More art

Remember this?

July, 2014

Laura's first formal art class.

Over the next year she and Mrs. P worked on sketching.

Last fall they took a fun break for another fashion project.

Today Aunt Janice, Emily and I attended the reveal.

Laura took a mid fifties, June Cleaver type evening gown,

and restyled it into a breezy sleeveless dress for a young working woman.

She explained her working sketches for the jewelry and the shoes.

The piece of fabric draped on top of the easel is a fabric remnant, perfect for the shawl.

Laura thinks she may wear it to her school dance tomorrow.

The necklace is mocked up from heavy silver ribbon.

The first shoe rendition was heavy and closed.

Now it's light and airy.

 I like her new logo, in the upper left.

Her old logo was LCL in cursive.

This is so classic and streamlined.

I know there will be so many comments on how well they are growing up.

And, they are.

But it takes a village, it really does. Their teachers. My friends. My sister.

Women like Mrs. P.

And a hint I received years ago, from my oldest daughter, who told me, "Thanks for letting me make my mistakes and work through them myself."

I remembered that today when Mrs. P asked Emily if she was worried about starting college in the fall.  The answer was an emphatic "No, not at all."

Another one, ready to leave the gate.

The Hill, Elucidated

I was laughing so long at Emily’s hill yesterday, I did not explain it well.

There are a great many hills like that hill in northeastern Ohio. You drive down one side and up the other. Except when it’s snowing heavily and you’re in front of the plow truck, not behind. In that case vehicles can lose traction and wander the road, including slipping back down the hill. Cars descending can be in as much trouble; it all is a big mess with fender bender accidents and more. If it happens, expect to be out in the snow for a long time waiting for the traffic to clear or for a tow truck.

The easiest way to avoid dealing with this hill in a storm, until the road is cleared, is to stay home. In a storm, the only way to be in trouble going up that hill is to have come down the other side first. Roads were clear yesterday, no snow, and the drive up as easy as down. Oh, well. Emily is 17 and does not drive. She thinks a lot, though.

When I worked in an office, long ago, it was not unusual to be caught in bad winter weather during the day and obliged to get home. I worked in University Circle in Cleveland and lived in Lake County. It was a half hour drive on the freeway; much longer straight out Euclid Avenue, the alternative in bad weather.

One day we had inches and inches of snow. The radio said the freeway was at a standstill and drivers could no longer get on. Euclid Avenue was at a crawl. I did pick up a woman shivering at a bus stop, waiting for a bus that might never come. I drove her a mile down Euclid, to her street. It took a couple of hours. I decided to cut off to another route that went down into the Chagrin River Valley and back up. There was one bad hill, but I knew my VW was up to it.

When I looked down the hill folks seemed to be doing OK, so I committed. The one hitch in the plan was the cross road at the bottom and drivers attempting to turn from it to go up the hill. They did not have the momentum of the cars coming downhill. Sure enough, as I approached the uphill side, trouble began and cars were forming a jam at the bottom.

I took a good look, revved that little beetle, let out the clutch, jumped the curb of the center median and started up the hill. The median was grass in those days, covered in several inches of new snow, and clear of traffic. At the top of the hill I bumped down to the road and headed home. I remember picking up my girls from daycare at about eight; the staff was not happy and I did not care. It was a long day. That was 1969.

But the hill, Gramma

Emily had a 1:30 interview at Hiram today, for the eclectic honors program.

It's a forty five minute trip.

At 12:30 she wanted to leave.

"What if we have trouble getting up the hill, Gramma?"

I'm still laughing.

Here at the end of the glacial moraine, there is no such thing as trouble getting up hills like this in winter. 

If there is trouble getting up the hill, it's because you drove down the other side in the first place.

Sorry, I'm still laughing.

It's two degrees here, which is in the minus sixteen range for Celsius users.

However, the roads are clean as a whistle. 

Emily's interview was in a building I would call a student union.

I wonder if they still have that name.

As we entered, a tall woman stepped out from the students gathered and asked "Are you Emily?"

I kept on walking, climbed a tall bistro stool at the back and took out my half knit sock.

It was tough, but I didn't look over too often. Once I saw the tall woman stop some students walking through, who stopped and chatted a bit.

When it was over and we were back in the car I asked Emily about the students who had been brought into the discussion.

"They're eclectic honors students," Emily explained. "I was introduced as 'a prospective eclectic honors; oh, never mind, this is a new eclectic honors student.'"

No idea, except she's in.

As for the hill, all I can tell you is she might as well be finishing high school at Hiram. She's a natural, who does not intend to show up late.

Still laughing about "trouble getting up the hill."

Child labor at work

The girls are switching rooms; Emily going upstairs and Laura coming down.

They began last Monday to stage the move. 

I didn't go up, but I assume Laura had as many piles of stuff as Emily.

Emily's room Friday afternoon, after school.

Toby considers the potential.

Friday night after supper. 

A room that glows will not work for Laura.

Dust and hardware removal.

 I suggested old clothes would be in order.

Prep work has given way to primer.

Laura's first go at painting a room.

Two coats of primer and the glow was gone.

Two very tired young women went to bed about ten.

Early Saturday morning.

Except for telling them to paint the ceiling first, they were left to their own devices.

I dubbed this The Great Painter's Tape Caper.

Fortunately we bought the four roll economy pack.

Laura, promoted to ceilings.

Emily's shirt with hand prints is an old school project. 

Laura's hand prints indicate another paint roller has done its job.

Detail work.

More detail.

Baseboards.

The radio is in the box. Across the hall, I overdosed on teenage music.

It was OK.

It is still Saturday. Four hours each, Friday night, all day Saturday.

There was a lunch break.

After supper they carried down some essential furniture.

Assembled the bed.

Laura slept downstairs.

Sunday.

Little feet ran up and down stairs most of the day.

I believe it's all moved in.

And now it all goes back together.

I imagine the same thing is going on upstairs.

This was their project and the two of them worked through it.

My contribution was supplies, especially the four pack of painter's tape.

I was impressed.

I cleaned the smear of paint off the door and the door jam without complaint.

 Tuesday

Thursday

Male downy woodpecker

Nuthatch

That's it. Back to another fine spring day in Boston. I've worked as hard as the birds at my feeders to get up to and through the first meeting of the Board of Directors of Boston Township. That was last night. I am going to breakfast with Carol tomorrow and I will not go to work after.