Ancestors

Shauna Palmer hosts this exchange for October with this theme: old photos, ancient writings, extra terrestrial beings...cave dwellings, pueblos...a lot of things signify ancestors for me, and probably do for you as well. My imagination runs away with me on this one....show us YOUR ancestors. SP

Tracie Miser
I think that looking back and either fantasizing about who are our ancestors were or actaully exploring the "real" ancestors we have..is a creative process in itself. It links one to the past.

Ancestral Friendship book Gillian Allen
Like an altered book , this has been passed around friends who wanted to keep in touch with each other after leaving college many years ago, they stuck in photos of themselves, family and new experiences they encountered, sentimental notions, messages and things of interest to them. It seems to have landed up with my mother (now gone to join her chums) who left it to me. It now resides in cyber space, for those to wonder at who they were

Shauna Palmer/Ancestral Pyramid box
You can see inside these pyramid boxes, and details of how Shauna has created them, with this link

Siver Moon :Ancestral Form
10"antique wooden torso, randomly painted with Golden's Micaceous Iron Oxide, embellished
with a matchbox, mica tile, buttons, vintage photos, and an antique brass numbered plate.

Sylvia Kleindinst: Collage
My choice of subject was a photo of myGrandmother, Emily Witter Smith, taken when she graduated from HS in 1900. I liked the picture because it shows her entire dress. Also, I have the original book she received as a gift from her Grandmother and so I scanned it, along with the inscription page and used them as part of the collage.
Last summer I went to Nebraska and had the chance to visit the old farm where she lived and where my father was born. Now it is in bad condition, but I took a series of pictures and used one of the doorway with the picture of Emily placed to one side. In some collages I also included other Nebraska landscapes from the area to give more of the feeling of place. The fabric is some old silk that I handstamped. The backgrounds are painted with acrylic. I also used some pale green velum paper for an envelope or additional color. Each collage is a little different. I added some painting over the photograph too. I hope each collage will express some small part of my Grandmother's life.

pointer on picture names the artist

If you're feeling particularly creative
go to the new exchange ideas on the
artexhange page

Pilar Pollock/Altoid tin
My inspiration for the ancestor swap came from the celebration of the human experience as shown through art. Through out time, artisans have created a rich history of recording the universals of life; thus, closing the gap between time and space. This in turn, creates a bridge between our realities now and the worlds of past peoples.

Fast Eyes / Tobacco Deck