So we were having lunch the other day at Taproot when R nudged me and pointed…”On the Way”…oh good lord, I haven’t blogged in MONTHS! I doubt anybody is out there. ..well you’re there, but maybe not HERE?
It isn’t so much that I have nothing to say…but that the things I’m thinking about are fleeting and ephemeral, anecdotal and not art-related, too serious or too ridiculous. Perhaps seeing them, “in print” will make me feel like a NUT CASE? AH WELL…
My exhibit in June at Salem on the Edge Gallery was fun and everything that didn’t sell is safely back and stowed away. I’m taking a break from painting through August…not from drawing though…or quilting.
July was fun…a long beach sojourn where we did the usual July things…
Plus a family reunion…
But here’s a fact: did you know postcards are disappearing? Some of you may remember my many posts on “The Snail Blog”…my friend Ellen’s answer to this blog wherein she mails a card to me everyday (#3983 arrived today…almost 11 years of daily notes). On her cross country trip this year from Vermont to Wyoming she noted all the places where she used to get postcards no longer have such things. People are not sending and writing postcards I guess, even though Ellen and Al send us cards with great frequency…
Back in the ’90’s I collected old postcards from 1900-1920, in those days the cards were specific images made by itinerant photographers. I called the album I made “Vanishing America” because as I categorized and sorted the images “Houses, Men, Women, People Outdoors, Vehicles, etc.” and when I looked at them today I saw the title was apt…it’s a different world we live in now…
So, friends, send a message to somebody you have forgotten or has forgotten you, in the same spirit that I send this message out today. Roll on August.
On The Way 
This is coming from your cousin Barbie in STL. I have missed your posts this summer. Spent 3 weeksin WA state from the end of June until the 5th of July with my daughter, her wife, and their daughter. They live in PortAngeles. Then came home for a couple of weeks and had to go to Iowa for the funeral of my sister-in-law. It was a sad event, but my brotherand she had been married 60 years, so there were lots of fond memories to share with relatives not seen for a very long time. This weekend I will be spending the day with several of my sister Mary’s kids, some who live here, but we are gathering to spend time with the youngest daughter and her family visiting here from VA. They’ve spent the last week with my sister down in Sikeston. When August hits, I am sure there will be the immediate letdown of not seeing family; I battle this often, even though my son lives here, he has a job that requires many hours. Regarding postcards, I collected them for several years, friends and relatives would mail them to me, but when I downsized the last time, 7 years ago, I made a collage from all of my favorite ones and put the mounting in a poster sized frame; it hangs on my bedroom wall.Hope you and yours have a pleasant, safe fall and winter season and hope there more On The Way postings to come. Fondly, Barbara Merritt3601 Lemay Ferry Road227-CSt Louis MO 63125
Hi Barbie…sounds like quite the summer for you so far. it’s supposed to top 100 here tomorrow so we’re heading to the beach. I’m going to try and post more often…xxxooo
Well that was worth waiting for. What a blog. You are one of the most talented persons I know and talented in so many different ways. Ways too long to list here. I loved the post cards especially. I have saved my grandfather’s and I am happy I did.
Thanks Bonnie. Loved hearing from you.
Hi Irene…keeping in touch is all. Luckily you are nearby. xxoo
I just loved seeing everyone again. Helen Braden
Missing you Helen
Thanks, Bonnie, a delight to read, as always.
Thanks Jo
Postcards! Jennifer and I are joining our friends Michael Kesten and Deb Schallert at Cocolalla Lake, Idaho next week. One of our must see sights will be the Ross Hall photo studio and museum (maintained by his son) in Sandpoint. Ross Hall took photos of every little town and related topics, throughout North Idaho. We will report back on what we find. Geo.
Look forward to the report George
Well, I am still a great believer in p-cards…wrote and mailed 6 from Sun Valley last week..always to the 5 grands and one to Jim’s 100 year old Mom. She ALWAYS mentions that she enjoys getting them. One grandson says he saves them all..that would be starting our 7th year of p-cards, beginning as a college freshman.
I keep p-card stamps in my purse at all times. But cards are more difficult to find, for sure. I made 2 on Tuesday in my Sitka class!
Spiffy cards Carol!
Welcome back. We have missed you.
So very good to see you recently in your hideout…xo
Good God Woman!!! You are a breath of fresh air!!! Your posts are so uplifting and i have missed them madly….so happy to read you this morning. And i loved your photo “On the Way!” and the children and their works, and the old postcards. Sad to hear postcards are currently out of style, but they must make a comeback. Just because we love them, and you. xoxo
Thanks you force of nature…xxxooo
Bonnie, I really dig so many things about the quilt you posted in this “On The Way”. The 7 (viewable) “flower shapes”, for lack of a better name for them, add a consistent colorway for a quilt pieced with various patterned and plain scraps of cloth. And it’s the piecing and placing of similar fabrics, red & white stripes, brown with polka dots, pillow ticking, ditsy florals, etc., that seems so masterful and hypnotizing. I grew up with a handmade quilt from my grandmother made from her own and my mothers’ old dresses and aprons. I never tired of running my eyes over the various fabrics and they were placed much more random, crazy quilted, than yours, which are placed with an artist’s eye, much as in a painting. A beautiful piece of work!
Thanks San. The quilt top came through a series of friends from an unknown California maker. The he is flowers had been cut out of their original quilt and given to me. The idea to join them occurred to me as bizarre, but when I pinned them on it seem d to work for both parties. I
Appligued the big flowers and they are all quilted now but I have a long way to go to finish the piece. I’m currently obsessed with conjoining odd things I didn’t make and making them my own…blind collaboration if you will. I appreciate the kind words. Xo
Bonnie.. there is something special in everything you do♥️ You continue to inspire, bring tears of joy and make me happy that I am connected to you and your world .. someway.. somehow. Lots of Love to you and Roger 🌸 Hope to meet you someday soon!
Hugs, Heena
>
Heena how is it possible that a London drawing circle sparked a recognition of kindred spirits in us that has produced ideas, moral support, learning different lives…my world is so much more interesting with you and your beautiful family and your friends in it. I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but hooray for us! All love to your house tonight. Xxxooo