Southern Progress

Working my way South for family visits and research. Here are some highlights of the trip.

First stop, Arlington National Cemetery. A view of Arlington House from the grave of John and Jacqueline Kennedy. Robert E. Lee married the step-great-granddaughter of George Washington in this house and made this his primary home until the Civil War. The Union army quickly occupied the site overlooking Washington, D.C., and as the war ground on and the death toll rose, turned it into a shrine to those who have given their lives to our nation. A good place to stop at on the approach to the Fourth of July.

The changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was a sweltering day, but the guard did not show it.

A little further south, a stop at Manassas Battlefield. The battle of First Manassas, the first major engagement of the Civil War, took place on July 21, 1861. The beautiful countryside belies the terrible carnage that was a harbinger of the battles to come over four grueling years.

One of the earliest memorials to a Civil War battle, this was dedicated in June of 1865.

General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson earned his sobriquet at Bull Run. There is a life-size equestrian statue of him in the park, one of many, many memorials to "Stonewall" in Virginia.

Further south, Clovis and I stopped in Lexington, Virginia, where both Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute are located. "Stonewall" Jackson taught at VMI and so there are many more monuments to him there. Washington and Lee is the burial place of General Robert E. Lee and his family as well. Lee was president of Washington and Lee after the war and died there in 1870. Almost immediately, planning began for an elaborate memorial, further embellished over the years. The United Daughters of the Confederacy were instrumental in many Confederate memorials throughout the South.

Lee's famed horse Traveler is also buried nearby.

 Lexington is also the burial place of Southern painter William D. Washington, painter of an iconic Confederate painting, The Burial of Latane.

The painting, completed in 1864, memorialized the death of a cavalry officer killed during one of General J.E.B. Stuart's famous exploits. A poem inspired the sentimental painting, which was reproduced as an engraving and widely owned in the South after the war.

Enough with the Civil War minutiae, how about a balloon ride from a parking lot?

Or this interesting find in a Lexington antique shop. A Lyle Gun for $1,875.  The U.S. Life Saving Service (from 1878 to 1914, predecessor to the Coast Guard) used this gun to launch the rope used in the "breeches-buoy" method of life saving. When a ship was wrecked close enough to shore, a line would be shot from this small cannon to the ship, where it would be secured to a mast and raised on a large crutch above the surf. Then a pulley system would be put to work to bring survivors of the wreck safely to shore one at a time in a pair of canvas pants attached to a life preserver. You never know what you'll find.

Spring Things

Winter has finally let go and it seems like the flowers are exploding everywhere all at once.  A few pics of the effusions of spring.

  

 

 

And spring is also time to put some new color into some old Clovis cards. A couple variations in the print shop! I like the new coin colors particularly. An evolution.

And young Clovis has finally given up his winter sweaters. Here he is enjoying the sun and the start of kickball season in the park!

Devotional Images

It has been a busy spring! Who am I kidding? Winter seems reluctant to let go. But I have spent some time in the print shop making letter paper inspired by young Clovis. I can't resist, and it helps shake off the winter blahs and blues.

I have been working on silhouettes of Clovis and their associated moods. I mixed the colors myself, trying to match them with the mood. Here is the work in progress. all screen-printed onto 118lb. cream paper. First the color through the stencil.

Then an acrylic gloss to give the image a little shine.

A "selfie", apparently a 21st century requisite, the printer at work.

Out of the oven and onto the cooling rack. Green with anticipation.

 Red for attention.

Blue for concern.

The full set, with purple for repose.

And the muse himself, reluctant to emerge from the warmth of the blankets.

And desperately following the sun as spring progresses.

Not interested in the camera.

Golden, sun-kissed, sleeping lamb.

Winter Hijinks

The holidays were great and Clovis and I have been running ever since. I got to spend a few days in beautiful Provincetown, which had a nice dusting of snow. Here are some pics from Marconi Beach in Wellfleet.

Then it was off to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, for the Wilkes University Creative Writing MA/MFA residency. I graduated from this program and am so grateful to remain a part of this wonderful community as a faculty member. My first two MA students graduated!

Max and Andrea both wrote beautiful novels and I look forward to watching (and helping) them grow and write in the future!

My friend Laurie Loewenstein, also a graduate of the program, is having her first novel published by Kaylie Jones Books, an imprint of Akashic Books!  The novel is called Unmentionables and is absolutely beautiful. You can't put it down. It is set in small-town Illinois around World War I and centers on the relationship between a doubting newspaper editor and an unequivocal feminist speaker on the Chautauqua Circuit and deals with identity, certainty, love, regret and redemption. Read it! Here she is at a signing. :)

The program has turned more than one chicken into an eagle!

And then there was Clovis. He got a new scarf for Christmas.

He is the king of lazy mornings (after a late night with his "toys").

A nice elevator selfie that Clovis took of us!

Here he is in his new red and white checked sweater. I love it. He was worn out by the residency, too.

Playing hide and seek.

The next project...

Knit Three

Another great event--this time in Duxbury at the Free Library in partnership with Westwinds Bookshop.  Carol of the library and Brooke of Westwinds are both amazing. Such great readers and supporters of books--and big lovers of Clovis!  They each got sets of the new Clovis cards I printed up--more on that later.

There was a great turnout--and this community clearly loves knitting. They yarn-bombed the trees out front. And there was more yarn-bombing inside. If you live in the area, you should definitely stop by to check it out.

The bike rack was turned into a dragon--here I am with the tireless Ann Hood and wonderful Anne D. LeClaire.

Anne's essay in Knitting Yarns is so beautiful and moving. It brings people to tears. We also read with Marianne Leone--a hilarious and touching essay. The Philadelphia Inquirer in a great review said she wrote one of the best essays in the book! You may know her from The Sopranos, and she brings all that Italian pride into her writing and reading. She becomes la strega before your eyes! It was a wonderful event and I can't wait to get back to Duxbury for more fun.

In the meantime, I was back in the printshop last week and with help from my artist-mentor Caitlin printed some new Clovis cards!

Here is Caitlin hard at work at the AS220 print shop.

An artist at work.

Caitlin made these awesome and funny "Merciless Fatty" cat prints. 

Cristin did this beautiful illustration and printed it up in two colors. Beautiful.