It's Pronounced JAY-na

A blog about many of my interests, much of it inspired by Pinterest.

[jana-hallford]

Basketry Basics

My undergraduate degree was in studio art, and as an art historian I find that an advantage in understanding how various types of art are made. However, most of the art I've made is two dimensional. I've been meaning to branch out a little to experience an art form I am researching.

Basketry is an important aspect of many First Nations cultures, including here in California. Last Sunday afternoon I had my first hands-on exposure to basket weaving. Cherokee National Treasure Barbara Adair visited the San Diego Cherokee Community to show us how to make baskets. (Neal is a member of the Cherokee Nation.) She is an excellent, patient teacher. I do not see myself becoming a very adept weaver, but I had fun, and the experience definitely added to my knowledge base. I am grateful.

#Basketry #BarbaraAdair #CherokeeNationalTreasure #LearningNeverEnds

[jana-hallford]

It's my 10 year anniversary on Tumblr 🥳

[jana-hallford]

Cupid Returns: The Restoration of Vermeer's "Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window"

Saturday is Valentine's Day and this week's featured art includes an image of Cupid now restored to a well-known and much loved work.

The oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer (also known as Jan Vermeer) created around 1657 to 1659 is known as "Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window." (In Dutch: "Brieflezend meisje bij het venster"). In 1979 an X-ray revealed a prominent painting of the young son of Venus on the back wall. At first it was assumed that Vermeer had painted over the painting within the painting because he preferred the scene without it. Then during restoration begun in 2017 further scientific imaging and material studies showed the overpainting had in fact been done decades after the artist's death. Based on this new information, experts decided to have the overpaint carefully removed, and in 2021 the fully restored painting went back on view at the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden, its home since 1742. As museum's web site states, "The figure [Cupid] is treading on the masks of pretence lying on the ground before him – a sign of sincere love overcoming deception and hypocrisy. The presence of Cupid in the composition is a meaningful ‘comment’ that adds greatly to the painting’s message." That kind of symbolism was very common and would have been well understood in Vermeer's culture. The restoration - and the museum's commentary - also support the idea that this young lady has received a love letter, just as countless viewers have suspected all along.

[jana-hallford]

Apollo 11 Commemorative Teaware

Apollo 11 launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on July 16th, 1969. The space center was called Cape Kennedy at the time. On July 20th Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin Jr. became the first men on the moon, with Michael Collins manning the Command Module. In honor of these astronauts and their historic mission, here is a bone china cup and saucer made in England by Paragon China at the time, featuring a drawing of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module with the names of the three crew members below it. The cup also has an illustration of the plaque they left on the lunar surface with the famous words "WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND."

This set is one of many items made around the world to celebrate the event. The same illustration was used on other pieces produced by Paragon, and by other English companies as well.

#Apollo11 #MoonLanding1969 #ArmstrongAldrinCollins #Apollo11Commemorative #ParagonChina

[jana-hallford]

Culture as Medicine:

"Mended: The Language of Myaamia Ribbonwork" exhibit at the First Americans Museum

I am so glad I was able to see the "Mended: The Language of Myaamia Ribbonwork" exhibit at the First Americans Museum. It relates very well to my interests in art, art history, and visual culture. This exhibit also speaks very specifically to a theme of culture as medicine that emerged from my research: Indigenous people revitalizing their cultures and finding healing in the process.

Recently, Miami people were able to regain possession of some of their historic needlework by buying it at auction. "Mended" shows how these reclaimed works are inspiring contemporary artists in the group and also helping the community make connections between traditional art forms and their language, stories, and songs.

A delightful story about youngsters asking an elder what's inside a bag and the elder's beautiful, poetic replies are written in the script of the Myaamia language on cloth lining a modern patchwork bandolier bag a group of artists made together. A written translation and a recording of the story and a related song are part of the display.

There is a related exhibit at the Myaamia Heritage Museum and Archive, which I hope to see before it ends in early July. (Neal and I were in Miami, Oklahoma for a wedding, but the MHMA is closed on weekends so we couldn't see it then.)

It is a blessing to be learning about this art form and how it is mending a community.

[jana-hallford]

Throwback Thursday: Scantron Forms

Throwback Thursday: taking tests with Scantron forms and no. 2 pencils. Introduced in 1972, these forms using Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) technology were quickly adopted by many schools for multiple choice quizzes and exams, especially secondary schools and institutions of higher education. They are still around, but not the ever-present academic staple they used to be.

[jana-hallford]

April Morning

Here's an April poem by the American lyric poet Sara Teasdale. Born in St. Louis on August 8, 1884, she won a Pulitzer Prize in 1918 for Love Songs, a poetry collection published in 1917.

"I went out on an April morning All alone for my heart was high, I was a child of the shining meadow, I was a sister of the sky."

-- Sara Teasdale

[jana-hallford]

It's my 9 year anniversary on Tumblr 🥳

Thank you for the looks, likes, and comments.

[jana-hallford]

Happy Friday, Everyone! I just received some welcome good news: I will be presenting at the annual conference of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association this June in Oklahoma City. The theme this year is "Roots and Origins." My topic, taken from my thesis, is "Creation Story Motifs as Expressions of Identity and Resiliency in the Visual Culture of Kahnawà:ke," highlighting fashions by Tammy Beauvais and beadwork by Leith Mahkewa.

I am grateful.

[memories-of-ancients]

Ceramic duck, Colima, Mexico, 2nd century BC - 3rd century AD

from The Metropolitan Museum of Art

[jana-hallford]

Colima animals have such charm.

[jana-hallford]

New Giant Skeletons Debut in the Neighborhood!

Without a doubt, I have some fun neighbors! During the COVID19 lockdown of 2020, I shared how the then new, highly-sought-after 12-foot skeleton from The Home Depot brought us some needed playfulness and cheer.

Last month this awesome Halloween display appeared on my little cul-de-sac, one of the first to materialize this season. There are some other creative Halloween yard decorations in the area, including one with quite an array of horror movie figures, but I especially liked the overall design and theme of this one.

Happy Halloween!

[ancientart]

A good example of why the study of art is so crucial when attempting to gain insight into past (and present) cultures.

Shown here is a small wooden dish from ancient Egypt, dated to ca.1390-1352 BC, depicting a bound oryx. On the surface level one might admire the craftsmanship of the work, and enjoy it simply for its visual appeal. It would perhaps be surprising to many how much this small piece reflects the complex belief system and world view of the Egyptians. The Brooklyn Museum elaborates:

The Egyptians’ concept of universal order stressed the difference between the fertile Nile Valley and the barren expanse of desert flanking civilized life. The desert sheltered the hostile forces of chaos, including the god Seth and his malevolent agents, often represented in animal form.

The oryx, a desert antelope, was seen as an incarnation of the evil threatening to destroy Ma'at [truth/ order/ justice, a complex but integral Egyptian concept]. Thus the motif of the bound oryx symbolized the Egyptians’ persistent need to hold the forces of disorder in check.

Artefact courtesy of the brooklynmuseum. Via their online collections: 49.54.

[jana-hallford]

"April Showers Bring May Flowers..."

Hello April! In honor of the month especially associated with rain, here's a charming illustration of a bunny in yellow rain gear and a mother duck with ducklings on a rainy day, by Racey Helps (1913-1970), English author and illustrator of children's books.

[jana-hallford]

Thank you to everyone who got me to 250 likes!

I apprecIate it!

[jana-hallford]

Mid-Century "Romance of the Stars"

There's something magical and uplifting about the best Mid-Century Modern design. One of the era's most iconic motifs is the starburst. In its various iterations, with its elegance and economy of line, the starburst embodies hope for the future, with science and technology bringing us space exploration, medical advances, and other exciting developments.

"Romance of the Stars" bone china place setting in cream and platinum, from Fine Arts, circa 1959.

The quintessentially MCM starburst is featured in "Romance of the Stars," a lovely Mid Century Modern pattern with a splendid name from Fine Arts China, a Pennsylvania company active from 1944 to 1972. Founded as the Fine Arts Sterling Silverware Company, they sold International Silver flatware and also produced lines of fine china.

Light green version of "Romance of the Stars" from Fine Arts. Pastel shades were very popular in the 1950s and into the 1960s.

This American-made bone china design with platinum trim and accents was available in white, cream, and assorted soft pastel hues that were highly favored at the time. The shapes are clean and modern, and the overall effect is perfectly suited for a beautifully set table.

I could not find an exact date for this china, but Fine Arts also sold sterling flatware with the same pattern name (and a starburst design) made by International Silver that dates to 1959. Starburst and "atomic" motifs were wildly popular from the late 1950s into the 1960s and retain their charm to this day.

"Romance of the Stars" in 1950s pale pink.

[jana-hallford]

“March Comes in Like a Lion...”

The old adage “March goes in like a lion and out like a lamb” is illustrated here by Vernon Thomas for the March 1935 cover of the popular magazine Good Housekeeping. The saying refers to the seasonal shifts of weather. This year the expression was borne out in my area -- we have some heavy rainfall and big gusts of wind! California needs rain, so the precipitation is quite welcome. 

March 1935 cover of Good Housekeeping magazine. “Vernon Thomas” was actually a female artist who worked under her husband’s name, a fairly common practice at the time.

“Vernon Thomas,” a popular Chicago-based painter, illustrator, and etcher, was actually a female born in 1894 who worked under her husband’s name, as some women did in her day. (Through the first half of the 20th century it was not unusual for female artists and writers to disguise themselves professionally by adopting male names or reducing their first names to initials.) Below the illustration is a call-out for a new novel by the author Edison Tesla Marshall, also born in 1894, known for short and long form fiction. His novels were often serialized in various publications.

[jana-hallford]

Vintage Valentine Teacup and Saucer

In honor of Valentine’s Day, here’s a vintage bone china teacup and saucer made in England by Princess Anne and sold as a Valentine's Day gift.   A prominent pink heart bearing the message "For My Sweetheart" is surrounded by forget-me-nots and blue ribbon, plus pink and yellow roses and bluebirds on a white background accented with gold trim. The scallop-edged shape was very common in the 1950s. The motifs are replete with meaning that would have been well understood at the time, especially roses as symbols of love, and the bluebird representing happiness.

“For My Valentine” fine bone china cup and saucer by Princess Anne China, a brand of the English company Shore & Coggins.

Teacup and saucer sets were very popular collectibles, primarily with women, from the post World War II era into the 1960s. Shore & Coggins produced fine bone china, offering full sets of dinnerware as well as giftware under the brand name Princess Anne China at their Edensor Works on New Street (renamed Greendock Street in the 1950s) in Stoke-on-Trent, from the late 1940s until 1966. Ridgeway Potteries then acquired the name and continued producing bone china under this brand through the 1980s.

Sweet old-fashioned motifs representing love and happiness adorn this charming vintage cup and saucer.

View of the reverse side of this cup and saucer set.