I recently attended the wake of a colleague’s husband. It was made bittersweet by the fact that his wife and family had carefully displayed old photos and scrapbooks, their wedding album, and small mementos gathered over the course of his lifetime. This makeshift memorial illustrated that even in death, this man would not be far […]
Centuries before Nike introduced its signature swoosh, and Apple its nibbled pomme, the idea of branding — creating an iconic image and a distinct personality for a business — was simply old hat. It was called the “trade sign.” Early trade signs were America’s first attempt at branding, and a darned good one. The origins […]
Before my husband and I adopted two children, we adopted three dogs, a cat, and finally, a wonderful pet sitter named Janet. Janet is special kind of human being: She’s an animal person. And no, I don’t just mean an animal lover. In our pet-crazed culture, self-professed animal lovers abound. An animal person is someone […]
Organic — it’s a word we’re all familiar with. Or are we? In America’s quest to “go green,” the word organic has been plastered on everything from cheese curls to shampoo, burgers to baby clothes. To most folks, it’s shorthand for “all natural/no pesticides/hormone free.” But once upon a time, organic was used to describe […]
Flat. It’s a word not often associated with beauty or talent. Rather, it conjures up far less remarkable images: flat tire; flat broke; flat as a pancake. But in the world of folk art portraiture, flatness is so desirable, even transcendent, that it practically defines the genre itself. Folk art portraiture, often called “naive” portraiture, […]
Americans are a loud bunch. We talk big. We act out. We don’t truly embrace the “less is more” mentality. Our heroes are risk takers, and we value action over restraint, boldness over subtlety. I suppose it’s inevitable that a country spawned from revolution would embrace boisterous ideals, but I fear that in doing so, […]
The earliest forms of Nantucket baskets were utilitarian creations, made free-form using wooden splints woven to a round pine-board bottom. During the 1860s, basket making aboard the lightships became an art form. I tip my hat to those plucky 19th-century seamen who first manned the lightships off the shores of Nantucket. Unlike the world’s great […]
It has been said that art is the signature of a civilization. Like all signatures, it is unique and personal and binding. When a civilization vanishes, it is art that leaves an indelible imprint to tell the story of a people’s existence and their eventual demise. Such is the story of Tomah Joseph, a Passamaquoddy […]
Give an antique valentine and receive a heart in return.
