Under a blizzard of magazines, projects and books, was my father's wooden, New York World's Fair, marimba. It lived in our dining room, so it also served as a buffet table. Needless to say I didn't hear him play much. Dad owned a lumber yard and was busy supporting a family. Free time to play and practice was limited. He finally sold it to a friend and years later, that friend played hymns on it for his funeral. I wasn't sure if I was at church or a tiki lounge party. So fitting! Then their was my Mother. She was a pianist and it was all about classical music and hymns. Mom had a baby grand in all the houses I can remember. I can still picture her playing complicated pieces while I sat on the couch and soaked it all in. Lovely! My parent's four children had plenty of opportunity to play an instrument but few of us tried! My sister Nancy took up the violin in school. It was short lived. I asked my mother to teach me piano. She gave up in frustration due to my left handed ways. During a recent visit with my cousin Linrae, she reminded me that I actually took piano lessons with a teacher named Mrs. Pierce. It must have gone poorly since I don't even remember the lessons and I certainly don't know how to play anything today. Kurt and Eric, my brothers,well... to my knowledge, they didn't even try. BUT...music does feed my soul! It's a part of my everyday life. It relaxes, it frees, it connects. Music, from rock to world music, to the classics, flows through my studio and is a part of my creative process. So, combine music and world cultures in one large museum and I'm there! The Musical Instrument Museum, North of Phoenix, was the brainchild of former Target CEO, Robert Ulrich. Only six years old, the museum has a 16,000 strong collection of instruments from over 200 countries. The rooms are divided by regions and specialties. Multimedia displays allow you to experience the sounds, costumes and customs connected to the instruments on display. There is a room devoted to musical icons like Elvis Presley, Santana, John Lennon and more. How about a room full of automated instruments like player pianos, harmonicas ( who knew!) and one man bands. Want to play the weird and unearthly Theremin ? How about the Gamalon from Cambodia ? You can do it all and more in the hands on room. This is a museum you could easily spend 3 hours in, I only had two. I paced myself to make it through every continent. Africa in general and the Congo in specific was especially interesting to me. I lived in the Congo for a year in the early 80's and the sounds were familiar. The picture to the left is of bark-cloth. It was made for me by a man from the local Pygmy tribe in the village I lived in. I used it in the LEAP366 Life Ring to represent the museum. It speaks to me of mankind's ability to use nature for everyday survival and to make the instruments that have nourished every culture's soul for centuries. PS… In my musical defense, I did marry a man that played the tuba in high school. We produced a son that played the trumpet through most of high school, till he fell in love with theater and a daughter that majored in the oboe in college.
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Compression and release, a slow revealing of space both inside and out. A master of balance. Who is this person so admired by my tour guide ? The creator of “organic architecture“, Frank Lloyd Wright of course! He is hands down, America's most famous architect, ( when all you have to do is Google Frank L….. and his full name pops up, you know you've made it ! ) When FLW ( as my architect nephew referred to him in a text ) first began building Taliesin West ( Welsh for Shining Brow) in 1937, it was to be his winter home and headquarters for his Fellowship School students. The extensive property is now ringed by North Scottsdale, but back then it was just them and a desert full of cactus and critters. FLW’S Fellowship was learning by doing. There was no degree given, no textbooks or tests. They all stayed in temporary shelters designed by, Himself, ( my British friend, Win refers to her husband as that and I think it so works in this case too ). As our guide was explaining this, my mind was saying, “ I don't care if they were designed by “Himself”. After my Winnebago experience in Tucson, he better have had a plan for keeping rattlesnakes out! During the tour we got to go through many of the main buildings and we could take pictures of whatever we wanted to until we got to one particular building. As we walked by this, no photos zone, we could see students hard at work in a space and on desks designed by FLW ! How cool is that ! The Fellowship School is still active and training the next generation of graduate level architect students. The students live and work on site for the length of the program. The guide showed us pictures of temporary shelters some of the students are still building and living in. Hum… they didn’t look snake proof to me ! FLW’S personal life had its highs and lows, including leaving his wife of 20 years and their six children and the tragic death of his mistress and six others in a fire at his Taliesin home in Spring Green, Wisconsin. In his professional life he was known to be, “notoriously cantankerous”. Tempers and tantrums are words I come across while reading about him. Something I do admire about him is that he was creating, some of his most famous buildings, in his 70’s ! In that respect, I want to be just like... Himself ! Just one hour from the Mexican border, on the Tohono O’odham reservation, sits the, “White Dove of the desert”. Built between 1783 and 1797, it is the oldest European structure in America. In the flat, Sonoran desert landscape, the mission’s spires stretch towards the heavens and draw you in like a beacon. I pulled into the large parking lot, tried to find some shade and parked the car. “Is that bacon I smell?” Wafting through my open door was a familiar smell in an unexpected space. Yes indeed it was bacon and various other foods being offered from makeshift kitchens to hungry parishioners and tourists. It was Sunday dinner on the grounds, as they used to say in the South. Unlike some of the churches I was going to see in Guadalajara, this one was more rustic with folk art carvings of the saints and such. The priest who performed mass was elderly and a bit grumpy. He called out a tourist for taking pictures in the middle of mass! How embarrassing. Nobody wants to get scolded by a priest no matter how old you are. After the service, dozens of worshipers stood In line to touch a reclining statue of Saint Francis. Some left a scrap of paper with a request on it, some patted the statue as they prayed and a few older men slipped their arm underneath Saint Francis, as if cradling an infant. A man in his late fifties, who looked more like a Hell’s Angel, touched and crossed himself in front of every statue in the church. It always interests me to observe how people of different faiths approach and worship God. I find it moving and I search to understand and appreciate their faith traditions. Next it was off to the church gift shop where you could buy approved candles ( some types give off too much smoke, which over time blacken walls and statues). Also on sale were an astounding selection of rosaries. I brought three, plastic white ones which will be added to the Leap366 Life Ring. Purchase in hand, I headed out into the brilliant sun. My stomach was telling me it was time to eat. With the address of a nearby restaurant who advertised in the church bulletin in hand, I took one last look at the White Dove of the Desert and set out for the day’s food adventure, “ Authentic Sonoran desert cuisine. Yes! PS. My fabric choice for this story deserves a longer explanation than some. I was at my favorite thrift store looking for a nice, bright white, dress shirt to represent the White Dove and the respect I see for the church in the Mexican community and I came across this one. I saw the label and started to walk away. "No", I said, "I'm going to cut it up and make it represent something positive despite the negativity surrounding this man and the Mexican community!" Plus I got to take a picture of the shirt with my Trumpbuster button given to me by a man from our local synagogue. The Laboratory of Tree Ring Research at the University of Arizona in Tucson was started in 1937 by AE Douglass, founder of the modern science of Dendrochronology. I found out about this place while looking for tree ring images on the Internet. I immediately thought,“what a cool place this would be to offer a workshop”! With a little more digging, I found out the Lab had an outreach coordinator named Pamela Pellitier. An exchange of emails and a few phone calls later, and a Life Ring's workshop was set up for Saturday, October the 22. I arrived in Tucson on the morning of the 21st to set up the work space and get oriented. The first thing I saw as I walked into the building, was a gigantic slice of wood on display in the main foyer! Incredible! Next, I met Pamela and she showed me my work space. I unloaded my supplies, mixed up my adhesive blend and scooped it into individual containers for each of my 8 students. Then it was off to Pamela's house to meet her family and set up camp in her silver Airstream. I had supper that evening with her husband, John and two children. They both wanted to sit by me at supper which started a bit of a squabble! I felt like a visiting Rockstar! After a delicious meal, we talked about life and family and I got a tour of their extensive backyard. Pamela said they had coyotes around and rattlesnakes but she hadn't seen a snake on their property in 10 years. Good! I said! After supper and conversation I was pretty tired, so John went out to the camper to turn on the fan and cool thing down. Minutes later, I heard a loud, persistent and unfamiliar sound. Pamela knew just what it was and leaped out of her chair! Under the Airstream was an angry Rattlesnake! Non emergency, wildlife control was called in, ( I thought it was pretty important)! The unwanted guest was removed and relocated. So much excitement and my workshop hadn't even started ! I didn't get a great night’s rest between the heat and dreams of a hissing camping buddy but Saturday's workshop went off without a hitch. My students turned out to be a fairly international group. 4 of the 8 were from different countries. 2 from Russia, 1 from Sweden and 1 from England. All of them understood and excitedly embraced the Life Rings concept. Each piece, each story, was individual and unique. All of the Rings, along with the written stories are now on display at the Tree Ring Lab. Included in the show is one of my Grandmother's Life Rings from the “Life in a Dress” series ( it would surprise Grandma Palmer to know some of her homemade church dresses would be hanging in an educational institution in Tucson). The whole experience was a resounding success. I saw people connecting through art and stories, I saw art and science blending together and last but not least, I never heard that persistent, rattle again! |
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