REPAIR, RECYCLE, ALTER - YOUR WORN OUT CLOTHING

Most of us are pretty good about donating clothing we no longer wear to thrift shops or rummage sales. But what about those items that cannot be re-sold, items that are damaged, torn or stained. After all thrift shops look for clothing to re-sell that is in good shape, clean, and odourless. 

Clothing that cannot be re-sold may be sent to places that repurpose them into rags or upholstery stuffing. Some will turn cotton into papers. Some gets sent overseas to be re-sold, and a small percentage does go into landfill. 

Before you get rid of your blemished, no longer perfect, in need of repair clothes, have you explored options to revamp, repair or make alterations? To extend the life of that favourite sweater or t-shirt? Here are some ideas to get the creative juices flowing:

• If the hole isn't too big it can be darned. I know, I know, that was something our grandmothers or mothers did. But, really, the tidiest of repair jobs means the item is wearable once again. There are plenty of videos available online.  Of course it may take a bit of practice at first, but it's worth the effort to save a favourite piece of clothing. . And if the clothing has several colours or tones of one colour, the darning stitches just blend right in. Can you spot the repair in this picture? With practice, my repairs will improve even more. It's just below the arm hole so is barely noticeable. Of course, if you don't want to try this yourself, there are plenty of tailors available who will do the repair for a minimal cost. 

• If after mending it shows up too much, adding some embroidery around the hole could do the trick.
• Larger holes or stains can be covered with something another fabric, something that is complementary. Sashiko  or Boro - from Japan - and Kantha - from India - are all about patching up clothes and other textiles with scraps of cloth and with embroidery techniques specific to these regions. It also helps to strengthen fabrics, extending their lives even further. And no one says they patched parts have to match, they can be very colourful and funky, nothing like those old iron-on patches we used to see. This concept of repairing embraces the concept of "wabi sabi" which is about see the beauty in the imperfections and impermanence.
• Old wool sweaters and blankets can be felted in your washer & dryer and cut into place mats or pot holders. Here are a few I've been working on. 

• In days gone by, fabric scraps were recycled into beautiful quilts or cushion covers or other memory keepsakes - is there one hidden in your linen closet that has been passed down through the generations? I do sometimes see quilts made today from collections of old t-shirts or shirts which make wonderful keepsakes, especially when we have difficulty discarding a quantity of items that still have meaning.
  
  
  
  Or perhaps the scraps could be used to cover a mirror frame, like this one, or collaged onto a canvas, to make a piece of art.
  
  
  
  
  

• Consider tie dyeing, bleach dyeing, sun printing, eco dyeing, fabric painting and more. This shirt was solid black, and after bleaching, turned this marvelous shade of brown. I used elastics to create the dark rings during the bleaching process.

Of course us fibre artists now look at old and damaged clothing in a whole new light, wondering if it can be altered or incorporated in some way into one of our projects. We collect fabrics for repurposing. If you also collect such materials, what suggestions do you have for altering or recycling?

SOMETIMES MAKING ART IS AS EASY AS FALLING OFF A LOG, OTHER TIMES GETTING BACK UP IS THE CHALLENGE

I purchased some old piano player paper a few months ago, seeing the potential to use some in in my fibre art. I didn't know just how I would use it, but the opportunity was there and the price was right. I was certain an idea would materialize at some point. I'm not sure how old the roll I bought is, although a copyright date of 1919 was given for the music itself, a waltz - Hand in Hand Again - and there were another 20 or 25 rolls available to buy.

Then in July when I was out with my outdoor sketch & painting group, I happened across a fallen birch tree with some marvelous patterns in the bark. I took photos, knowing I could make a picture in fibre art from this.

The piano player paper then came to mind, with its perforations that look similar to the horizontal line marks in birch bark.

I did a bit of experimenting to add colour to the paper, settling on bleeding tissue paper to add shades of reds and charcoals (it's a specially made tissue that bleeds its colour when wet). The white tissue didn't work as well, so instead I added torns bits of gampi paper, a very fibrous, whitish, translucent Japanese paper. I then mounted the piano player onto heavy brown paper bag to add some stability as the paper is fragile. Plus the brown of the paper bag can be seen through the perforations, just like the darker lines on the bark.

The next step was to add lots of stitching, following all the various marks in the bark. And then it was done. And I'm very happy with what seemed like an effortless piece of fibre art.

During the process a friend mentioned that it also had the makings of a map. She's right, and so I decided I would use the piano player paper once again but make a map this time.

😒 😣
The piece is coming along, but the effect of the holes in the paper has been lost. Perhaps I chose the wrong map, perhaps it's an aerial view, even if fictitious, that I need. I think where I went wrong was not to do more testing and experimenting, like I had done with the earlier one, along with my choice of paint rather than bleeding tissue. I was over confident this piece too would be as easy as falling off a log. I may finish it, but I think it's time to start, or experiment on, to make a new one.

LEARNING TO SEW - ON A SEWING MACHINE!

Although I learned to use a sewing machine when I was young and took sewing in grade 7, the results and the projects I made didn't exactly encourage me to keep trying. 

And although I've had a love of fabrics and a desire to create using fabric and textiles, I rarely used a sewing machine again until a few years ago. Oh, from time to time I'd decide to try and make something simple, but it was usually an exercise in frustration. I didn't take the time to measure properly, the tension always seemed to be off, a needle would break. I had (sort of) learned to sew, but I never learned how to use the sewing machine properly. And so I would put the sewing machine away again until I drummed up the courage to try again. I knew I should be able to do this, I have cousins who are beautiful sewers.  But instead of taking the time to learn the machine, I let a combination of mindset, lack of patience and lack of confidence deter me.

Then about 3 years ago I signed up for a 2-day workshop through my fibre arts group, one where we were learning techniques using a sewing machine. What's that saying?
"when the student is ready....". It was time for me to learn.

Before the workshop, I did familiarize myself with my sewing machine so I could quickly change threads, bobbin, even change a needle if needed. And I had the previous year tried sewing on cardboard and doing other fibre techniques on my machine. The results were okay, but enough that I was interested in learning more.

Through this workshop I learned the limitations of my basic sewing machine, but also discovered it was a workhorse. And, more importantly, I gained confidence in my sewing ability, and learned that it didn't matter if I could sew a straight line, it was the techniques, and the possibilities arising from these techniques, that caught my attention, from couching on ribbons to layering materials, to encasing sequins, all using this machine that had eluded me for years. 

Since then I've used this workhorse more and more, but its limitations prevented me from more experimentation. It was time to trade it in the old model for a new one. I wanted one that would do free motion embroidery, would be able to handle thick materials including cardboard, have an extra wide extension table and, most important, have an embroidery foot, walking foot, cording foot and other useful feet to expand my world even further. 

After researching brands and models, and reading many reviews, I found the one I was looking for. And I realized just how much knowledge I had already gained about tension, needle sizes, thread types and so on.

So now I am playing with the new sewing machine, experimenting, without the frustration I used to get. Well, most of the time - I still need to remember to lower the embroidery foot before I lower the needle so it doesn't jam. And it seems each day I learn something new, like using the walking foot for a piece that is 10 layers of fabric. I can change the presser feet quickly, filling the bobbin is a piece of cake.  I'm playing with the pre-programmed stitches, experimenting with materials, and have actually started to make some of the projects that have been on my list, and which would have taken so much longer had I had to hand-stitch. Now I love hand-stitching, find it calming and meditative, and so will not give that up, but some projects will be faster and I can combine the two.

The piece below is on a blue velvet-like material, onto which I added 3 colours of foil. I then stitched a layer of tulle over top of Angelina fibres, and couched on a blue metallic ribbon. 

This sample is a material slashing technique, made with 5 layers of fabrics stitched together then cut, or slashed, through varying layers. 

This last piece is a variety of fabrics - upholstery, drapery, organza, and old lace, stitched together with free motion straight stitches.

ART AS A LEARNING TOOL - AT THE CREATIVE REACTIONS SHOW

My experience as an artist at shows is that some people will stop and look at your work and others will keep walking until they see something that catches their eye. And some will back away if you happen to catch their eye or say hello, wanting to be left alone, not feel pressured to make a purchase. 

But at the Creative Reactions show where I displayed my lichens fibre art piece this past weekend, every visitor stopped to look at every piece of art and spent time speaking with the artists and researchers too. The closest I had come to experiencing this is at fibre art shows where each work includes not only a list of materials and techniques, but also the artist's inspiration. Viewers do seem to take their time looking at each picture when some context is provided. 

The visitors at Creative Reactions wanted to learn the stories behind the art. And each picture had a story to tell. Each artist had been paired with a research scientist to learn about their area of expertise, then create a piece of art based on the researcher's work. The idea was to combine visual art with science, to use the art to create awareness, for education, as a method of learning.

Art often has a hidden depth which a viewer may miss at first glance, and without tips such a materials list or inspiration. We first observe the design, colours, and possibly materials and techniques. The next layer includes messages for the viewers. At the Creative Reactions show the messages were the story the researcher hoped would be told through the art. These messages may or may not be readily apparent until one studies the art more closely and depending on the artist's interpretation of the messages into symbols. Underlying the appearance and messages in the art is yet another layer - the emotional side, a reflection of the researcher's passion for a topic, the presentation of concepts for further consideration by the viewer. These are sometimes subtle yet reflected through the many creative decisions made for each piece of art by the artist. 

It's this kind of attention to detail and love of creating that enriches an art piece. The one I created, titled "Learning about Lichens" includes 5 Canadian lichens, and because Paul, the botanist I was paired with, specializes in Arctic plants, 3 of the 5 are Arctic lichens, 1 of which is very rare and therefore meaningful to the botanists. The remaining 2 lichens were no less important, one selected for its name, the other because of a cross-Canada project the lichenologists had embarked on. 

The background for each lichen was just as important as the lichen themselves to illustrate their habitats, with materials and techniques chosen carefully. And the backdrop for the entire piece was a map of Canada on which the lichens were arranged so the names of 2 of the territories were highly visible. The last feature to be added was labels for each of the 5 lichens, styled after the labels the botanists  use to identify the botanical specimens at the Museum of Nature's Herbarium, and on which I included why the lichen was chosen, and the materials and techniques used to create it.

I realized quickly at this show just how much the viewers wanted to learn and talk about each piece of art and its story. I found there was an equal amount of interest in both the research topic and the materials and techniques I used in my work. And I'm glad I had a chance to see and learn about the other works on cancer therapies, robotics, probiotics and stress hormones, fibre optics, evolution and biodiversity, and ADHD.

Did any of the works sell? I don't think so, although some were for sale. But that wasn't the point or the goal for any of the artists. This was a different kind of show, a chance to expand our horizons, to learn about the research areas, and to see potential for future. 

The team I worked with from the Museum of Nature - Paul Sokoloff, Cassandra Robillard, Chris Deduke, and Troy McMullin - shared their knowledge with me, ideas and support, through a tour and several follow-up emails. I felt like one of the team.

And now that my awareness and knowledge of lichens has grown, I find myself keeping an eye out for them, and even found a lichen in my yard. I had seen it in the past but hadn't given it a second thought until now. I'll need to create that one next in fibre art.

Will I apply for this show again in future? You bet. In the meantime one of the botanists has challenged me to create a fibre art from a specific moss.  Can't wait to get started on this one.

Links to previous posts on my journey preparing for the Creative Reactions show:

Art Meets Science: A collaboration between artists and researchers

Lichens: Fascinating, beautiful and part of an upcoming art show

LICHENS: FASCINATING, BEAUTIFUL & PART OF AN UPCOMING ART SHOW

In my previous post I wrote about the upcoming Creative Reactions art show, for which I have been creating fibre art lichens based on a collaboration with botanist Paul Sokoloff of the Museum of Nature and 3 experts Paul invited to provide input and feedback. The group of 4 botanists and lichenologists is pictured below. 

L-R Cassandra Robillard, Paul Sokoloff, Chris Deduke, and Troy McMullin

A goal for me was to create much texture and dimension in these fibre art lichens, bearing in mind it would be mounted on a canvas and displayed on an easel. During a recent Show & Tell with the Out of the Box Fibre Artists, I presented 4 of the 5 lichens I was working on - in various stages of completion - and was pleased at their interest, feedback and that they wanted to know when and where the show is. I've included some photos below but the photos don't do the lichens justice, so you'll have to come to the show on May 25 to see them in person, and to see the final art piece.

Elegant Sunburst

This lichen got my interest right away due to its striking beauty and the contrast of its orange colour against a gray background.

It seems this lichen feeds on the nutrients left by birds, and so is found in areas where there are lots of birds. And also explains the gray background colour.

I created this background on a brown paper bag, painted and scraped it with modelling paste and sand resin. To add more texture and dimension, I cut up an old tatted doily, painted it with the same gray colours, scrunched and stitched it to the painted bag.

From this doily 

To this painted and scrunched piece, and stitched to painted background

I discovered in my stash of materials a wonderful playful orange yarn, which very closely matches this orange elegant sunburst lichen. My final piece has 3 of these orange lichens on the background; the photo below shows just one section. The "leaf-like" part of this lichen swells when wet, which would be the case in the one shown here.

Elegant Sunburst

Fairy Puke Lichen

What can I say? This lichen was chosen because of its name - fairy puke - and it's brought a smile so far to everyone who has heard the name. Judging by the number of people who remembered this afterwards, they have proved that art can be used for learning. And if you try to picture what fairy puke may look like....

Since some of the reference photos shows this lichen growing on wood, I kept my eye out for some scrap wood, and found some fabulous pieces that a local handmade furniture store makes available to the public.

For the lichen, needle felted small pink over green wool "puke" balls seemed most appropriate, sort of randomly glued as if they had landed on a piece of wood.




Blue Felt Lichen

A third lichen - blue felt - was selected because of a project in which provinces had been invited to name a provincial lichen, similar to naming a provincial flower. Lichenologist Troy McMullin and researchers across the country have been leading this effort to create more awareness about lichens.

Narrowing down the choice could not be easy in each province. While I'm not sure if all have picked a lichen, I did want to highlight this project and chose Nova Scotia's recently named provincial lichen, called blue felt.

Creating this one in fibre art was challenging and it took a few starts and stops before I was happy with it.

I had played with some fabric cut-outs to create the shape and ripples, but none were to my satisfaction. Finding the right colour also proved to be a challenge. Then I recalled a piece of cotton I had indigo dyed last summer (it also has some rust marks) (see photo at right), cut circles from the dyed fabric and basted a hem which I pulled tighter to create the ripples. (Indigo dyeing is a thousand year old procedure using the indigo plant and used today to dye blue jeans as well as for tie-dyeing.)
                                                                                                     

Once I was happy with these shapes, I dry-brushed blue paint onto the surface to tone down the rust colour, and needle-felted blue and grey wool onto the fabric to tone down the rust even further and to add more depth and a felt-look texture. More blue paint was added to the edges of each lichen, then needle felted berries in shades of green and red added.

The completed pieces were glued onto one of the pieces of wood I had salvaged as this lichen is often found growing on the trunks of old trees. While not exact by any means, I'm quite pleased with the final look.



Alpine Bloodspot

The fourth lichen in this fibre art piece, alpine bloodspot, was chosen for its smooth texture and its colours, and because its an Arctic lichen.

For the background I again used brown paper bag, painted with acrylic paints and sand resin. This time I also added used coffee grounds to add a deep brown soil-like colour.  My husband had offered me some potting soil to use but as fibre artists will tell you, coffee grounds look more like soil than soil does!

With the background complete I began working on the bloodspot lichens. The red and white bits were made from polymer clay and sanded to smooth the rough edges. The white fabric background is strips from an old wool blanket, and rug-hooked onto an open weave fabric which added much dimension to the piece. I had first toyed with other off-white fabrics, but none came close to the texture I got from this blanket.

Arctic Orangebush Lichen

This last lichen took longer to choose. A number of ideas were presented by Paul and his team, but in the end this one became the  choice due in part to its texture, but more importantly because of its importance to those who specialize in Arctic plants. This Arctic orangebush lichen is only known in the western Canadian Arctic and is considered rare. 2017 saw an Arctic expedition in honour of Canada's 150th, here is a link to Paul's posting on finding this rare species during the expedition:
https://canadianmuseumofnature.wordpress.com/2017/12/13/two-rare-species-one-big-trip/

This one also took more experimenting on my part to find both materials and a technique that would work to create something similar. After a few false starts, I went back to the old tatted doily I used for the elegant sunburst lichen, cut more,  painted it yellow and added fabric stiffener. And stitched it to a background of needle felted wool roving. The roving has various sheep and llama wools in earthy colours and I was able to create small hills of "soil" in which this lichen could grow.


Alpine Orangebush Lichen

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This project for me has been a gift, one that pushed me to create more texture and dimension than I've done before. And it included an educational aspect about the lichens that I don't usually get with the subjects I work on. As I was finishing up these lichens and starting another project, I quickly realized I was already a bit bored with it without the challenge of creating  so much texture. 

I will definitely be keeping an eye out this spring and summer for lichens in the area, and will have my camera in hand to capture their beauty and, hopefully, capture them in fibre art too.

My thanks go out to Paul and his team for all their thoughts and feedback. And to Mirka Strmiskova for selecting me as one of the eight artists, and for organizing the Creative Reactions show. I can't wait to see what the other projects are and meet the experts behind them.

Again, the show Creative Reactions is Saturday, May 25 from 6:30 - 9:30 pm at the Plant Recreation Centre at 930 Somerset Street West. 

ART MEETS SCIENCE: A COLLABORATION BETWEEN ARTISTS AND RESEARCHERS

Art meets science in an upcoming show titled Creative Reactions, on May 25th, 2019, at the Plant Recreation Centre in Ottawa. It's a show of art created by artists who were paired up with academic researchers and based on themes such as the human body, galaxies, society, etc. Creative Reactions explores the relationships between art and science, the use of creativity, art as a method for learning, as a means for visual communication. And I'm excited to be one of the eight selected artists.

I was partnered with botanist Paul Sokoloff, senior research assistant with the Museum of Nature, who invited me for a tour in February of the museum's Herbarium in Gatineau which, even though I've lived in Ottawa all my life, I did not know existed.

I was wowed! A building comparable to the size of the new Amazon warehouse, Paul - whose specialty is Arctic botany - treated me to a tour: no end of ferns, mosses, lichens and other plants, plant uses, some history, some Botany 101 and even a peak through a microscope. So many botanical species, old and new, scads of which I had never heard of, but all documented and innumerable added into a searchable database accessible by the public.

One of many photos I took of the samples at the Herbarium

A close-up of the information one of the Herbarium's samples

My visit lasted about 45 minutes and, with my creative well full of ideas to consider for an art piece for this show, my challenge was to narrow down the possibilities, bearing in mind the goals of the program. 

Possible subjects included climate change and its effect on plant habitats, medicinal uses, plants of the Arctic, expeditions, and so much more. But I found I kept coming back to the beautiful and enchanting lichens, a fascinating world I could journey to and learn more about, and one that presented me with so many artistic possibilities to create a piece of art. And lichens, I learned, are actually a combination of fungi and algae. 

As fibre art is all about texture, I knew this would be a good fit. And while I had played in the past with various fibre art techniques and materials covering a variety of subjects, I had never explored the subject of lichens. I knew lots of experimenting would be needed to identify the best options to fabricate the three-dimensional textures of these organisms and the surfaces on which they grow.

As we narrowed the search to select 5 or so lichens, Paul included several lichen experts on the emails to provide their input and thoughts, as we looked at lichen colours, textures, properties, a focus on the Arctic but also other regions of Canada, unusual names, beauty, and projects related to lichens.

The 5 lichens were selected throughout March and April, some I have now completed and some are still in progress for my fibre art piece. All 5 will be mounted onto 1 canvas, and a background designed to provide more information about each. My next couple of posts leading up to the Creative Reactions show on May 25 will cover the 5 lichens, why each was selected, the materials I chose and the techniques. 

In the meantime, here are some links to some of Paul's postings on his own botanical journey and explorations with the Museum of Nature. Some fascinating - and educational - reading:

Adventures in botany, on Earth and Mars
Northern Plants in the Capital: Mer Bleue Bog
Botanist Paul Sokoloff on his journey to the Arctic
The “Martian” Flora: Extreme Life in Extreme Environments

INFUSING EMOTION INTO YOUR WRITING AND ART

This is a blog post I wrote in September 2018 for my friend and local author, Renee Gendron for her website at http://reneegendron.com/index.html

Infusing Emotion into your Writing and Art

Have you experienced goosebumps when listening to music? Noticed your body tense up watching a suspense-filled movie? Felt sympathy for a fictional character?
 
Emotion can make or break music, writing, visual art. It's an ingredient that we are often not taught. When we add elements of emotion and love of creating while painting, or writing, or making pottery, or whatever your passion is, the piece will turn out that much better because it was created from a place of caring, of passion, of love. Interestingly, this expressive side is not explicitly taught in art or music school. We are often told to show the emotions, but not given the tools to know how.
 
Composers, film producers, writers, artists and other creatives know that the most successful art forms engage the viewer to enable us to experience a connection and feel emotion. And it has to be believable to at least provide the possibility.

So how do we, as artists and writers, do this? There's no formula that I'm aware of. But we can look to what has worked for the most successful in the various art forms and decide what may work for our own creative ventures.
 
For example, a visual artist may suggest emotion through the use of colour, which can say a lot about the mood of a picture and how the viewer interprets it. Strong colour can add energy and emotion. Anger may be depicted through reds and blacks, happiness through sky blue or yellows, dark colours for a howling Halloween evening. Gestures, brushstrokes, rhythm and gradation are also elements that convey energetic or calm emotions.
 
Some will create only using positive energy and thoughts to transfer into their creations. You may have heard that food tastes better when cooked with love. Quilters who make quilts for Victoria's Quilts Canada infuse their creations with hope for physical and spiritual comfort for the recipients of the quilts who are living with cancer.
 
Titles are important too, whether for a written work or song, art piece or play, and are what may first attract someone to a piece of writing. The title needs to capture - or hint at - what the book is about, but also reflect whether it is a romance, fantasy, non-fiction etc. Titles can play to the emotions of the reader. Referring to the picture below, if I had named it "Clothesline," well, it's kind of dull. But change the name to "Laundry Day," and we start to tap into the senses and memories, of the viewer. What did this title conjure up for you? Clothes flapping in the wind? A summer day? The fresh scent of line-dried clothes and sheets? You get my meaning. Whatever title you choose it needs to convey the mood you have selected for your written piece.
 

An author at the Ottawa International Writer's Festival talked a few years ago about how he develops the characters in his books. Much like an actor getting into their role before filming or for a play, he too would step into the roles of his characters, to better understand them, their feelings and thoughts, and to help them grow in their roles. The writing was done from the perspective of the characters, rather than his own. This role-playing would last several months until the preliminary writing was done, but was very effective in helping him portray the people in his books as real and authentic to his readers. By writing in first person rather than third person, he would become the character, understanding their thought processes, could create a history for them that would support their reactions to situations, and develop the character into seemingly real, authentic people. It's important when stepping out of one character and before stepping into another that transformation steps are taken, such as "brushing off" the role, shaking the character off the body, perhaps going for a walk to step away from their thoughts. This helps prepare the writer to then move to the next character.
 
Music composers and performers have the added challenge of not only infusing emotion into their compositions and songs but also of getting back into the same frame of mind when performing the same piece. Not an easy challenge.
 
Interestingly, some of the hit songs and most popular singer/songwriters are not necessarily technically proficient at what they do - they are good, yes, but following a melody perfectly or always hitting the same notes during a chorus doesn't necessarily translate into adding the emotion needed to take a piece to the level that will draw in the listener. Instead, they find the nuances, make the slight changes necessary to imply emotion, whether in rhythm, loudness or softness, tempo or other aspect of the music. Consider the difference between long chapters with lots of descriptions and character development versus a book that moves quickly with short chapters containing lots of action. The rhythm and tempo chosen for the writing and chapters work in concert with the style of book or story being written.
 
It's also important to pay attention to the silent parts - the pause between words, the silence between notes, a quiet spot in a painting - to give the reader a chance to reflect and to anticipate what may be coming up next. This can be done by changing direction after a scene that builds tension or suspense or anticipation. The next scene (and often the next chapter) could move to a description or give more insight into the characters (without dialogue), move to a different scene or idea entirely. The idea is to provide something temporarily that is much quieter or muted or peaceful, giving the reader a chance to rest before continuing the previous scene. The reader knows you will come back to the theatrics and has a chance to catch their breath while for a few paragraphs or pages while preparing for what is to come.
 
One final thought. I came across this quote recently which I think sums up this topic quite well. Although it's about musical performances, it applies equally to writing, visual art and other art forms.

 "....most operas, symphonies, sonatas, concertos, and string quartets have a definable meter and pulse, which generally corresponds to the conductor's movements; the conductor is showing the musicians where the beats are, sometimes stretching them out or compressing them for emotional communication. Real conversations between people, real pleas of forgiveness, expressions of anger, courtship, storytelling, planning, and parenting don't occur at precise clips of a machine. To the extent that music is reflecting the dynamics of our emotional lives, and our interpersonal interactions, it needs to swell and contract, to speed up and slow down, to pause and reflect." 1 

1 Quote from This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin

Anne Warburton is a Fibre Artist, exhibiting her work at various shows around Ottawa, and is current chair of the Navan Fine Arts Group (www.navanarts.com)  She writes a blog "Musings of a Creative Journey" at https://annewarburton.blogspot.com/, and worked for many years as an events planner and facilitator. Her website is https://www.needleartsonpaper.com/

LINKING TO OUR PAST - THROUGH PHOTOS

Photo taken early 1930's of my mother, sisters and a few cousins

My mother passed away recently. Sorting through her old photos to create a display for the funeral was a task I found therapeutic. I shed a few tears but also smiled at many of the memories they brought back. And these types of photo montages play an important role in the sharing of stories and memories at funerals and celebrations of life. 

My mother kept every photo she ever took or received and, up until a few years ago, wrote on the back of most the dates, peoples' names and sometimes the location. Her collection dates back to the 1950's, 60's and 70's, and some as early as the 1920's. Sifting through printed photos, some loose but most in albums, made it easy to put together a display on a cardboard stand and put out 2 or 3 albums for people to look at.

This task got me thinking how cumbersome it would have found it if I had had to comb through  computers, CDs, sticks, and social media to find images for her funeral, and what it will be like for future generations creating such displays. Like me, most likely don't add many - or any - details to their digital photos of who, what, where, or when. 

And I would have had to print out the images I wanted to use. Call me old fashioned but I'm not fond of those slide shows on computers. I like to be able to skip or linger over a photo, point one or two out to others, not have to wait for an image to reappear. 

Experts say digital photos don't have nearly the same lasting power that printed photos do. The data and storage units for digital tend to break down much faster over time than paper products. Of course neither will last forever if we don't use archival materials and store them properly.  

Lots of people think their photos are safe if they are on an external hard drive or a stick or even on CDs or Instagram. But they do need to be backed up every 5 to 10 years to help prevent degradation. And having a printed copy too is best. They can always be scanned to create a new digital image. But in reality, how many of us back up or print out our files. And at the rate technology advances, we don't know what format photos will be in in 20 or 30 years, or if platforms such as Facebook and Instagram and Ancestry.ca will still exist.

My parents' wedding in 1962

We take far more photos today than we ever used to, but I rarely take the time to print out even the best. Most of my photos probably won't be of interest to the next generation, especially with little or no identifying information attached. Certainly I have thrown out a lot of my mother's photos, the ones of flowers, landscapes, and people I don't know. But there are still several albums' worth that I will keep.

Photos don't help everyone in times of grief, sometimes it can be just too painful. And in the days before photos were invented, we had only stories and memories and, if we were lucky, a painting of the deceased. Perhaps that is where we will return in future if the old digital photos are lost to us through degradation and old technology.

It's common for questions to come up about our history once someone has gone and photos can help us find links to our past. I am glad my mother had the foresight to answer the questions about who some of the family are in her photos and across her lifetime. She was an organizer, a trait I have inherited. 

As for me, going through albums and boxes of these old fashioned, printed 'selfies' was just what I needed. So perhaps I will find the time to take better care of my photos, printed and digital, for the future generations.