Art

[susanstinson]

I got in touch with Olivia Edith, who did the great drawing that is with my poem in Size Queen. I wanted to praise her.

She told me about Martha Rich, and this is such great work, too. I'm loving the bras and girdles, and, oh my God, the Martha Stewart and Dolly Parton. And all.

I'm off to a women's artist residency in Northern Minnesota on the shores of Lake Superior, where I may or may not be brave and warm enough to dip in. Total immersion writing in the woods with only a big pile of yellow legal pads and a pack of Bics, where everybody's under a vow of silence until after four pm, here I come. I'm in the mood.

Comments

[ericaceous.livejournal.com]

Thanks for linking to those great artists! I especially loved the one with the bathrobed masked wrestler surrounded by the lingeried ladies.

Good luck at the residency! I've been thinking about your puritan project as I recruit people to come to shapenotes with me. To be accurate, even Northern Harmony (http://stoddardfamily.home.comcast.net/1AboutNH.html) is from a bit later and most sings use sacred harp, which has more southern stuff (lots of old methodist circuit preacher hymns!). Anyway, consider going to your local sing at smith when you get back. It's an experience. (http://wmshc.org/localsing.html)

[ericaceous.livejournal.com]

main shape note online resource:
http://www.fasola.org/

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

My folks loved Isaac Watts, who is mentioned in your Northern Harmony link, and were part of a movement to try to get congregations to change the way they sang -- I don't know enough to understand the relation to this, but it would definitely be great for me to hear.

[ericaceous.livejournal.com]

A LOT of the favorites at the sing I go to have lyrics and/or music by Watts.

Another colonial-era favorite is

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A LOT of the favorites at the sing I go to have lyrics and/or music by Watts.

Another colonial-era favorite is<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Billings"William Billings</a>, who is even a new englander.

[ericaceous.livejournal.com]

William Billings (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Billings).

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

Oo! Oo! This is great! I've been listening to music online at the Old Deerfield site, but this is such a great tip. I'll definitely go when I get back.

[ericaceous.livejournal.com]

It is so much more exciting to be there in person, participating, even thoug the first few times, it *is* very very confusing.

I think sturgeon and I will be up in your region the second weekend in October(and a little time surronding it). Do you think you may have time to get together then?

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

I'd love to see you two! My birthday is October 17 -- is that the weekend you mean? before that Monday> -- and sometimes my love and I go to the ocean around it, but let's keep in touch and try to figure out when you might come... maybe we could even go to a shapenote sing...

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

Although I'm highly inhibited when it comes to singing, because I have a notably hard time, you know, find any particular pitch or key or tune or anything of the sort. I can mouth and mumble with the best of them, though.

[ericaceous.livejournal.com]

I mean the oct 8-9 weekend before that, which is Ashfield Fall Festival, where sturgeon's parents live. Maybe we can stay through Tuesday, which would allow us to go to a sing together!
I'm a little jealous that there are so many in western MA--here we have one a month, there there's a weekly in Noho, not to mention amhearst and greenfield!

If there are enough people there singing, you kind of get carried along with the tide.

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

Oct 8-9 -- I'll mark my calendar. I love the Ashfield Fall Festival, although I rarely go, because of the no car thing. Yeah, so we'll just check in closer to the time, and confirm that the Tuesday sing is actually really there and all that. Maybe we can email about it -- I've got to get off lj and go do laundry and pack and all... It's exciting that I might get to see you two.

[ericaceous.livejournal.com]

I think I'm going to rent a car. Maybe I can transport you around if you wanted to go to Ashfield, depending on how things are working out

OK! When you return, details

But I just had to post this thing I found while reading about Billings, about why church hymns started to be boring and bad:
http://www.nationwide.net/~amaranth/LowellMason.htm

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

Great page -- great info -- my folks were on the more rigid side, because they greatly believed in hierarchy, structure and trying to be more European, but they were earlier and also believed strongly in emotion in religion (and claimed that the singing got much better in the midst of revivals), so much figure this out...

Yeah, and if you'd like to crash in my place for a night, especially a Saturday or Monday (Thurs, Fri, Sun not so good), you'd be totally welcome. We'll figure it out...

[ericaceous.livejournal.com]

Ooooh! It would be totally fun to stay with you one night, I hope it will work out! we'll work out details when you return. I also have to get. off. the. LJ. Talk to you later!

[little_star]

have fun! i saw you the other day on the street and then when i was done parking the car you were gone. it was like i saw the essence of susan shining brightly on the street. i'm sorry i didn't plan ahead to get together :(

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

Aww! You saw me, and I was shining! I know you've got lots to do and folks you love here, but it'd be lovely if we did hang out some time when you're in town.

[crazycrone.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm glad to have discovered Olivia Edith too.

Legal pads and Lake Superior sounds just too good. Enjoy!

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

I'm going to do my best.

[brownstargirl.livejournal.com]

n-croft? yay!!!

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Yay! Was inspired by the progress you were posting about on your novel.

[brownstargirl.livejournal.com]

thanks! but, god, i could use norcroft right now... my friend b just got back from 2 weeks there. i hear the resort has email now?

enjoy and good luck with your writing bliss time.

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

Writing bliss time. I'm feeling that like as a good, strong actual possibility with that phrase in front of me. I'll think of you and sink in to use it well.

I've never been before, but everything I've heard so far is no email, which is good for me.