Here's to a day well lived.
I picked up a used book on dolls [1]. The black and white photos by fashion photographer Hermann Landshoff surprised me. They weren’t staged fantasies, yet they had a pictorialist, … Continue reading Photos, Dolls, Thoughts Unspoken
I was not that child who took care of her toys. Dolls were companions in make-believe, not decor. We played house. We played school. I pulled off their clothes and … Continue reading The Bride Doll
A note. Let’s get our terms straight. Horrifying dolls are those possessed by evil spirits and get “invited” into your home to wreak havoc. Creepy dolls are merely unsettling. Something … Continue reading Big old dolls: creepy or divine?
I have spent the past week sorting, scanning, labeling, and gently restoring old family photos. Like “The Velveteen Rabbit,” they are creased and faded and scuffed, but the very fact … Continue reading Old photos, lively spirits
Once upon a time, Jim bought a book called “Club Men of Rochester in Caricature.” It was produced in 1914 by Jack Sears and associated cartoonists and printed at the … Continue reading The Rochester Patriarchy 1914
Jim spent time in Peru during the 1960s as part of a team of physicians learning about healthcare delivery systems across the Americas. It was a cultural exchange project, meant … Continue reading Ancient Peru: who are you, stranger?
Everything sooner or later turns into a story. Maybe in God-time the Word becomes Flesh. But in my experience Flesh fades into Word and the Word becomes Story. Yeah. People … Continue reading The tau tau and storytelling
This is a marvel: a hand-drawn manuscript for a small Japanese book by Utagawa Yashitora, an ukiyo-e print artist who (among other things) published over a hundred books during his … Continue reading Japan #1847: drawing, calligraphy, oh my
About four years ago, when I thought I’d finished inventorying and cataloging Jim’s better collections, we opened one last drawer in his study — the drawer where he kept trinkets … Continue reading #1850 Japanese Album
I am organized, but not obsessive. Get get intense about something. And then it’s put away “for another day.” I’m working on our “stuff” this week, preparing for another round … Continue reading Semi-organized
First thought: guy stuff. Keep it in the man cave. Second thought: useful tool. Where would civilization be without sharp-edged tools for cutting, chopping, slicing, carving, etc.? Third thought: power … Continue reading Thoughts on knives
Between winter cocoon projects and outdoor summer projects, while workers buzz and grind their way through our bathroom upgrade, I putter around in the files and come upon the little … Continue reading Rosetsu: Boy on Elephant
