Backyard Pilgrim

Enjoying the pilgrimages in my own backyard!

[backyard-pilgrim]

Hidden contour poetry book. A 4 section book with a hidden section containing contour poetry with words found on the page. Eco printed paper created with @sadiavt last summer. “She slackened her pace She neared the house Young man did you know her grief At last the house was still.” . . . #ecoprinting #bookarts #contourpoetry #hiddenpages https://www.instagram.com/p/B_-1pCvFneH/?igshid=fl70tfx0mfdc

[backyard-pilgrim]

Walking Hockessin Friends Meeting Cemetery

Covid19 quarantine is still active here in Delaware so I have decided to walk through local cemeteries. It’s a great way to be outdoors, avoid passing people and worrying about keeping a 6 foot distance and the headstones can be beautiful, emotional and fascinating - full of history. As a walking artist, I decided to create a prompt to follow - as I walked I looked for headstones that containing one of the following: * same name - first, middle or surname * same birth year - 1961 * same birthday - March 13 (this date could be either a birth or death date)

This walk was through Hockessin Friends Meetinghouse Cemetery on Old Wilmington Road in Hockessin, DE.

I found several markers that contained the death date of 1961. See above photos. I did not see any markers that shared my birthdate.

Not a Carol or a Maurer found in the cemetery but I did find a Mary C. Full disclosure...Mary was the name given to me at birth!

Many stones had this 3 chain-link symbol containing the letters FLT.  When I returned home I looked up the symbol to discover it is the symbol for The Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the initials stand for Friendship, Love and Truth.

This old and broken headstone is so worn it looks like it’s written in an ancient language!

The earliest birthdate that I found in the cemetery. Albina was born in 1787, John in 1782 and Albina in 1824 (wife, husband, daughter?).

The Meetinghouse (currently closed due to the pandemic but you can attend Zoom Meeting for Worship) is across the street.

[backyard-pilgrim]

I wandered through St. Mary of the Assumption cemetery on Lancaster Pike in Hockessin, DE. It is a small and forgotten reminder of those who have lived in the area in the 1800′s. Many of the headstones referenced County Cork as their birthplace...a remembered connection to their own roots. In searching for more information on the cemetery I did come across an article by John Chambless in the Greenville Hockessin Life Magazine (Jan. 2015). Here is a link to the article http://www.ghlifemagazine.com/2015/01/05/57240/the-first-catholic-church-in-delaware-was-behind-this-gate-in-hockessin

Sadly the gate is gone. Another church has been built on the property (Trinity Community Church) but the small graveyard remains as does the memory of those who were here before.

[backyard-pilgrim]

Several years ago @elizakjarvis from @delartmuseum introduced me to “Poetry In Your Pocket Day” and I stitched this piece in honor of Christina Rossetti and The Pre-Raphealites. What is your favorite poem? “The days are clear, Day after day, When April’s here, That leads to May. And June Must follow soon: Stay, June, stay! - If only we could stop the moon And June!” Christina Rossetti . . . . #poetryinyourpocketday #poetryinyourpocket #delawareartmuseum #fiberartists #preraphelites #christinarossetti (at Delaware Art Museum) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_UzSABlweb/?igshid=1ntc1fhkhch1e

[backyard-pilgrim]

Creating envelopes from pages of the 1970 Guide For Cruising Maryland Waters... . . . #paperartist #marylandwaterways #envelopes https://www.instagram.com/p/B-5HRNlFOFh/?igshid=5tedltj42g2g

[backyard-pilgrim]

School Buildings Are Closed. Cross stitch on a vintage postcard. . . . #crossstitch #vintagepostcard #fiberart #napoleonohio https://www.instagram.com/p/B-pmk3tlevA/?igshid=1k36zkl1gd79k

[backyard-pilgrim]

Sunday stitching...hand stitching holiday cards. . . . . #handstitching #stitchingonpaper #fiberart #fiberartist #paperembroidery #paperartist https://www.instagram.com/p/B3kTN8zFTk8/?igshid=63494excv5mm

[backyard-pilgrim]

Netherlands I worked on a cruise ship when I was in my late 20’s and early 30’s. At one point I had a Dutch boyfriend named Bert Jan. He was tall, lanky and kind. I wasn’t very nice to him…if I ever see him again I will apologize. . . . . #paperembroidery #vintagestamps #stitchingonpaper # fiberartist #chateauoart #markmaking https://www.instagram.com/p/B2rM473FdWS/?igshid=ltxvnrzco3pm

[backyard-pilgrim]

Czechoslovakia Growing up in a suburb of Philadelphia our neighbor and one of my best friends father was Czechoslovakian in heritage. There we many mentions of the fact that they were Czechoslovakian and I loved to say the word...it sounded like such an exotic country – Czechoslovakia. I grew up in a neighborhood of homes that were built in the late 1960’s. All the homes were basically the same 4 to 5 bedroom home with a few slight variations in styles including what I thought was really cool – the split level home and the Colonial which we lived in. Our Czechoslovakian neighbors family was very similar to my own family. They lived in the exact 5-bedroom home, they had 6 children and there were 5 in our family. But they served their drinks in long, thin, plastic Tupperware cups – I thought this meant they were poor and couldn’t afford glassware!! They obviously were not… https://www.instagram.com/p/B2jp2oCBtKj/?igshid=186q0y15zpej8

[backyard-pilgrim]

Kuwait In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s I was a fitness instructor at a posh spa in Southern California. I was recommended by one of the guests for a position as a personal trainer for a member of Kuwait’s royal family. The ‘princess’ arranged for me to fly to Minnesota (her young niece was having surgery at the Mayo Clinic) and I stayed in a room on the rented floor of an attached hotel (yep, I had to go through security every time I left the floor and before returning even though it was a key access only floor and no other guests were allowed access to this private floor). After many interviews, fax’s (before email) and letters I decided not to accept the job. They did offer me more money and flights back to the US several times a year to sweeten the deal but alas I turned down the opportunity. The US went to war with Kuwait in August of 1990 and I often wondered what I would have witnessed. Maybe it’s a good thing I said no…but then again… Here is a stamp from one of our correspondence’s. . . . #vintagestamps #paperembroidery #markmaking #markmakingwiththread #stitchingonpaper #fiberart #fiberartist https://www.instagram.com/p/B2Mp4S1F8VK/?igshid=106i7856fbdd0

[backyard-pilgrim]

Honored to be mentioned on Artists Territory Exchange Instagram today. I was mentioned in an essay on Clouded Title written by Emily Artinian and Daphne Plessner. . . . #walkingartist #cloudedtitle #artsterritoryexchange https://www.instagram.com/p/B2J2xpqlhy3/?igshid=arq5oh28qbi0

[backyard-pilgrim]

When I was in middle school I had a pen pal from Brasil (Brazil for Americans). Here is a stamp I saved from a letter posted on September 15, 1976. I saved the stamp but not the letter??!! . . . . #vintagestamps #paperembroidery #markmaking #markmakingwiththread #stitchingonpaper #fiberart #fiberartist https://www.instagram.com/p/B2HzzIyFSYQ/?igshid=eti64xbjj7d0

[backyard-pilgrim]

Einstein’s favorite color was yellow. A stitched tribute to his brilliance! . . . #thecreativechallenge #30daychallenge #paperembroidery #paperstitching #fiberart #fiberartists #vintagestamps #einstein https://www.instagram.com/p/B2CnRrkF_Ug/?igshid=1ghgwnjlekxql

[backyard-pilgrim]

Day 2 of mark making with thread and stamps. This stamp is from a postcard sent to me by @leanas66 !! . . . . #sweden #stamps #vintagestamps #fiberartist #fiberart #markmaking #30daychallenge #thecreativevisionary https://www.instagram.com/p/B19c8SaFQO6/?igshid=1q0347tun3cvk

[backyard-pilgrim]

Playing with old stamps and mark making with thread.... . . . . #paperembroidery #markmaking #stitchingonpaper #vintagestamps #travels #fiberart #fiberartist https://www.instagram.com/p/B162rVWlfrb/?igshid=1jnajoxt97oar

[backyard-pilgrim]

Day 2 @impracticallabor North Mountain Residency. Spent part of the morning walking through the former apple orchard and created a weaving with grasses, ferns and a leaf. . . . . #northmountainresidency #illsa #impracticallabor #weaving #landart #westvirginia https://www.instagram.com/p/B0rIIP-F7HB/?igshid=1ro3pvdrl2bk2

[backyard-pilgrim]

Day 1 @impracticallabor North Mountain residency. Mini plant weaving from plants aside the house. . . . . #illsa #impracticallabor #weavingwithplants #westvirginia #fiberart https://www.instagram.com/p/B0oRLTYFbR-/?igshid=518cycud9b6d