Cross Stitch

So thanks to perhaps my Southern roots, or just my lovely mom, I learned to cross stitch when I was roughly 8 years old.  I was amazed at it's intricacies but how simply it was to do.  The earliest record of Cross Stitch in the US dates back to 1653 and is housed at Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth Massachusetts. The below sampler is by Ann Grimshaw, a Quaker living in Yorkshire NY in 1818.  She was a mere 13 yrs old when she created this sampler (which now hangs in the Philadelphia Museum of Art):

grimshaworigin.org

Traditional Palestinian wedding shawls

check out  http://saltyoat.blogspot.com/ for great samples of handicraft and cross stitch.

Cross stitch always made me think of the stuffy propriety of old parlor rooms with women sitting around gossiping while embroidering intricate, delicate pillows and baby clothes. I was surprise to see in person the colorful work of "ethnic minority" of Vietnam and Thailand. It is so much more free spirited and an expression of these extraordinary tribal people.  It is a famous tradition in Sapa, Vietnam (which is a stunning place), where the local weekly market attracts the best samples of the various villages.  The women bring their embroidered blankets and clothes to the market where they will hopefully sell to passing tourists.  They mostly use indigo dyed cotton as there base fabric and also add block printing intermittently within the cross stitch design.  I spent a small fortune while I was there, but have no regrets and still find them inspiring years later. 

Joni

I didn't start listening to Joni Mitchell until I was about 23, when I found Blue on vinyl at a friends apartment.  I was expecting yellow taxicabs and childlike melodies, but her honesty and vulnerability made a memorable impression.  I think the documentaries about Joni Mitchell shed light on her journey from a small town in Canada and her life long struggle with the decision to give up her child for adoption as a young woman.  She always remains so elegant and impressively talented.
Joni Mitchell is one of those iconic faces, lovable and sincere.  That said, I believe her style and beauty are interesting to us because of her talent.

Norma Rae

I just re-watched Norma Rae from 1979.  I remember renting it as a kid because my mom looks like Sally Field and my grandmother once worked as a seamstress.  It’s such a stellar portrayal of the gusto, humor and heart of Southern women.   Sally Field won the Best Actress Oscar but more importantly, she perfectly depicts a small town factory worker without labor laws in 1978.  It’s a true story based on Crystal Lee Sutton from North Carolina and apparently the last scene of Sally Field in the factory (shown below) is verbatim to what actually happened.  It’s an all time favorite of mine; it’s perhaps one of the best portrayals of the diversity and independent spirit of this country. 

I have mixed feelings about labor unions now, and wonder where the manufacturing industry in the US would be if they had not been around to fight for high pay and fewer hours?  Would we have lost 2.5 million manufacturing jobs in the last decade to overseas workers? It's an impossible dilemma.

Crystal Lee Sutton

Paul Huxley

In the same spirit of graphic design, I came across Paul Huxley in my research for prints. After graduating in 1960 from the Royal Academy in London, Huxley progressed through the London art scene with his first exhibit in 1965.  After to moving to NYC, Huxley met and in some cases befriending many of his contemporaries, Mark Rothko, Jasper Johns, and Barnett Newman. While not reach the same level of fame as others in his generation, his paintings are hard to forget.

all images from www.paulhuxley.com

  

Scott Hanson: ISO50

Scott Hanson, presumable well know in the graphic design community, but is an exciting find for me.  I was searching for a vintage poster and came across his stellar blog and spot-on graphic posters at blog.ISO50.com.   He makes and sells these posters as well as others in San Francisco.

Dian Fossey

Other amazing females of past, Dian Fossey is extraordinary.  Sigourney Weaver played her in the 1988 film, Gorilllas in the Mist. I recently watched the National Geography original film of Dian Fossey studying the mountain gorillas in Rwanda. Both movies are great, covering her struggle to defend gorillas against poachers from 1967-1983 while studying their behavior daily.  

Images from gorillas.org and gorillafund.org

nationalgeographic.com