Multi-Cultural Folk Art From My Collection, Part 2: The Mysteries

Tags

Collecting, Interior Decor, St. Martin Folk Art, St. Martin Gourd Doll

I have quite a few objects in my folk art collection which cause me to ask questions. — A good thing; because it keeps my mind active. — For example, I have carvings which I know, just from my collecting experience, come from the African continent. But I don’t know their exact country of origin. Or maybe I know that; but I don’t know the carver’s tribal affiliation. And then, there are pieces in my collection which are total mysteries to me. I have a few of those. (I had more before I downsized my collection in the early 2000’s. I wish I had saved those.) Anyway, I’d like to share a few “mysteries” with you here.

St. Martin is a very small island located in the northeast Caribbean. The island’s main industry is tourism. And, here is a vintage souvenir, which somehow wound up in my town, Seattle, WA. What I know about this wonderful doll is only what I can glean from holding it in my hand and looking at it. If you search for another on the internet, you probably won’t find one. If you do, send me the photo! I’ve found no similar photos or info in my searches. It’s made of a painted gourd, wood, cloth and some type of natural fiber. I’d love to know what culture the person who made this belonged to. There are many nationalities represented in St. Martin. But this doll looks like many of the African dolls I’ve had in my collection. During the time of slavery, St. Martin was involved. I’d say this was made by a person from the Creole people — someone who can trace their lineage back to the indigenous, African and French cultures. I’d love to nail down the tradition represented here. — I would say this dates to the 1950’s or 60’s.

The one thing I can say about this little horse is this: it’s probably not Swedish. I collect Swedish carved horses and chickens, and they aren’t decorated like this. But once again, I’ve seen no other photos of this item. The poor little horse has pretty much lost its little ears, which were made of leather or a plastic material. It still has its straw tail. I love it for its primitive beauty; but I know nothing about it origin. It was made of a clay or plaster material which was dried, painted and decorated. I’m curious to know if it was part of an assortment of circus animals. If so, I’d love to see the rest! I keep this not only to add color and whimsy to my environment; I keep it to give me something to wonder about.

Not a clue…. It seems rather middle-Eastern or Asian to me. But my internet search has been fruitless. It’s a beautifully-carved horse and rider. More, I cannot say. I display it with my African art, because it — well, it doesn’t clash. I’m not sure how to date this piece. It’s made of a hardwood, which has stood up to the years very well (excepting a crack which runs vertically down the middle, which may have been caused by a fall). A piece like this could have been made close to a hundred years ago, or thirty years ago.

Again, I’m clueless about this piece. I also have this figure sharing space with my African art. I like its eyes, its large brows, its curves. Judging by its condition, I’d say it has some age on it. It could date back to the 50’s. If I was to take a wild guess, I’d say an Indonesian carver created this. It doesn’t really look African to me; Indonesian carvers are highly skilled. To my eye, this piece is simple, but perfect.*Update: I am gonna say Borneo. Since I wrote this, I was looking through a twenty year old book I have, entitled “Living With Folk Art”, and I saw a carving from Borneo that looked a little similar. I Googled “Borneo Wood Carving” and saw a few more that looked similar. And, I can say that if it is from Borneo, then it’s by the Dyak people, it has some age on it, and it’s worth a bit of money.

Members of many of our planet’s cultures have decorated utilitarian objects. For example, our American Northwest Coast native population made just about everything they used into art, whether it was a bowl, a fish hook, or an every-day utensil such as a spoon. I don’t usually collect folk art spoons or forks which were probably made for sale to tourists as art, and not really intended to be used. I find them a little “tacky”. But I was intrigued by this one. It features a beautifully-carved human form. The carving does offer one clue which could help ID it: the very top features a motif which I would call Indonesian. But I could be way off. I tend to go with Indonesian when I can’t pin down a carving’s origin (I do this in a sort of tongue-in-cheek manner. It’s like Grateful Dead dancing: when in doubt, twirl! Or in this case, when in doubt, say Indonesian).

I truly know nothing about this beautiful coiled basket’s origins. I know little about baskets in general, and I have few in my folk art collection. I’ve concentrated more on collecting tribal pottery, as opposed to tribal basketry. But I have had the pleasure of viewing many Native American baskets at the Maryhill Museum near Goldendale, WA, a town where I played hundreds of country music nightclub dates back in the 1970’s. It is so worth the drive, to visit Maryhill. I could do a whole post on that museum. It is housed in the poured concrete building Sam Hill intended to be his home. Yes, he is the Sam Hill, as in “Where in the Sam Hill?” — And, just a few miles from the museum, you’ll find a replica of Stonehenge. Yes!

The basket: I only bought this basket because it was pretty, and it was deeply discounted at an antique dealer’s going-out-of-business sale. I’m not sure how old it is, or what country it comes from. Baskets like this could be Asian, Native American, or South American. Do you have any info to share? (Sad note about the antique store: the owner was forced to close due to “progress”. The building the store was in was condemned for total destruction, so that a new structure could be put in its place. That was two years ago, and absolutely nothing has been done on the site. The antique store, tavern and dry cleaners that occupied the building could have continued to serve the public for another two years, at least.) *Update: since writing this story, I’ve looked at many more photos on the web. This could be a Hopi basket. I’m still far from certain….

Let’s finish with this complex piece. In the center, which is surrounded by a border made of several pieces of cloth which have been stitched together, is a beautiful example of Southeast Asian embroidery. I’m going to share two photos here, in hopes that someone will be able to tell me what country/tribe this comes from. It could be from the Hmong people, who inhabit the countries of Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and China. Or, it could be from the Khmer tribe of Cambodia. I’d love to know. I bought the wallhanging, which measures about 3.5 feet in length, at a Seattle estate sale twenty years ago. It was already somewhat faded from exposure to sunlight. I’d say it’s at least thirty years old. I looked on the www to try to find examples of the motifs, below, with no success.

Wallhanging detail.

The purpose of this story is to not only to share some mystery pieces with you, but to ask for your help in identifying them. Please comment, if you can offer any assistance. And, thanks, in advance.

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Odd and ends:

I mentioned in my introduction that I have African carvings which, while I’m sure they are from Africa, I can’t say where they came from, or what tribe the carver was a member of. Here is one of those. I wouldn’t say it’s really old…. If you have any info, please share. *Update: I finally found a similar image. It’s undoubtedly a carving done by a member of Ghana’s Ashante tribe. I can’t say how old it is. The carving I found on the internet was described as “vintage”. But aren’t they all?

Finally, just for comparison, here is a photo of a Swedish carved horse. Just one village in the entire world is the source of these carvings: Bergkarlås, which is located in central Sweden. They’ve been carving beautiful renderings of domestic livestock for hundreds of years. I used to have some amazing, vintage carved chickens from Bergkarlås, but I sold them to a young woman named Kim, who was completely taken by them, at one of my garage sales.– Well, I was completely taken too. By her. She got a good deal.

If you’d like to learn more about the beautiful carvings of Bergkarlås, go here: http://www.theswedishwoodenhorse.com/dala-horse-history

Here is Maryhill Museum, nestled in its beautiful Eastern Washington home, near the Columbia River. Go! Its decorative arts collection in amazing.

 

 

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Multi-Cultural Folk Art From My Collection, Part 1

Tags

African Art, Asian Art, Collecting, Interior Decor, Mexican Folk Art, Native American Art

This fabulous vintage item, made by the Columbus Washboard Company of Columbus, GA, is not exactly folk art, as it was made in a small factory. But it was hand-assembled. And it’s surrounded by other examples of folk art and hand-work from my collection.

Collecting and decorating with folk art is my passion. I’d like to give you a little transfusion of that passion. Because I think folk art can be displayed in practically any interior setting. I live in a really plain, poorly made, 1980’s apartment building. The art works well to disguise the drabness of my place. On the other hand, folk art would fit in nicely in a vintage home. I’ve also seen it displayed in tres’ modern settings, where it looked great. It added a human touch to the otherwise minimalist glass and metal interior.

I’m going to share examples from my collection, from several cultures — cultures within and without America. Let’s start off with some Native American creations. And please keep this in mind: I’m a collector, not an expert.

One of my rarest finds.

My papoose cradle board is a very traditional “doll sized” version of an Apache Indian cradle board; it comes complete with authentic trade cloth doll. In photos I’ve seen, the doll is often missing. This was created from yellow cloth, willow twigs, wood and cord. It’s decorated with tiny seed beads. Little slats of wood make up the backboard. This is the only example I’ve ever seen, other than in photos on the internet. I’m so happy to have found it. I imagine it’s close to 50 years old. (FYI: The hood on a real cradle board is made to provide the baby with protection from the sun.)

My Navajo doll sits on a 50’s vintage beacon blanket, surrounded by old Mexican pottery from Tlaquepaque.

You can find Navajo dolls at flea markets and antique malls. The ones you find could date from the 1950’s, to the present. There’s a long tradition of making these beautiful dolls. I’ve had many over the years. I had to downsize in the early 2000’s, and regretfully, I sold some wonderful ones. But I know they went to good homes; that gives me some solace. This is a particularly attractive one. She has a skirt and two underskirts. (Is that what they’re called? I’m a guy….) There’s a generous amount of bead-work. — I remember my Mom using her Singer sewing machine to attach trim, or bric-a-brac, to fabric. This doll’s dress has that trim, so I know it’s not extremely old. I’d say it’s from the 70’s.

Save your money.

Aren’t these pretty? They’re clown Kachinas, or Katsinas. Sadly, both are missing some parts. Because they were apparently assembled from small, carved pieces, with a glue gun. Or something like a glue gun. I paid $28 plus state tax, for each of these, in 2000. If you want a real Kachina, be prepared to pay much, much more than that. But you’ll have something that’s really amazing, and relatively rare. I keep these only as an example of what not to buy. Cheap, poorly-made Kachinas can be found rather easily. Just remember: they look great, until pieces start falling off. These are signed on the bottom, “Jay”. Thanks, Jay…. (Note: watch out for the word “vintage” being used to describe these if you are shopping on the internet. Sellers will put that on Kachinas, and anything else, whether or not they know that is an accurate label.)

She compulsively makes these; I compulsively buy them.

Here is a painted rock, by Teresa Hopper of Puyallup, WA. Teresa goes to the river and carefully picks out the rocks she paints. This particular one is her interpretation of a Native American petroglyph. Teresa doesn’t claim Native heritage; but she likes to pay her respect, and she just has to do this. She’s painted thousands of rocks, each one with great care, in many styles. I have a whole collection of these. I was so honored when she walked around my apartment, circa 2000, taking photos of my art, so that she could replicate it on her wonderful rocks. This one cost me about $4. Her prices are way too reasonable.

Male African-American doll.

This doll, and its mate which follows, were not made to play with. They were made for hanging on the wall as art. The dolls are made, at least partially, from those little cloth loops which are often used on a small loom which makes potholders. I found this pair for a very low price, in a plastic bag, at an antique mall. I couldn’t wait to take them home, liberate them from the bag, and give them a spot in my African-themed kitchen.

Female African-American doll.

This is a very well-made Ethiopian basket. I have extremely ugly kitchen cabinets; so I have one of these beautifully woven baskets hanging on each cabinet door. Suddenly the ugly brown “Contact paper” facade becomes a much more attractive background for this great art. Look for preowned ones at antique stores and flea markets, or new at African art stores, which most medium-sized and larger cities will have. I love all Ethiopian art, including their beautiful Coptic Christian crosses, of which I have two.

I got lucky when I found this.

Since celestial objects were worshiped by the Aztecs, many Mexican carvings have a sun, moon or star motif; this wooden plaque has all three. It also has some age on it. One way I know that, is this: I’ve never seen another one. Not even a photo. Things like this tend to get discarded over the years, making surviving ones rarer. — If this was new, I’d see them everywhere. I’ll say it’s from the 60’s-70’s. I like it because it provides what everyone is looking for in their decor these days: a pop of color. (Try this: Google “Mexican wooden carved sun star moon plaque” and you’ll see rows and rows of images of Indonesian carvings, and a few Mexican-carved ones. Indonesian carvers are skilled enough to carve in the Native American style, Mexican style, African style…. You can be fooled.)

Gifted to me.

I collect manger scenes, aka creches. This one was made of fired clay, in the Mexican state of Jalisco, where skilled artisans live. I just love it; I leave it up all year. It’s too pretty to display only one month out of the year. You can find these, new, at import stores like Ten Thousand Villages. This set is about twenty years old. Jalisco work is pretty easy to identify. Look for glossy glazes and smooth modeling. — It won’t have the rustic look of the plaque which I featured above.

Broken beauty.

Wow. And speaking of rustic Mexican art: this wildly painted grouping is just that. But I adore it. I’ve had to glue it back together. I think I still have an arm somewhere which needs to be reattached to the mother. Things like this are made of clay, dried, and painted. Not fired. Very breakable. But if you want a bit of pure whimsy, pure color in an area of your abode, put this there.

Here’s one last Mexican piece, about which I know little. I found zero examples on the www. — Partly because I don’t know what to call it. But it’s crafted from slabs of clay, modeled and painted to depict a flower shop. I did manage to see a few on sale for about 40 bucks apiece in a folk art gallery in Seattle, circa 2000: the late, lamented La Tienda Folk Art Gallery. I have little information to share with you. I’d say it’s at least fifteen years old, because that’s the last time I ever saw one. It’s large enough, and colorful enough, to look really good on your wall. When I move house, I always carefully stake out a special spot for this.

Let’s visit Brazil. This is my only Brazilian piece. It’s a wonderful carved figure of a percussionist. The label on the bottom tells me that it comes from a street named Santos Rua in Frei Gaspar, a small city located in the northeast of the state of Minas Gerais. The carving has an African look to it. Many enslaved Africans’ descendants help to make up Brazil’s population. The African influence in the arts and music was and is strong, just as it was and is in American towns like New Orleans, LA. A side note: Brazilian music is so wide-ranging. It has so much to offer. Brazil is a large country, represented by many cultures.

Lovely lady.

I found this beautiful, vintage Peruvian clay figure in the 1980’s. When my late wife and I visited the Museum Of International Folk Art in Sante Fe, New Mexico, I was so happy to see many of these, displayed in dioramas. They came from the collection of one of the most noted collectors anywhere: the late Alexander Gerard. His collection, which he donated to the museum, forms the backbone of the MOIFA’s great offering of folk art. This figure is dressed in a traditional cloth costume; the cloth has been stiffened in some manner. Perhaps it was painted over with paste or starch. It’s a rare, signed piece. I couldn’t make out the artist’s name, which is there, but faded; but it also says, “Peru 1944″ on the bottom. That would make this little lady 72 years old. She’s not exceptionally large (6.5” tall); but she’s so beautiful that she easily holds her own when it comes to improving my decor.

This amazing, 3-D applique wall hanging from Peru has some age on it. You can see how it’s been faded by exposure to the sun. I bought it used, at an antique mall, nearly 30 years ago. As is usually the case with hand-made art from around the world, older pieces just seem to be better — more detailed. (You can definitely find new ones today; but try to find an older one. You’ll see the difference in detail.) The woman who made this from little scraps of colorful cloth should be very proud of her work. — I take and share many photographs. I share the most colorful, pretty ones. I hope in some small way, my photos can beautify the world in the manner that this wall hanging does.

I prefer to call them secret-keepers.

This is a whistle — more accurately, a flute! By blowing on the hole, you’ll hear several beautiful notes played simultaneously. This group of Peruvians is known as the “gossipers”, because they’re whispering secrets behind their hands. I don’t really like that name…. This piece is twenty years old. It’s definitely an example of a newish piece, which is not made with the same skill an older one would be made with. It looks like the bulk of the piece was formed in a mold. Then, small pieces such as the hands, were added on. I know this, because I had to reglue a hand back onto the piece. (Elmer’s glue is excellent for this.) It appears to have been painted rather than glazed. I like it; but if I could spend the same money, approximately twenty bucks, on a vintage piece, I would.

I’ve had people describe these figures to me as Indian temple toys. I was told they were used to familiarize children with the various Hindu gods. However, I’ve had a difficult time confirming that in my www searches. They’re little papier mache animals, and they are indeed from India. I just love them; and I try to buy them whenever I find them. However, prices will vary wildly, depending upon who is selling them. The smallest ones are often used in making beautiful necklaces; I’ve bought whole necklaces for a couple of dollars. I take the animals off of the necklaces and display them as you see here. But, I’ve also seen the animals priced at a dollar each. The larger ones go for several dollars each. These are vintage, probably made in the 60’s or 70’s. They have some wear on them due to their age, which I happen to like a lot. The larger ones can be hung, so I put them on my multi-cultural Christmas tree every December.

South-east Asian embroidery often depicts folk tales. This particular one simply depicts an agricultural scene. This photo doesn’t begin to do the actual artwork justice. Many of these were brought home from the Vietnam war. They’re getting harder to find, because many of the artisans, having immigrated to America, have changed their style to suit American tastes. You can visit a street fair and meet the women who do the fine needle-craft, but their wares will probably not look like this. I hope you can find one of these. (And they are sometimes listed as Hmong needlework, or Cambodian needlework. But, a Vietnam vet showed me several he personally brought home from Vietnam.)

This intricate, lovely embroidery was made specially for me by my young co-worker who moved to Seattle from Ukraine. Lyuba gifted it to me in 1996. I’ll never part with it. It has an honored place on my wall. If you come across items like this, please appreciate them for all the hours that go into their creation. This is truly a museum-quality piece. Lyuba also played Ukrainian folk instruments. It’s great when children are taught about their culture, whatever that may be.

Here’s a beautiful example of North American folk art carving. This “Old Man Winter” piece is signed “LN”; it’s dated “1971”. I have another, similar carving which is a little newer. You can see it in the very top photo, up above. That one is signed “Lee”. I bought them together; I’m sure the same carver created them both. Beware, because you can wind up with a fake made of resin. This is a popular motif, I’ve seen quite a few fakes. Nothing replaces hand-carved.

Now, just to inspire you to make your own art, I’m showing a couple of pieces that I made. First, I found this little cedar wood item which was originally made to hang on the front door of an abode. It held a message pad, and it had a pencil attached to it. I repainted it inside and out, and added a “protective hand” symbol which I found at a flea market. The protective hand is seen in many of the world’s cultures.

Here is the same item with its door partially closed. I used markers, which I painted, from a 1930’s Parcheesi game for decoration. The game was incomplete, so I didn’t hesitate to take items from it to use in this “found art” piece.

I made this shrine to the legendary Texas Tejano singer, Selena Quintanilla-Perez, whose life was brutally taken by her former fan club president, in 1995. Although she was so beloved by the Hispanic community, I, like many others, never really heard her music until after she was taken from us. Constructing these kind of shrines dedicated to folks who have passed away is a Mexican tradition, and I would say, a tradition of just about all cultures. I gave the black and white photograph a vintage look, and I attached little Mexican milagros (miracles) to the base of the frame. I actually used a sandalwood frame from India, which I cut-down to size and painted with good old Crayola paints, in 2002. In folk art, you use what you have! — I made this to pay respect to Selena, because I don’t think she received the recognition and/or respect she deserved, during her lifetime, and after her death.

Here is a stack of some of my collecting books, nestled in a piece of 1930’s furniture. I haven’t looked at them since I moved in here three years ago, because I dare not disturb my cable box! It’s very touchy about — being touched. I’m fortunate to have additional books. I keep the ones I really want to look at closer at hand. But in the past, I learned a great deal about collecting my kind of art by reading these books. And yes! There is a Beatles book here, which doesn’t belong. But hey, how OCD do I have to be?

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Please look in my archives for other stories about my various collections of art made by the human hand. And go for it: decorate with folk art!

You may have noticed a theme running through my story: assigning a precise date to a piece of folk art is not easy. Items can be made to look old. And as mentioned above, the term “vintage” may be included in an item’s description on the internet, without any kind of proof offered to back-up the claim. — Basically, a truly older piece will have some wear; it will probably be more detailed. It will appear as if sufficient time and care was taken in its creation. It wasn’t just quickly put together, for bulk sale.

Bonus photo: How to disguise an ugly kitchen: cover it up with folk art!

Bonus song: Just for fun, here is a little cultural mashup for you. My friend Bruno Peretti, and the band he plays guitar with, Monoclub, combine Brazilian folk with American alt-country, to make their own fabulous blend of sounds. Here’s one of their videos. Just click:

 

The Not-So Obscure Glass Bottle Tree

Tags

African Glass Bottle Tree, African-American Memoribilia

 

My apologies for the bad photography. I had not heard of blogging in 1997, and didn’t know this photo would be going on the internet….

[Febryary 2019 note: this post is getting scads of views all of a sudden. Could someone leave me a note and tell me where you saw the link? Thanks!]

I’m not going to write down the history — the be-all, end-all story of the glass bottle tree here. I’ve discovered that the story is all over the internet. And glass bottle trees are everywhere now, usually (and sadly) in the form of a designer yard ornament. I’m mostly going to tell you about our tree, and related matters. There. I’ve just saved you a lot of reading!

Not exactly what we were trying for….

My late ex-wife, Sally Jo Davis and I, loved learning about and paying tribute to the planet’s different cultures. We collected Mexican, African, Native American, Indian (think India), Central American and Asian art. We liked things made by the human hand. Our house was filled with beautiful, not expensive, things which we gathered mainly in our native Pacific Northwest. We either bought things new, at street fairs or import shops, or used, at garage sales, antique malls or flea markets.

When we were finally able to buy our own little house in 1997, we decided to not only decorate the inside, but to decorate the outside too. A beautiful red berry tree was growing in our front yard. (I cannot identify the tree for you. Blame the internet!) We decided to turn it into a “glass bottle tree”. That is to say, we decided to hang pretty, colored bottles from it.

Glass bottle trees are a tradition in Africa, and also in the American South, among African-Americans. However, there are more examples in other countries. In fact, I have recently learned that Hungarians have a similar tradition called the jug tree. The traditional purpose for hanging bottles or jugs from a tree is to dispel or destroy the evil which exists in the air. In the case of the glass bottle tree, it is said that when sunlight hits the glass, and a little glint of light is produced, the evil is zapped. — I’m not saying SJ and I had that in mind when we made our tree; but we did want to pay tribute to the tradition and the culture.

First, let me show you a photo of the most common type of glass bottle tree. You’ll note the bottles are shoved onto the bare branches. I imagine these trees are dead, or even artificial. Otherwise, I’m not sure what happens when they begin to sprout leaves!

Bottles pushed onto limbs.

Sally Jo and I had a lush, live tree which we planned to decorate, and it definitely had leaves. So we decided to hang our bottles, using string. I spent a lot of time and effort hanging about two dozen bottles. However, within about two months, the string, having been exposed to our wet weather, rotted and broke. I wound up having to climb up and down a very tall ladder all over again, to rehang many bottles, which I’d found scattered all over the yard. So we learned to use nylon fishing line, for obvious reasons.

Of course, before we could hang the bottles, we had to accumulate bottles. First, we started saving bottles which food products came in. When we used something up, we washed out the bottle and hung it from the tree. Then, we began looking for used bottles at thrift shops and antique malls, and new ones at import shops. We soon learned that some “used” bottles can be very pricey. Because they aren’t used – they’re old. There’s a difference! We weren’t interested in paying collector’s prices. So we just saved our own, and bought the ones we could afford.

I’ve racked up countless hours working in orchards, having grown up in the agricultural community of Yakima, Washington. So I’m not afraid to be high up in a tree, among many branches. – I got used to that, years ago. — Along with the pokes and scrapes that come with the job. So Sally Jo assigned me the job of hanging the bottles. We had inherited a long ladder from our home’s previous owners. I climbed up and down many times, in order to accomplish my task. But finally, I had all the bottles on the tree. And I mentioned that I had to do it all over again when the string broke.

We began taking photos of the tree, to document its beauty; plus it made a great backdrop for posing in front of. We accumulated a nice bunch of photos of the tree, plus ones of us, and the neighbor girls, posing near it.

Sweet little neighbor girls.

Then, a funny thing started happening: we noticed cars stopping in front of our house. Their occupants got out and took photos of our tree! We thought that was pretty neat. So we found some more bottles as soon as we could, and added those to the “display”, to make it that much more attractive. Apparently, our tree was a rare and unusual item.

The internet was just catching on back then. There was so much less happening, regarding the internet. But we thought it would be good to do a search for glass bottle trees, to learn more about them. We had not thought of that, because people didn’t just “Google” things all the time, then. — Well, when we searched “glass bottle trees”, we found people were talking about ours! That was pretty exciting. We found a photo or two of our very own glass bottle tree. We felt good that the tree not only meant something to us; it was also of value to complete strangers. We thought more and more about it, and spent more time watching it. And no, we didn’t find a lot of additional information on the subject.

We did go in search of a book. We found one: a children’s book written by Evelyn Coleman, entitled “The Glass Bottle Tree”. It told a very sweet, fictional tale of a southern, African-American girl and her family’s glass bottle tree.

Well, it seems that the glass bottle tree tradition, or should I say phenomena, has moved north, and west. They’re much more common now. — I found about five bottle trees on the web when I searched in 1997. Now there are thousands of photos. Just go to flickr, and you can view about 700 photos of many kinds of glass bottle trees on their pages. And, you can locate several, if not many, good books on the subject.

One of the best glass bottle tree books is by Felder Rushing. Mr. Rushing goes around the country, taking photos of the many beautiful examples he finds. He filled a book with them, entitled “Bottle Trees …And the Whimsical Art of Garden Glass”. However, he published one photo of a tree which held glass telephone pole insulators, and called them recycled bottles. Not! Here are some of my telephone pole insulators, which I collect, including a beautiful, more rare purple one, plus one made of ceramic. These are not bottles. I thought the insulators looked rather odd on the tree (it’s not my photo, so I am not using it in my story.) — Someday I may do a story about telephone insulators. Let me just say they were made by the same American companies which made art glass, and kitchenware, in the 1920’s-1950’s. You will probably not see them on telephone poles now. They will be in collections or museums. (Or the occasional glass bottle tree!) I think they’re beautiful.

Telephone pole insulators, 1920’s-1950’s, from my collection. Not for glass bottle trees, cause I said so.

Not only can you find books and photos relating to glass bottle trees, by conducting a simple internet search; but you can buy a complete kit! Yes, glass bottle trees have become a business! You can order an entire set of bottles in one swell swoop. They will soon arrive, with instructions. I think this really waters-down the whole thing. For SJ and me, half the fun was going out and finding a bottle. Or buying a product, eating it and then having the bottle as a bonus. I would not have wanted to make our tree in one day. — It just sounds too easy….

Me! Still have those overalls; a gift from Sally Jo. My favorites.

And my tree was not easy. — As I mentioned, I first used string, and then nylon fishing line to hang our bottles, which I hung right-side up. Well, I recently saw a photo of a tree where the maker also tied the bottles onto the tree; but he or she hung them upside down. You know, that’s not a bad idea. Because when winter came, our bottles, which had collected water during the rainy season, started freezing and exploding! Yes. Soon, I was picking up glass shards all over the yard, in 20-30 degree weather. So I’ve learned this: if you hang your bottles right side up, find a stopper, a cork, or something that works as a stopper. — Unless you live where it doesn’t freeze. Even then, if water gets into your bottles, they may not look very attractive if dirt also finds its way in. The resulting mud is not that pretty!

One day, when I was way up on the ladder, trying to tie another bottle onto a branch, the ladder gave way! I fell backwards with the ladder, and I landed very hard. I had to visit my doctor, who told me I had cracked some rib cartilage. I missed a couple of days of work, and I was sore for months! He told me the cure was a “tincture of time”. I thought that was a very colorful figure of speech — although it did nothing to alleviate my pain! — Anyway, my luck with the glass bottle tree wasn’t that great. I had seen the initial strings rot; later the bottles exploded; and then I fell to the ground and hurt myself. — I guess I can say I would do anything for art. And hey! There was no evil in the air!

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Bonus Coverage:

I’m sorry to say that Sally Jo and I divorced in 2000. We sold the house. I took all the bottles from the tree. Sally Jo told me to keep them. However, I moved into an apartment, which had no tree which I could utilize to make another glass bottle tree. I gave away all of the big ones to my friend Shelly, keeping only the little ones. I started collecting all over again; only this time I collected small ones. And one day, while walking to the store, I found a good-sized branch which had been torn from a tree during a storm. It was just what I was looking for. I soon mounted the branch in my apartment, and hung all of my pretty little bottles from it.

It doesn’t look too good against the generic apartment blinds….

I loved my little indoor glass bottle tree. I enjoyed it for eleven years. Then, my apartment building caught fire, and I had to move. There was no room for the branch in my new, smaller place. So I gave those bottles to Shelly. I no longer have a glass bottle tree, but I have my memories, and photos.

In anticipation of writing this story, I recently searched the web to see if I could find someone else’s photo of our tree, because my photos are pretty poor. Or, I was hoping to find an article about our tree, from back then. But all of those photos, and that writing, seems to be gone. That was 1997 – nearly twenty years ago.

Sally Jo Davis passed away in January 2015. R.I.P.

My Hungarian friend/surrogate nephew, Peter Garami, provided me with some information about the Hungarian jug tree. Here is a photo of one, which he found for me. (Thanks, Peter!) Peter shared this information: the jug tree is made on St. George’s day (April 24). This day marks the agricultural end of winter. The jug tree is just one of the many traditions of this day. These traditions are to chase away the evil spirit of winter; but more, they’re the symbols of the rebirth of nature for the forthcoming year. Nowadays, jug trees are also serving a decorative purpose, and they remain up on a year-round basis. Additionally, Peter shared a very ingenious use of the jug tree: they were used long ago, before the invention of dish soap, to help families keep their food containers clean. By hanging the jugs on a tree, they were exposed to UV rays, which killed germs. — I think the one pictured here is very pretty.

Hungarian jug tree.

If you visit YouTube, you can find a couple of songs about glass bottle trees. I wasn’t impressed with either of them enough to want to post them here. Although the performances were good. I just didn’t think either song fit well with my story. Maybe I’ll write one someday!

Here’s a photo of the tree in fall. It’s pretty even if you can’t see the bottles!

 

 

Miss Lou: Jamaica’s Mother Of Culture Comes To Life In The Form Of A Vintage Cloth Doll

Tags

African Diaspora, Bob Marley, Dolls, Dr. Louise Bennett-Coverley, Jamaica, Jamaican Folk Customs, Mento, MIss Lou, Reggae

I found a treasure in my collection, and I felt compelled to write about it.

I began collecting vintage Caribbean cloth dolls in the late 1980’s. I love my dolls, simply because, to me, they’re representations of real people. I love people of all cultures. And I love the hand-crafted folk art that people make.

It’s difficult to place dates on my dolls. They’re made of material that degrades over time. Some of them are rather soiled, which could give them the appearance of being older than they actually are. (As long as I am not an expert on cleaning dolls, I will simply continue to dust them, as I have no desire to devalue them through over-cleaning.) This style of dolls has been made for years. They were most likely made to be sold to tourists, to be placed on a shelf and not played with. I’ll just say that my oldest doll was probably made in the 1950’s.

I compared my dolls to what I could find on the interweb, in an attempt to date them, identify their country of origin, and to learn as much as possible about their history and construction. I found a lot more photos than text. — One thing that amazed me was the low prices the dolls seem to command. Perhaps there are more examples than I realize; and that fact keeps their prices low.

My purpose for taking a really good look at my dolls, photographing and researching them, was to prepare a story for this blog site. I wanted to share these beautiful examples of folk art with my readers. It was just going to be another one of my stories where I discuss my various collections.

One thing leads to another: While going through the collection, I noticed one of my old dolls had the words, “Lou”, and “Jamaica” painted on her apron. In searching for that combination of words on the internet, I was happily surprised to discover that my doll was made in tribute to a Jamaican icon whom I had never heard of: “Miss Lou”, or Dr. Louise Bennett-Coverley, the Jamaican folklorist, poet, singer, comedienne, storyteller and activist who has been called the “Mother of Jamaican Culture”. Miss Lou spoke and sang in Jamaican patois while giving countless live, televised and filmed performances. According to the Jamaica Information Service, “Miss Lou raised the dialect of the Jamaican folk to an art level which is acceptable and appreciated by all in Jamaica”.

Miss Lou was born on September 7, 1919 in Kingston, Jamaica (that just happens to be four days after my sainted mother was born). She lived to be 86 years old; and during her long life, many awards were bestowed upon her for her efforts in spreading the Jamaican culture through her teaching, poetry, song and activism. It can be said that she was “given the roses while she lived”. She knew how much she was loved and appreciated. The first week of September is celebrated by many Jamaicans as Miss Lou Week.

Miss Lou performed a style of music called “mento”, which was a precursor to reggae music. It could be called a stripped-down form of the more well-known calypso.

The Jolly Boys

Perhaps you have heard, or heard of The Jolly Boys, a group of very old Jamaican men who perform in the mento style. They were still performing as late as 2014; they released their latest recording in 2010. Miss Lou is not as well-known to American audiences as The Jolly Boys, and they are not that well-known in America. Per Wikipedia, Miss Lou’s most influential recording is probably her 1954 rendition of the Jamaican traditional song “Day Dah Light”. In 1955, Harry Belafonte recorded an arrangement with additional lyrics, entitled “Day-O”, or the “Banana Boat Song” and had a huge hit. So Miss Lou’s influence was great!

Bob Marley Connection: A community in South Florida, U.S.A., celebrates Miss Lou. Every year, Pembroke Pines, Florida presents the Louise Bennett-Coverley Reading Festival, where attendees are treated to a celebration of rich Jamaican culture (song, dance and perspectives of the works and legend of Miss Lou). A mento band, Tallawah Mento Band, played at the 8^th annual event, where their performance was given in honor of the 70th birthday of Bob Marley. The great Reggae star is said to have credited Miss Lou’s example with providing the basis for his own use of Jamaican dialect over the objections of early record distributors.

My little Miss Lou doll has a cloth face, hands and body. Her eyes and mouth are painted on. Rather than legs, she has a weighted bottom. In other words, she is a “stump doll”. She has the ability to stand on her own, without the aid of a doll stand. She is costumed like Miss Lou was when she shared her songs and stories in live performances, all over the world. Her yarn hair is partially covered by a plaid scarf; she balances a woven basket of cloth “fruit” on her head. She wears a seed-bead necklace and carries a straw bundle under her arm. (I’m not sure of the significance of the bundle.)

Her beautiful but faded costume consists of a dress made of tropical cloth, protected by a white apron, which is tied in the back just like a real apron would be. And yes, the apron is adorned with the words, “Lou” and Jamaica”. I’m so glad I thought to search for those words on the internet!

Modern, hand-crafted Miss Lou doll.

I’m not sure who it was, or when it happened, but someone wisely decided to create dolls in Miss Lou’s likeness. The custom continues to this day. You can buy a newly-made Miss Lou doll; however, mine was made sometime in the 1950’s or 1960’s, and it is the only example I have seen that dates back to that period. I love the doll for what it stands for. Because in this case, the doll truly represents a person who lived, and one who made a real contribution to the spreading of folk culture throughout the world.

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The Louise Bennett (Miss Lou) version of “Day O” is available and documented in both French and English on the “Jamaica – Mento 1951-1958 album”.

Here is Miss Lou singing a Jamaican welcome song, on YouTube: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fy39wPedmY&Rel=0%5D

Here is a song by the Jolly Boys, on YouTube: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYMceYsIhTQ&Rel=0%5D

Here is one more doll from my collection thrown in as a bonus. It’s faded, but clean.