Thursday, July 16, 2009

Convicts and Emus in the Nest-Buried Treasure

These days even the most dedicated blog hopper, (myself included here), will find it difficult to catch all the posts of favourite bloggers. There is just so much out there to see of interest and only so many hours of the day one can plant one's proverbial butt in a chair and blog hop and still retain one's job, physical shape and family devotion! So what to do dear blog readers? In order to prevent long hours of eye strain, broken chairs with permanent butt impressions, and millions of sleep deprived zombies from roaming the land, Seth Apter of The Altered Page has devised a plan!!! Buried Treasure! A call for willing participants to repost their favourite blog post. This action is intended to provide scores of deprived blog readers with the opportunity to catch up on posts they may have missed from favoured sites, and so provide said blog readers with the minimum of flat bottom exposure time needed to complete their blog roamings. Yes, yes cheer the Apter child for his insightful clear thinking, well deserved it is too! (Why , oh why didn't anyone think of this before!) This has, of course, led to much dilemma in the blogging community. Entire communities of people suffering from sleep deprivation as they decide what to post! Even I, a decision maker of extraordinary speed, required time to contemplate my navel over this decision. And then, after many moons of deep thought, and a lint free navel, there it was. The decision. As many of you know I have been busy over a few months creating a book construction for my mother. The piece is the culmination of an extraordinary journey into the lives of the members of my family. I feel I know them so much better now. It has also been a learning journey artistically. It has challenged me in both technique and creativity and I have loved every minute of the ride. And so this post is an amalgamation of some of those posts which show a few of my favourite pages from the book.

This is the first, a page about my great grandfather. The emu represents both where he lived and his career. The original name of the town was Emu Bay (now known as Burnie, in Tasmania, Australia, Pooh, bring back the original moniker I say!). His job for most of his working life was as an engine driver for the Emu Bay Railway Company. One of the first railway company's in Tasmania, and the last privately owned one to sell to the government only a few years ago. During his working life he saw many changes and under the picture of the emu, the page includes photographs and ephemera representational of the years he worked for the company. The original post for this page is in two sections. To view them click for part one here and part two here.





The next page is about my great grandmother, Ivy. The page is a favourite as it incorporates copper wire and metal leaves as a visual representation of her name. Love these items! Under the frame, a poem and some dried hydranger flowers which always grew in her garden, and a photograph of Ivy. To see the original post click here.




Next, a frame construction incorporated into the book. I just loved this one. Making it and how it turned out. Hey, what can I say, we all have our favs! You can see the original post here.




And lucky last, the doors to the nest! This page is a reference to my grandparents. At this point in time they have embarked on their married life together, hence the doors to the nest. I enjoyed the change of focus with this page and the switch to a more fabric constructed page. And, lets face it, who can resist vintage laces and doilies! The original post is at the same site as the frame above.

So there you have it! Some of my personal favourites. In all seriousness thank you to Seth for a brilliant idea. Can't wait to catch up with the other bloggers and check out their posts. OMG, I am going to need some serious butt therapy after viewing the number of sites that look like they've joined in!!! For those of you wondering about the convicts referred to in the title of the post, both of my great grandparents referred to here are directly descended from convicts sentenced to transportation and sent to Tasmania. More about that on the original posts. Oh, and Seth, best leave some bright ideas for the rest of us. It isn't at all fair you have so many in one year, LOL!!!


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22 comments:

The Weaver of Grass said...

I enjoyed that read Kim - I too have participated in Seth's idea - a good one I agree.
Your book is exquisite and must have taken so many hours of work - truly beautiful.

Caterina Giglio said...

Omg! I am getting in the artmobile and comin over to see this stuff in person, just gorgeous work!! Loved everything and the juxtaposition of hard and soft work is brilliant!!

~*~Patty S said...

Fantastic creations, thank you for sharing these....buried treasure indeed!

John M. Mora said...

strong work - sensual and deep. kudos.

Anonymous said...

i am so very glad that you participated in seth's adventure else i may never have seen this wonderfully amazing and brilliant pieces! you are simply amazing and create the most fantastic creations ever!!

hugs!

MrCachet said...

So - I See HISTORY and ART and a genuine interest in your ancestors. This makes for great art! I'll be back!

Kim Mailhot said...

Wow Kim ! This post was full of treasures to share - that book is an incredible documentation of some for your family's history. And so beautiful too.
Thanks for visiting my corner of the treasure map and for sharing your goodies with us !
Cheers !

Debrina said...

Wow wee wow! I'm drooling here... Your work is simply sumptuous! A delightful combination of darn good art with an enormous heart. What a lovely tribute to your grandparents and your great grandparents. Enough here to keep me oggling for hours (and thus ruin my figure some more!). So, I just have to put you on my "Blogs I Love!" list.

ArtPropelled said...

Great post! I love the book construction and I'm sure your mom is gowing to be bowled over.

Mary S. Hunt said...

gorgeous work!...you did your great grandfather proud with his hornorable pages.
thank you for popping over to my blog...i hadn't gotten to your blog on the list yet
so i am cutting in line today to see...
and what a wonderful reward to feast my eyes

see you again!

Jo Reimer said...

Hi Kim,
Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog. One of the nicest things about Seth's Buried Treasure is the opportunity to find and puruse blogs that we might never have found otherwise.
I'm SO impressed with your book about family. It's just wonderful and will be a family treasure.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the comments you left on my blog and thank heavens for Seth! Gorgeous blog and your work took my breath away. I've got to get back to my fabric work! Thanks for all of the inspiration.

Nettie Edwards said...

I've really enjoyed seeing these beautiful and thoughtful tributes to your forebears, I can never see enough of work like this! Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a kind comment x

Ginny Gaskill said...

I enjoyed your post. Love your color palette.

Kim Palmer said...

To everyone who popped in to look and leave a comment, thank you all. The comments you leave are most appreciated. Thank you also to Seth for bringing everyone together! Another spectacular idea Seth!

Seth said...

Kim, first can I say that I really enjoyed your humor in the text of this post!! But your book pages are the real highlight here. Extraordinary. So meaningful and beautifully crafted. I am glad you had this opportunity to show them off!!!

Shelly said...

Navel reference gave me a giggle !!
Your book is just too beautiful for words, so I won't even begin to try and describe how breathtaking it is.
Great choice for this challenge.
:-)
Shelly

Evangeline said...

Wow! Your book is amazing. I am so glad I found this buried treasure. :)

And thank you for the kind comment on my blog.

Kelly Jeanette Swift said...

A beautiful book. You are really talented. I'm glad Seth is doing this so I can find such good artists as yourself.

Lucky Dip Lisa said...

Such wonderful books! I especially like the page with the frame and the tree. BEAUTIFUL!

3rdEyeMuse said...

... I am still trying to catch up with all the participants from the first go around ... honestly, it's worth the effort - these favorites of yours really are treasures! thank you for digging them up for us to see. :)

A tired retired recluse @ Swallowcliffs.blogspot.com/ said...

I appreciate your way of illustrating the names... I want to try something like this... I will have to work on it. lol