I put this small quilt pieced together with shattered brick images between engravings somewhere special or if it was buried with the other works of war. If the latter it is in good company. The entire series of coats made about the war in Bosnia has been laid to rest. Here are the letters I wrote during those four years that preceded the Chechen conflict….starting with my letter to Tom Squitieri, a journalist for the newspaper, USA Today. I had written to him about a young woman who he interviewed about the assaults on her by Serbs.

Here is his response to that letter.

 

 

One to President Clinton.

His response.

And another to the aggressors.

And those restoring order to their war torn country.

I recall following any news from the former Yugoslavia on those caught, tried at the Hague and finally dying. I remember telling a friend years ago that I would rather not meet his Serbian visitor and to let me know when he was gone. And even this past month feeling glad that Australia sent the Serbian tennis champion home before competing. Such arrogance reminded me of this body of work done years ago while watching the war unfold day in and day out.

And now we see it all over again.

I made a quilt about war and the need to separate people and construct boundaries not to be crossed. The Peace Dove comes in from the upper left with all good intentions of this time, this time it will work. Only to be shot down again and again.  The remains of these doves are placed in specimen drawers with reminder tags of why we are incompatible with each other.

And now we watch from our safe places as children are trying desperately to flee Ukraine. Much like the first busload out of Sarajevo I put on a gourd that felt so good in the hands as I cradled and glued their images down.

All of this bundled and buried with other work that mattered to me to make as an artist.

I no longer have the energy to create the depth of feeling I have for the lives needlessly lost to war. And I can only use this image for Ukraine…..

and hope that the Russian soldiers took the old woman’s advice and put sunflower seeds in their pockets so that Ukraine can rise again.

Til later….

 

 

All Before 1:00 P.M.

Posted on by Sandy Webster

This latest bird drawing of a Black Vulture seems a good image to start.

I think I should call him Ching for the man I just got off the phone with.

I needed new air and water filters for my refrigerator so decided to call the number I used before. Not working. Then the 800 number posted in my refrigerator. Also not working. So go online and then on hold. I expected that. And I also expected that when I did get what we all call now, “a real person”, that I may not understand him. Spot on. But we persevered through all of his finally locating the costs and scaring me half to death, All his continual humming and commentary to himself. All my asking if he could repeat…..Then finally after assuring him that the other phone numbers I used in the past and are now not working, had a person who told me the cost was considerably less. He stopped humming the three note marching tune. He stopped saying, “uh-uh” or “uh-oh”, not sure which, and we started again. The end result was that the would-be billing of over $300 was reduced by almost half. Now I will be getting three water filters and three air filters within the week. The funny part is that I almost felt sorry enough for him midway in our transaction to give in and just pay the price. I hope the next person he talks to is not impatient and rude. Of course his tune is stuck in my head now.

And big news! Yesterday I walked from in town to my new house site to take pictures of two by fours put in place. I left from the town square here.

And looking down in between the other houses you can see some building going on.

Then this.

Through the guest room to kitchen and dining a d door to porch.

And tree by porch area and living room windows.

Tomorrow I will check if all the trusses have been put up.

A couple days ago a walk at the dam. I only caught a couple of the flock of seagulls.

And the sun breaking through the fog.

And this morning back on the Riverwalk before meeting with my income tax person.

Sorry to have so many but the light was fabulous. A few more….

And these wonderful close ups.

And a bit of Spring showing.

My tax appointment went well. We loved seeing each other in person after two years. She’s very nice and says things like, “Bless his buttons.” She also thought I was pretty clever to know what papers to bring and what needed to stay home. No longer armloads of ziplock bags. An older gentleman popped in during our meeting to show off his wife’s new baby quilt. He was proud as punch with it and his wife. Nice. The whole day has me smiling so far.

I am still stitching on the owl print. Few more days and I can give it a press and decide if it is worth framing.

Yesterday on the recommendation of my Tuesday lunch partner, I stopped by the furniture store to look at a bed.  Just a full size….we used to call them double beds. I told the very perky sales woman that I wanted a firm mattress on a bed that raises up and down at the head as well as the foot of the bed. I stretched out on the perfect mattress and she raised and lowered me at each end, set the massage at various intensities, showed me how the remote could also light up under the bed so I would not be stumbling about in the dark on those occasional nightly trips to the bathroom. She asked if a full size was large enough. I said yes, it is just me and my two cats. And I don’t want to be wearing a dent in one side or the other. I was ready to be in the middle. I also assured her I was all through sleeping with old men, so a full size was just fine. I picked out the best sheets they had on offer and a sensible mattress pad. In six to eight weeks it will be delivered and I can pass on the king size bed I bought for Lee and I a couple of years ago. He became apprehensive about sleeping with a woman he could not remember and with a king size I could assure him I was “way over there”.

I returned home to find a message that my dear old pal from graduate school had called from Canada. I poured a scotch in the middle of the day and settled into a very long chat. Lee made special glasses for Jo and I to share a scotch in when she visited. I keep up the tradition whenever we talk. It was a good day all round.

That is it for now. I need to sketch those framing timbers in the building sketch book.

Til later….

Back On The Trail

Posted on by Sandy Webster

I have not walked on the trail I made for Lee in several months. It is sad to retrace our steps all by myself. But the other day it was so sunny and warm out there. So I went and took pictures along the way.

Lee’s rock piles are being slowly rearranged by the animals.

And the pile of stones that mark the burial site of so much artwork.

And further down the basket placed on the stump where we would stick found feathers as we walked.

A bit more worn down.

A bird should nest here when Spring arrives.

 And nearby a tree door.

Coming back around to the studio. A school of fish. I will hang one in my new house, maybe two.

A bird stories bird.

A walk along the river. Lots of rain makes for rising waters and puddles.

I worked on the Burke and Wills story and drawings. Trying to decide which ones work to illustrate their lives together.

Where they spent their first few nights together. And Wills realizing it is up to him to help Burke learn to fly.

And when Wills becomes too large to fit in their front door.

The story and practice drawings are a nice deviation from world events this week.

But I did have some company. Right here in the house.  In the morning an old weaving acquaintance came and packed up some yarns but declined three large quilting frames. And then the evening brought friends I always enjoy seeing.  They brought pizza and selected some wines from my collection. It was a wonderful five hours of good conversation, food and wine. We will do it again.  AND I have some leftover pizza for dinner tonight.

When I mentioned there was no room for my large living room rug in the new house, they offered to take it for their own place when the time comes. Good. More things sorted and disposed of.

The weather this week prevented any building but next week is clear and the builder has posted on his site that the framing will go up. I look forward to seeing that and getting a new drawing in my sketchbook.

It is dreary today. So I will pour a wine and think about that delicious pizza.

Til later….

 

 

Finding Myself

Posted on by Sandy Webster

I found this picture of myself from the late seventies while sorting out old tax papers. I was early thirties. Had two young children that were fun being a mother to. Housewife, homemaker and having such fun in the second house Lee and I built. I had started teaching basket classes at home that included lunch and homemade wine with all the materials necessary to complete a basket. These were such fun and innocent times. I loved it. Just look at that face!

So when I found this yesterday I decided to do a black and white of me now….forty-five years later….

When I was younger I decided a permanent was a good idea to get lots of curls. Now I just don’t bother to comb it and get curls. Back then everything seemed in front of me. Now most of it is behind. A long meandering path that brought me to this. There is very little that does not make me smile at the memory. It has been a lucky life. A very happy life for the most part and I doubt I’d change any of it.

Earlier this week I gave some basket materials to a friend in town teaching basketry. It was the last few bits I had saved for the “someday”. What “somedays” I have left most certainly will not be forcing stiff materials into compliance. Looking around I have more baskets than I could ever use. There is little else to give away to someone needing materials that used to seem important to hang onto. Letting go is such a good idea at my age.

Yesterday at the dam it was lovely. Seagulls on the shore…loons a little further out.

And details..

And this morning. Such a sky.

Tomorrow I will go back to the river and have a lavender latte before coming home to see how the cleaning lady is doing. She is so kind and is willing to travel the extra miles to my new place if I want her to. So nice to have her continue. Some times we just need to hold on to the familiar.

I did some bird drawings. A pileated woodpecker and flicker. Black feathered birds are hard to capture in graphite. And I could be getting bored with drawing them. Maybe.

Not many more pages to fill in the Bird Stories Book. I might try some more exotic ones to keep me interested. Perhaps a flamingo, a vulture, a penguin……

I am going to make a soup out of things in the refrigerator. Cooking for one is so very boring.

Til later….