A 1950’s education

I was born on July 24, 1950. These are things I learned about being a female, growing up in Poughkeepsie, NY.  They are listed, more or less, in chronological order.

• Girls are just as smart as boys.

• Girls can do anything that boys can do.

• When I sit in a chair, keep my knees together.

• Being voted Miss Rheingold is a big deal.

• Being crowned Miss America is a big deal.

• I can be the first woman president.

• A girl’s bicycle doesn’t have a bar across the top, so she can get on and off in a ladylike manner.

• Having long eyelashes is desirable.

• Marilyn Monroe wasn’t even wearing a bra under that dress!

• Laugh at a boy’s jokes, even if you have to pretend they’re funny.

• Let the boy win the game.

• Big breasts are best.

• Looking sexy is important.

• Boys are "just using you."

• The only thing a boy cares about is what’s between your legs.

• Don’t cry over a boy. There’s always another trolley coming down the line.

• Don’t have sex. Girls who have sex are whores.

• Don’t get pregnant! Girls who get pregnant are real sluts.

• Don’t cry over a man. There are plenty of fish in the sea.

• It’s okay to have sex! Everybody is having sex!

• You don’t have to wear a bra under that dress.

• You don’t have to wear a dress.

• Women are just as smart as men.

• Women can do anything that men can do.

• Aim for something better than being president.

• Find a man you don’t have to pretend with.

• That man - cherish him, because there actually aren’t many trolleys anymore.

- Morna Crites-Moore :: March 2020

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HERE I AM, HAVING FOUND “THAT MAN,” IN 1980.

I wrote this in March of 2020 - right at the beginning of the lockdown, when we laughed and bumped elbows instead of shaking hands, and even the pessimists among us didn’t realize how very long the misery was going to last.

I debated and debated about whether I should publish it here. Maybe it’s too personal, or too weird, or too something negative that I’ll be embarrassed by after it’s seen by “everybody.” But here I am, around about midnight, having eaten too much chocolate (again), and feeling brave. I hope you like it. I hope you’ll make a comment and let me know how you’re doing as we barrel toward A Pandemic Thanksgiving, version 2.0.

Give me blue

If you love indigo, then you will likely be bowled over by this book which Adeline gave me for Christmas. Titled JAPAN BLUE, it contains page after beautiful page of Shihoko Fukumoto's dyeing works from 1977 to 2015. The book is beautifully presented, with text in both English and Japanese. indigo threads, dyed by Fukumoto, grace the binding.

The book has joined my other “blue” books and it’s one I’ve enjoyed spending time with. It would be lovely to sit and actually read all of my art books. It seems I only browse them, admiring the photos, gleaning a bit of information here and there, but that’s all. I have a feeling I’m not the only one who does this.

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Perhaps less time spent online would leave more time to sit with my books and a nice cup of tea; or, these hot summer days, a tall glass of iced tea. It’s a goal worthy of aspiration, although the days fly by with barely any time for such luxuries.

I wonder, when did I start thinking of reading a book as a luxury? That’s just not right! Below are garments which have been deconstructed and dipped into the indigo vat. I love the way they “feel.”

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I cannot fathom how Fukumoto managed to create this series of hangings. The precision involved, the absolute mastery of technique … boggles the mind.

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Wouldn’t I just love to have this scattering of magical squares hanging on a wall in my home. There is so much movement, and lest you assume these wonderful circles of light are merely made by happy chance, I encourage you to take some time to study this piece … quite a bit of control went into creating such a seemingly spontaneous result.

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Shibori on the drying rack at Industrial City

At the very least, I’d like to spend some time at ABC Carpet’s IC location, and I definitely want to visit th Hygge Hause.

Recently I participated in a shibori workshop offered by Cooper-Hewitt and located in Brooklyn’s Industry City. What a grand day it was! The shibori workshop was fun, but much less sophisticated than what I was expecting. I had been hoping to learn some in-depth information and or techniques, but it was more like a fun project for an afternoon at day camp. Still, no complaints, because everybody had a good time and we all went home with our projects in hand. Plus, seeing Industry City was a real eye opener. I think I’d like to go back and explore.

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Photo: Meredith Craig de Pietro

That same day, my friend and I walked for a bit on The High Line and then went inside the Whitney to see the Biennial. I was particularly taken with the sculptural work by Robert Bittenbinder. We also walked through much of the permanent collection, which was heavenly.

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Photo: R. A. Ouimette

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Detail of a piece by Robert Bittenbender

It was a good day, a lovely day, with an old friend … someone I’ve known since childhood. It’s a friendship I treasure. Partly because he is such a good and true friend, and partly because he knows about all my bumps and bruises, where I come from, who I’ve been, what I’ve done. There is no imaginable need for artifice … in fact, any such attempt would be laughable. And that, my friends … to feel that comfortable and unfettered with another person … that is wonderfully liberating.

Art Appreciation at the Whitney

It seems fitting, now, to re-post this poem I wrote several years ago …

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Some favorite things

linen, silk, wool ...

A relatively new linen jacket from Eileen Fisher, a treat to myself as I readied for treatment; a silk blouse, also from Eileen Fisher, purchased more than twenty years ago and still serving me well; and a drop dead gorgeous wool & silk scarf, hand woven by Marjorie Meyers Haber of mmhandwovens on Etsy, a recent Christmas gift from my daughter, Adeline.

and messiness ...

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My studio is still terribly messy and therefore unusable, so the dining room sometimes does double duty. I had to clean up for Thanksgiving so now I am loath to get it all cluttered again. I prefer to sit at the table with a cup of tea and enjoy the view. 

Maybe I could learn to create things without making a mess ... as did Mary Ellen Best, if we believe her self-portrait, at right, is an accurate representation. 

Or I could take comfort in the words of Dasha Zhukova (Russian art collector and founder of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art and Garage Magazine) who famously said "I like messy. What fun is tidy?"

I think I like messy, too, even though it can get out of hand. I like it the way I like insomnia. The hours between midnight and 4 AM are my favorites, even though it may be better for my health to be asleep during that time.

And, anyway, messiness goes hand-in-hand with genius.

* * * I'm a genius! * * * 

Jean-Michel Basquiat, one of the most genius artists ever, shared this memory: "I was a really lousy artist as a kid. Too abstract expressionist; or I'd draw a big ram's head, really messy. I'd never win painting contests. I remember losing to a guy who did a perfect Spiderman." 

If you want to know about Basquiat, then this is the movie to watch:

My studio - astonishingly out of control.

She sells seashells

Doug and I went to the opening reception of Like a Flower: The Art of Missy Stevens at the Brookfield Craft Center here in Connecticut. What a wonderful event! I have admired Missy's work for many years, after having seen examples of her thread paintings which are stunning and soulful. in fact, we had just watched a film on CPTV, Missy Stevens, The Spirit and Technique of Painting With Thread and so we were revved up and eager to see Missy's works in person. The film, by the way, is absolutely lovely (as is Missy) and it is being shown this evening at The Brookfield Craft Center (which also offers many classes), with Missy in attendance to answer questions and talk about her work. If you go for the film you'll get to see the show as well, as it will be there through July 29. 

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  MISSY STEVENS || MOON CROWN || 2017 (DETAIL) 

While we had expected to see many beautiful examples of Missy's fiber art, and we were not disappointed, we were delightfully surprised to also find examples of a new direction in the form of two crowns, made mostly from seashells. These crowns took my breath away. I was smitten!

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  MISSY STEVENS || SUN CROWN || 2017 (DETAIL) 

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  MISSY STEVENS || MOON CROWN || 2017

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  MISSY STEVENS || SUN CROWN || 2017

Missy, in addition to being an awesome artist, is also a very special friend. It was Missy who guided me on my first shamanistic journey which I wrote about last October. 

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  MISSY STEVENS ANSWERS QUESTIONS AT THE OPENING RECEPTION.

See more of Missy’s artwork at her website.

Artists & Makers

One of the places I like to visit for viewing art online is Artists & Makers Studios. I'm not sure, but I may have totally neglected to tell you that I was invited to join their Artists Beyond Our Doors section, which means there is a page at the website for me. I am flattered to be included in this group of wonderful artists and makers. Here is a little peek at my page (you can "click" on it, to see the full page):

I'm pretty sure you (or, at least most of you) will agree: the most amazing artist and maker of all is Mother Nature. Here is our Redbud Tree, loaded with blossoms which won't be around for long - but they sure are glorious while they last. Just stunning. I'm so glad Adeline and Bill coaxed me out of the house, to enjoy the beauty which is around, and to benefit from the healing that comes with being close with nature.

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Another kind of art which I really, really love, is music. A friend telephoned about a year ago and urged me to listen to this amazing cover of Simon & Garfunkel's The Sound of Silence. Mind you, I had never heard of David Draiman (the singer), or of Disturbed (his heavy metal band); nor have I ever warmed up to Conan (the man and his show where this performance gained so many fans as well as garnering Disturbed a Grammy nomination); and I was never a fan of Simon and Garfunkel although, having been born in 1950, I was at a proper age to be a fan when they were so wildly popular in the late sixties.

I trusted my friend's advice so I went online and partook of the now famous performance by the man with all that metal hanging off of his face. And, Wow. Really, Wow! I was knocked out. I kept playing it, over and over and over. I fell in fan-love with David Draiman, although I don't think Heavy Metal will ever cause my heart to skip a beat. And the lyrics! Oh my, I never paid attention to the lyrics until hearing this rendition. They are beautiful and sad, provoking the kinds of thoughts which make my heart ache. The performance is also not just about the music; it is visually thrilling as well. I could go on and on about this but I'll simply offer it here, instead, with the hope that some of you will take the time to watch and listen to the entire performance because it needs and deserves that for it to be fully appreciated. 

If you would leave me your thoughts about this performance, I'd love it.

And a little cancer anecdote:

I was writing to someone recently about how cancer made me happy, something I hope to properly describe and share with you in the not too distant future. Auto-correct changed happy to happen, and I thought, Yes! That too!

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Buh-Bye