Labor Day 1953

I love 2016, so I am telling the stories of "in the day" , as clearly as possible to enrich the reader to the way of things in "Autre temps"  other times, in our world.  It is supposed to help my children and not bore them.

"Labor Day"  was created. only after  we'd worked  a hundred years to establish America,  Labor Day  represents a way of thought and action that gave us and our children the idea that all we need to do is work our best and  success happens automatically and happiness just greets us at breakfast because we are American!  

My parents, Pisces and Libra, were still euphoric over the end of WWII , and " all 'o' their own" safe and home in one piece.  Mother, one of eleven and Dad, one of eight - All of them  seemed always to be celebrating life , with gratitude and appreciation . And romance and industry for postwar life.  They would tell us the story of bad and painful days - Great Depression and then the horrible war.  It had been so bad that they could not help celebrating now, having won through it all with fine lives to live again!

So we understood why they seemed to think it all so grand - even on a cold and rainy day!  Soon we'd be grownup and it would be our turn - our responsibility to "cook up the grand" for our own children to whet their appetites for life.  That was our job.

l was six and absorbing all this, and my brother was four.  They made me a bit dizzy at times  ,but I DID understand and was 'at the ready' .    My nickname , in the home of nicknames, was Miss Memorial Day.  I could not wait to jump up each morning - some great thing was likely to be happening or it would be to me to do my part of making up the next family gathering or party or holiday duty and celebration.   I think I like parties - my late husband proposed on he Fourth of July / US Independence Day, and our Wedding was at Christmas. My art at the White House at Easter......hmmmm.

And now it was Labor Day.  Mother was laughing and threatening to "DO something" since Dad and his seven brothers and her five brothers, could not resist the Labor Day humor aimed at her , at the family picnic for the end of summer celebration.  

You see, our baby sister was due for birth 'about NOW'  and time to go into labor and deliver her.... it WAS, after all, Labor Day. Mother had delivered two healthy babies  in '47 and '49 and lost one in '51 , helping bail the basement after one of the old Connecticut floods...so this bit of hubbub about my sister's birth, was 'more so' to be sure she was sailing clear of the  miscarriage.  Normally, an expectant lady was treated with utmost respect.   But the "gang" was in their twenties, and bound to try to make a party of it.

Mother did not mind - it was a glorious , scorching hot day for the huge picnic get together at Auntie Em's and Uncle Smick's.  Mother, herself, felt unsettled , for days before:  was it the picnic and our part of the work for it, or was it the baby?    She  kept smoothing her skirts as best she could , wondering if her love of Theater would take over and put her in labor, ON Labor Day.  

Yep. With the hundred of the laughing, off she went to the hospital, in labor. But ....

False labor, she returned to the event and enjoyed the rest of the fete , with all the "gang' in very odd laughter over it, and a good time was had by allllll  and my baby sister born two week's later on September 18th.

What memories!  

Thanksomuch for them !

elle 

http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/labor-day/videos/history-of-labor-day

2016 month-by-month news!

News

OCTOBER

Pequot Library in Southport, Connecticut, USA  - historic site and working library for over a century presented it's 19th Annual Art Show! Honored to have two of my paintings on display there this year as in years before - companion fundraising auction and sales to fundraise to keep the Library's rose quartz outside and sofa-ed fireplaces inside, sharing a world-class yet nice, small collection of reading and historical materials and up-to-date technology. 

SEPTEMBER

BUSY!  Work in the Aetna Gallery Show, the Preparations for 2016 Open Studio Hartford's Artstravaganza!  And ENVISIONFEST - Hartford's Annual Celebration of Family Lights in the glow of the Golden Capitol Dome. At  Bushnell Park, with its green lawns, Koi Pond and Fountain and historic landmarks all around, Color explodes with hot air balloons, 20-foot walking puppets in multi-colors, loving the children and their parents - borrow a child and let them befriend you - five kinds of music - walking jazz band  - rock - folk and more!  And tents and displays of arts and crafts for browsing and buying - and the wonderful ICE CREAM and other food treats!  The Weather co-operated and the day, the place, the displays and most of all the people - glowing with celebration of golden autumn and shoring up the glow to last all winter!

AUGUST

Invited to UPCOMING 150th Anniversary Exhibition - American Watercolor Society - 5th Avenue NYC USA      Founded just after the end of America's Civil War, it made freedom and equality one of its foundation blocks while maintaining the best in the form.  I have been a member since 2011 but ONLY after winning a spot in the annual show TWICE is an Associate Member allowed the "A.W.S" postscript after their names.   Thousands submit but only  hundred make the cut and are shared at the AWS home, the historic family-friendly , elegant Salmagundi Club.  Submission deadline - Thanksgiving   Notifications of Acceptance - January  and the show in April with events and then the winners' collection travels the nation for the year, till it begins all over again.  Win or lose - the participation is wonderful!
Thank you for including me and making me feel a part of the art, AWS!

JULY

• SUCCESS!  This weekend I played "Sidewalk Artist" and will do it now as often as possible. "Catch me if you can"
• Major website update  under way - we went LIVE last night !   
• Great to be UNdisabled and after some setup time,  hope for upgrades in sales too!   
• Watch for publishing news via Amazon's self-publishing options!

JUNE

it's all about TAAF  - The Aneurysm Arterial malformation Foundation  ! 

MAY

Spring shows in Hartford!  

New Apple Computer do run it all with!

FRIENDS & CELEBRITIES !

• DINA CHON , CALIFORNIA FRIEND TAAF officer is having summer fun wigging out , after such hard work this season for TAAF -

  Dina Chon   July 19  · 

  Last weekend I ran into a ton of folks I haven't seen in a while. Normally this makes me very happy, but something odd happened that's stuck with me. In the midst of a normal conversation, someone remarked, "Geez, you're always just so damned happy." Huh! Well, no, no I'm not, but it's not the first time that my general disposition has upset someone, so I've been thinking about it a bit. And today I thought I'd say out loud that no one is ALWAYS happy... that in fact, I woke up fairly sad actually. My husband was already gone to work, my kids are away, and whatever I did to my back weeks back will not let me go. I stayed up WAY too late so I couldn't put in my contacts which reminded me that I really should buy new glasses... oh, but not before all the back to school stuff, or a phone because I need that for work and it's super glitchy... and why do I live in CA anyway when we could live on so much less in ANY other state...which brings me too my general state of mind, which seemingly is unnerved because I'm never sure I'm making a big enough difference...and why didn't I go to seminary...why am I such a pussy... oh, there's that sailor mouth...that's why you didn't go to seminary... no its not, it's because you really don't want to be in charge of anything that important... crap that email is marked important... YOU marked it important, but what for... I'd like to give that person WHAT FOR... No one is always happy, but I AM always trying... Ok, let's get moving...let's make some calls... is that the cat calling me... Awww, it is... Hey you... Did you need something... no, just wanted to love me up, eh... well, yay me... Ha ha ha... Aren't you always the happy one! Oh, wait...

• Updated pages about the late Rock Icon , Gene Pitney  -  born and raised in Connecticut, my homestate!  It includes old pages and posts and a place post new comments and news.
• Poem to Her Mother               Passing through time... "Colonese Greene      September 19, 2009 · .....

Patriot pages

Patriot Pages  ~ May you find, here, patriotic  inspiration, refreshers and helpful links !      ~ elle 

THE VOTE FOR THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA  is a holy thing and Voting Day almost here - November 8th.    Many places have extended the registration options, in their desire to make it easier to vote, so if you forgot, there may still be time.  Check with your local government registrars or League of Women Voters or - "Voters Page"  some basics and links to Voting and Elections        IF you already feel fine about your own vote, get busy helping others - we are the family of Man and if we can, we should!     -elle

 

 

 

LINKS from this page :

- GALLERY OF PATRIOTIC IMAGES FOR PURCHASE

- "Patriots Primer" link to Basics for Americans

- "Veterans Page"  of helpful links and other contents

- "Voters Page"  some basics and links to Voting and Elections

- Elvis the Wrecker - an Mid-Century, All-American TRUE Story

American Flag by Elle Fagan Price on Request - contact artist.  These and other patriotic images and symbols are for sale here at the site and for your enjoyment at the Gallery of Patriotic Images link, above.    

Great Seal of the State of Connecticut, my Home State  - central to our State Flag,   the motto means  "They who tranasplanted sustain",  a reference to our success as transplants in the New World ,  symbolized by the grapevines,  whose transplanting has always been holy.

 

Love of Country,

Please do not skip these quotes from Great Men & Women

"...its soul, its climate, its equality, liberty laws, people, and manners.

My God!  how little do my countrymen know what precious blessing they are in possession of,

and which no other people on earth enjoy!"  -Thomas Jefferson

 

 

"All I can hope to teach my son is to tell the truth and fear no man. 

The only thing that counts is the right to know, to speak, to think...

that ,and the sanctity of the courts.

Otherwise it's not America" -Edward R. Morrow

 

"...when shall all men's good

Be each man's rule, 

And universal peace

Be like a shaft of light

Across the land"

-Alfred Lord Tennyson

 

"God grant, that not only the love of liberty but a thorough knowledge of the Rights of Man,

 may pervade all the nations of Earth,  so that a philosopher may set his foot

anywhere on its surface, and say, "this is my country."  

-Benjamin Franklin

 

"He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples;  

and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, 

and their spears into pruning hooks;  

nation shall not lift up sword against nation, 

neither shall they learn war any more.

-William Makepeace Thakeray, and the Bible

"The Constitution was not perfect when it was framed.  

It is not perfect today. 

Our Constitution, even our Bill of Rights,

Provides no set formula that fits all peoples around the world. 

But they do offer an inspiring example of ageless ideals realized and made to work,

with the eternal message that men and women everywhere

were intended to be free to shape their own destinies."  

...Warren Burger, Chief Justice of the United States (1969-1986) at 200th Anniversary of the Bill of Rights, from the Bowling Green, Kentucky  "Daily News"  January 27, 1991 

Click here for entire article

Patriot and the Arts
Grants for the Arts make the news . One headline stated that the President asked for much more than was granted, especially for a Major Project to help America become more familiar with its own Amazing American Artists . I think the project is important to America and the World;  the American Arts History.   ENJOY MY BLOG ENTRY:  "Art in America - a Timeline"  
 

            

POWERED BY SQUARESPACE

Artwork at the White House - Easter 2007

I'd been very good - above average to honors often enough in every way  and yet, here I was -injured and disabled and broke and moved to a safe 'she-shack' that would keep me safe at least.  Alone. I thought me done - and praying for grace to handle it nicely.  Online work and coding and new friends online refreshed my soul, and the local church was new and nice too.  Then one day, learning some new skills online I found the WhiteHouse.gov site.   The ancient tales say that dwarves would wrought from the depths and let the results shine at the heights: was this precedent?  I guess that's how this story unfolds - you tell me:

To be a bit clearer:  I'd gotten the children off to college with the last cent of our young estate, after sudden widowhood from my soulmate, and had stopped crying and started dating, and glad of my arts/response duality,  I  had helped a lot with recession crises with  my old group,  American Red Cross and some private ones and the new shelter system, in my homestate Connecticut. Family roots for over a century , a river runs through it to the sea and it cascades along lovely hills, down to the beach. After twenty years away with war and corporate, the day we drove home "for good - for now"  was a lifesaver - I was not healing from the losses and was becoming profoundly frightened by the feeling of "bleeding out" .  But the rush of new life at old home healed me quite bit!

 My future on my own, restarting from broke, still looked fine - still in my 30s -   bright and accelerated, as were both our children,  in school, and now off to college, it was not so bad now.     I'd made new honors, and restored my health and desire to live to be a hundred.  To stay active I found new paths and lots of refreshed skills.  The last cent from the estate sent the children off to a safe start and busy again, a Small bank account balance grew a bit each month.  

But then, a new bad surprise:   a crippling accident at the hands of an ailing loved one "in the throes" - just after the ODS work with ARC.  This time I was furious!  Dear Lord, just what do you think you're doing?    Now, I was Broke and in chronic pain, nearly immobile, burned out and grieving the death of my loved Father.  and hot flashes topped it off.  Benefits, after a bit, found me  moved to a new place - a lovely bungalow of quality construction - sunny, nice, safe, and with a little garden.  Of course, it was strange at first - and even unsafe, till friend found out and helped me get protective arrangements made.  Still I should have been very upset and was not - I was glad I thought to call on the Lord and cashed in on a lifetime of good faith with some calm thru it all and enjoyed happy days, anyway.   An odd new strength and peace descended and acceptance: be still and wait upon the Lord and be content with this permanent disability.   One does. And I did.  

AND then, something unexpected happened - a basketful of somethings!

• Dad left me a new Apple G3 PowerBook - just one a family of techies - my immobility opened up the world online!
• Son, Peter, IT super pro,  flew in from parts west and taught me code and helped set up my first website.
• A disabled friend gave me time at his desktop to do more and learn to web-surf and not panic over freezes and code-mess.
• New friends offline saw me crushed and heard me and  told me to cut it out with quitting and try again
• Arts folk worldwide cheered me online, also, to try and try and "get there",  though getting across the room was work
• New names: Angelfire, Photoshop, Text Edit, hex colors, web-safe, graphic art, extension,suffix, url, Saint Isadore
• New church at my new bungalow where an apple orchard once stood - with garden- just a few blocks away.
• The late Father John White - the living Bing Crosby in "Going My Way" for a pastor - truly lit up my life.
• Mother and daughter for lunch and help a lot
• Bob'n'Tony, Tony'n'Bob - there will be their page here soon - chef and maestro CoffeeShopGallery sold my art!  
• The Mill on the Hill - and its amazing waterfall!  And its aging owner - all five feet of her - "you make art - no quitting!"
• AND ART AT THE WHITE HOUSE - the cherry on top!
• Medical upgrades and therapies - all nonsurgical, I was thrilled to be again empowered... so grateful! 
• The Manchester Road Race, when they'd said my injuries would mean wheelchair -  I WALKED it just fine! Praise!
• 2002 web surfing, I found the White House online and the  State Easter Easter Egg Display -
• Submitted for three  years - but got no response and then discouragement.
• Knowing I was fine for it, in 2005,  I applied once more - for the mommies who taught me egg-crafting.
• They still did not want to let me in, disabled - overqualified or not - NO, I would not acquiesce - not this time...
• I told my Congressman at the time, Rob Simmons, who suggested to them otherwise and was accepted at the Federal level.
• Then CPA, the state and the local egg board screened me and approved. 
• With a cash grant for expenses, to work ( see Technical Notes, below ). Done and shipped in its custom-fit box from AEB.
• Christmas 2006 and media and travel itinerary to the event done, it was about family fun.
• April 3, 2007 - daughter and I trained to the White House Opening, luncheon, tour and fun afterward - Sunny Day!

And that's all there was to it!   (humor)

Sponsored by the American Egg Board , since 1994, the event appeared indoors at the Visitors Center in tandem with the Historic Easter Egg Roll outdoors, but is inactive at the  moment.  Hope they restore it.   It was a chance for 'The American Artisan' to be represented in Spring - the White House does something similar at Christmas with tree decorations.  Just Splendid!

The presentation and opening of the Display  found each of us briefly personally hosted by First Lady Laura Bush.   I was flattered to see my  egg near the top of the Lucite Pyramid of eggs from each state in the union!    And my daughter with cell phone cam very busy a few feet away .   Security rules there meant clearances but for this moment it was fine and not at all stressed.    My only sorrow was that I was still disabled and in stitches in my mouth, distorting my face and braces under my spring green suit. Still, I would not have missed that moment -ever!

ohhhh.... I don't even look like me in stitches and braces under the clothes - but ohhhhh

Some days just glow in the memory - this Sunny Day in Washington, DC was one.

The event included a visit "en group" with each state artisan bringing one to four guests.  Two from CPA and my children, then.   But my son could not leave work across the country at the Chronicle, so we found him on the cellphone to join us virtually at least.  Then  my daughter and I made it girls' day!  She was more thrilled to accompany me than she'd been since puberty.  What fun we had , with a sunny day on the White House tour  and more.

After the luncheon and presentation, and show opening, we strolled the Capitol in April with the famous, newly-upgraded cherry trees and grounds security at the White House - Laura Bush's project.    I called up Memories of trips to the Hirshorn and Phillips and more as a girl.   Then later, I'd take the Eastern Airlines shuttle military standby $20 - to visit my late husband;  at the time -  at nearby Fort Belvoir in 1966, the home of Engineers at the time - he'd signed on, a scientist to help get rid of Agent Orange in Viet Nam - such proud days - and tense with the danger but readying.   And then our Daughter laughing remembering our family trip to Washington ten years later,  for the Capitol's way with the Bi-Centennial!   Oh Yes... every moment pure gold - and sidewalk cafe and ice cream and we were back to Connecticut by bedtime.   Thank yous to all who helped followed, joyfully shared and then "back to normal life".    

And at the White House in memory any time we wish forever after!   

 

Connecticut Egg 2007 photo by White House photographer, Sheila Craighead

Technical Notes:
My design for the 2007 White House Easter Egg, From Connecticut, incorporates state symbols in miniature. 

• The item is created in a real chicken egg shell. 
• The outside is done in Connecticut sky blue.
• A front-facing opening, in the shape of the Connecticut State Armorial Bearings
• to aid interior light - some of the gold mylar used by NASA- gift from DuPont Dad
• opening trimmed in tiny real pearls , one for each state - 50. 
• state and national flags atop, made with stained glass medium.
• flags enjoy pole finials of real gold nuggets from Connecticut Gem & Mineral Club
• historic diorama within - mills empowered our independence in 1776 - this one still stands.
• scene of waterfall that once powered the mills,  and famous New England stone fences
• scene outlined by flora and fauna in mixed media: paints, papers, foil, glazes, "gallery glass", three glues.
• scene  gems: danburite,zircon,aquamarine,garnet,chrome diopside, emerald.
• ...and love - for country, history, the mills that won our American Autonom and ...
• crafts and the mommies who taught them - in memoriam Julia Maciedulski Feb1906-Sept2003

Such events always share an afterglow - I normally do art with honors and for sale as well as I am able to market it.   And my "Art With Heart" is very helpful, now that I do NOT run to Ground Zeros in person.  

 This event was no exception for related things and afterglow - extras:  

• It helps my health and spirits, and safety, since girlhood, to  "get some sunshine" - always ready to be grateful to all who help on such projects in civic and social and arts.
• I learned new things about the EGG!  the living symbol of the cell, and life source.  The American Egg Board had complained that badguys were overdoing it re: eggs and health - and AEB won some eggs-oneration, too, sharing more up-to-date reports of the wonders of the egg and wise use not overuse for fine benefits.
• I found new friends all over the country who do similar work with eggs,  and even the fundamental wax resist things I learned as a girl - the modern eggs are done not with a candle stick and pin as I was taught but with an electric kistka to draw with wax in color.
• I do up miniatures of eggs in every way, mostly paint and draw right now,  and am always ready to share what I learn. 
• I was able to show my amazing mommies that I did, too, realize how grand they are, with this event - and told them in action !

one of the watercolor egg mins I do - fun

There is more, but let it be enough for now with my gratitude for the opporunity that saved the day - doing it again. 

Visit the AEB site and neat free educational downloads, funthings and a shop where ou can purchase neat eggy funstuff!

elle

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Accidental Activist

 An election year note: Accidental Activist or not, that's how it was.  I found myself doing much more than I ever thought I would - in brave ways - and am fine for it - and maybe finer than some for having done what I could, for seeing it as a human responsibility and acting on that consciousness. My Godmother made the room collapse in laughter the day she said I was a "female Forrest Gump" in that I just happened to be on the spot when some interesting things took place and I was compelled to help.  Great - but they left out the Apple Stock for me and emptied me, financially, in the Recession instead. Hmmmmm...

 It is clear that many say, with reason, that we have we lost sight of it all and been "do nothing"!       My team may be aging, and many think it is right to do nothing.  Sometimes it IS right to do nothing and let others lead.

But most of the time, we can do a thing - the right thing.

• All I had to do was nothing, and my late husband would have lost his health , college and his life twenty years sooner than he did.
• All I had to do was nothing, and our son would have died before he was quite one day old.  
• All I had to do was nothing, and our daughter would not have been born.  
• All I had to do was nothing,  and in civic response work,  and others would not be here, or failed the need to get going on a fine new path.
• All I had to do was nothing, and assorted groups and clubs for books , children and sports and design home and cuisine and health would not have happened at all.  
• All I had to do was nothing and I might have been killed.
• All I had to do was nothing, recently,  and there would have been no  SilverSneakers supports from our HMO , when mobility IS life always and truly, as we age.

Making this list helped me to act today.  Send me YOUR list - smile , because you may not have realized that you acted - and helped.

For my children:  it's not your fault - you didn't do it:   when I opted for all the good things, I was surrounded by good people, good schools , SAFE schools - 'dope' was a name for a buddy acting dumb - and there was plenty of prosperity to support me in the grand new things opening up in those days.   I skipped and sang down the street in safety and peace. When I was challenged, help was there, never an issue and soon happy days restored and the good things.

My poor children!  They knew the good things in early days and even much better.  But just as they reached adulthood, personal worldclass issues:  they have had to deal with every form of poverty , setbacks in the entire economy and violence - not only far away in a war- but on their streets and in their classrooms every day.  

And then, as if we were not dopey enough, they want to legalize narcotics?  Suicide for an entire nation is possible.   

Worse: our very happiness and prosperity and success CAUSED some of the issues we howl thru today from true abscence of malice and innocence.  Growing up in times of prosperity and love and freedom and plenty, our grownup children feel rudely awakened that things are not simply "automatically super"  -  and this happens every several generations, till things degenerate so badly that"wailing cries shake the very heavens" .  And then , compared to the suffering , taking up the tasks to recover the good days,  seems fairly easy.

There was a "Do Nothing Congress" , during Harry Truman's Administration, and others were called so, before and since .  And they were right.  They are saying so now.  But why blame congress, when it is we - the people they represent - who need to ACT. Our leaders are not feeling our support and our support is their life blood.

On the sunny side of serious recession, and there is plenty to cope with - Brexit, Terrorism and more - no safe place beyond our home and some do not even enjoy that much.   And all these issues won thru to us when we were financially impaired, and so, guilty of caving in to the pressures and going silent.

At the moment, all the other national leaders get to taunt us about our Failures.   

• Failure to use our amazing resources as we should
• Failure to get our money in order.
• Failure to law and order in order - to legislate at the federal level,  to disarm in the populated areas , arm our police with cams for evidence , and kevlar to save their lives and nonguns, so as not to KILL someone every time there is a "moment".   Shame to those who say it is not do-able. It MUST be do-able.  
• Failure to get public safety in order: for example, thousands die each year because no one will take up true updates to Occupant Safety and Escape Technology, for tall buildings and planes.  Architecture and Aeronautics are seriously remiss - they have cost lives in their failure act on this one issue. As is media for helping them suppress even commentary and calls for action.
• Failure to better define the Presidency and the rules for candidacy and election proceedings to reflext the times and needs. Right now, we idly watch how they can break every good rule and win, anyway.   

Yikes!

But, GOOD NEWS:  Americans are reeallly bad about Failure of any kind.

We think ourselves a winning entity.  Winning through does not just happen.  All we have to do is NOTHING. 

We have been oppressed by national misfortunes but that is over and we can restore the good. 

Act.

Saving Connecticut's Old State House - Petition to Sign, Please

Connecticut's Old State House with a golden statue of JUSTICE atop - needs some herself!

UPDATE August 2016

"The oldest State House in America is now closed to the public amid Connecticut’s budget problems. In addition, millions of dollars worth of artwork could be removed from the building."  Google - WNPR link

Please click and sign the petition to save this wonderful site from closure.

https://www.change.org/p/state-of-connecticut-do-not-close-connecticut-s-old-state-house?recruiter=2948991&utm_source=share_for_starters&utm_medium=copyLink

July 28, 2016 - Sign the linked petition here BECAUSE: 
 today's paper tells that the artifacts are being removed from the  recently closed down site to protect them better at the Atheneum and the Connecticut Historical Society. Sad news but good news for their safety. This move is said to be temporary as new leadership hopes to do a  LOT better job of keeping the key historic site self-supporting.   LIARS - that building should be done like Sturbridge Village, since it's unique funnctionality in Colonial Days absolutely Dazzles but NO  ONE has been promoting it AT ALL. I think they mean to kill  her.

IN JUNE 2016,  while closing down my computer for the night, the breaking news alert notification kept me on a new job till late.  Whyyyyy just at Independence Day , would my beloved homestate close this icon site, which has only recently been renovated ?  The golden statue of JUSTICE, symbolically, is barely visible in this official photo, though her new gold paints normally gleam proudly in the sun and brighten a rainy day.  Funding and cutbacks were cited as the reason, but not very convincing. The Petition lists ways to fix.

Please click and sign the petition to save this wonderful site from closure.

https://www.change.org/p/state-of-connecticut-do-not-close-connecticut-s-old-state-house?recruiter=2948991&utm_source=share_for_starters&utm_medium=copyLink

This site WAS Connecticut's capitol, till the larger one was built a century or so later.   It stood and served all life in the area and in early America.   And with not much else around, one block from the Connecticut River, the Old State House was the nearest to  the river life line in those days.     Rules were made and important history to all of America - not just Connecticut- happened there and the building is used daily today.  Not profitably enough, but that's easy to fix.

  This video will tell you more - click here for it.
 

Personally, I developed just a silly love for "OSH" as she is called -  when I first visited Hartford back to my home state, after 20 years in the big world, it was like seeing a lot of it for the first time, and often seeing old sites with new eyes. And especially OSH.

Suddenly I saw her in a personified light:  My paternal Grandmother was alive again, a tiny dolly , surrounded by her many tall children and grandchildren!   The anachronism she presents, in the landscape, making her just that more wonderful, sitting pat, on that spot, among companions two centuries newer.    She is my Grammy and I simply felt too personally upset by the news to NOT act.

Old State House is a genial Happy Cat on a carpet before a fire, much-loved by her  companions.  

What on EARTH would make anyone think it is okay to change that?  We need her in this world.   And why hurt this historic site AT Independence Day, America's Historically Proud Birthday! 

The petition has some signatures already and I have done only modest promotion. More to come. Comment here or on the petition.   Those with power to change the closure will be getting updates - it is part of the petition's machinery.  Make it count!

elle

The Angels and the Bloomsday Soliloquy 2016

Page 7 of the hard cover original of this book , now in its 60th Commemorative Edition, where I found the best of Bloomsday! in 1963. Thanksomuch school chum!

What do they call it when you see the most beautiful thing!  It is a glimpse, out of context, perhaps, but you feel redeemed, renewed and more alive than before you met.   But the high turns to  horrified, when the entire image reveals itself!   OH!  And then, just as passionately  one is  "RE-redeemed", when insight and the angels come to help?  There must be a word for it.  Let me explain, and  ask me for clarity where it gets obscure:

Tomorrow is a literary holiday - more popular each year:  "Bloomsday" - honoring James Joyce and his hero, Mr. Bloom - June 16th , the Day after my parent's wedding anniversary.    So many beautiful things go unnoticed, but  Bloomsday is celebrated worldwide.    

I am not a terrible critic and I am very Irish, but James Joyce's most famous book is on my hate list.  I hide from it.  Then feel worthier for having won through it.  There is a story that explains:  

I first read the romantic  Molly Bloom's Soliloquy, the final passage of the book, as an excerpt in the iconic, "The Family of Man"   ( The show and book were the famous 1955 MOMA NY Photo installation )  used as a caption, to clarify a famous romantic  photo.  

Taken out of context it is brief and breathtaking in its strong , profound simple Beauty! 

"...and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes...." 

What more could there be?!! 

I swooned. I was just seventeen and it was just a bit before meeting my late husband, a fine Irish Prince, then and always.  English major or no, finding the thought/words for that upcoming "moment" needed help and this excerpt did it!    Soon, I would be able to finally say YES and I prayed to say it even half as right as the words in the caption:  I was in class, but  The passage made me want run and read the rest of "Ulysses" , immediately! 

Ever kind, loving and watchful, the good Sister saw that I wanted to read the whole book, and she gave me one of those looks:  super discrete , nun's eyes down, and catching mine sideways, wordless but definite, " you don't WANT the whole book yet...not just yet", nodding ever so sharp/subtly - no. 

So I skipped it!  

Thrilled to read the excerpt again and again;  I would swoon and soar and, soon after, as I prayed, the right words were there on the right day when I met the man of my dreams,  at the dance,  the one I'd seen in my mind's eye four years before.   It was HE!  ...looking back at me with the same expression!      He said , "Hi , let's dance! "  heaven!  But   afterward, when he said "let's go neck" , my holy romantic reply was NOT quite the one , but the quick stall,  "We need to talk."  :-)And   Inspired?  Sighhhh..no.  But we'd known one another five minutes...really!  He won thru it and liked me better for it and the talk was the Good Talk and full of promise and more.

I realized that my rejection at first,  only made the excerpt truer - since,  it wasn't SO long after, at my cue , he "asked again"  and  we were okay to say yes and the rest is no one's concern but "ourrown".

...and then we were busy and I FORGOT to READ THE BOOK.... and got away without reading it for thirty years!     

Till my husband's sudden early death.

Irish angels must have helped 'back then ' but now it was "Dies Irae"  - "Day of Wrath" and , no grace and no skipping things.    Uncanny and cruel, now,  Such things FOUND ME, like  bills of a sort to pay, that I'd skipped out on, merrily,  so long ago. 

And, sadly yes - one of the things was the entire book "Ulysses" by James Joyce .   It just fell into my lap one day to read. 

I remembered the excerpt and cried , and then I sighed and then I started the book and reminded the angels that I was still grieving, because  "Ulysses" was NOT pretty...but I hung in and finished it....sad duty. 

I did not cry at the end...the in-context reading of the famous Molly Bloom's soliloquy ends the book.....and it was SICKENING - my blood stopped!   James Joyce's telling was an extreme contradiction of the nearly holy, lovely excerpt that I found in "The Family of Man" book in 1963.

Since the lovely words were so powerful to me, this "update" in their meaning was powerful, too.  I was numb and sullen and sluggish and sickened and  angry -  with my husband dead, one more and one more thing to deliver sorrow. Unfair. 

I struggled and in time I felt redeemed - because I could see the beauty in the soliloquoy - no matter the context and I was grateful,  and I understood sister's recommendation, long ago - thank you Sister!   A good thing was done in that.

But I ask YOU and  YE GODS!   Why  MUST the artist aim at the worst interpretation of the way of life,  to twist beauty into deliberate ugliness!   How degenerated !     WHY??  With so many stunning paths to find and make and follow and actualize  - so many good things - why choose the other???  So many true reports of it all, told in ways that inspire and give life!  Why the evil?

MISTER JOYCE!  Your gift, your destiny to be Dream weaver and empowerer for the grandest things our human limitations allow.  Was it his desire to help us to find our own redemption in spite of the writings?  Or his conceit? Or .....

 If the artist is of the Irish persuasion,  it is not merely an option but a mandate to empower for the best.  And they feel their approach does DO it!   Sometimes, in the taking up of this path, the lights are found, and then it proves worth!   Sometimes.  Not so cheery a prognosis. But we do it and that too is value!

I am quiet and grateful that my truth is its OWN redemption.  And most of all, grateful that I did not need to read the entire story too soon - that I found the beauty in an excerpt, in a heartbeat, and the glimpse lasted for thirty years, ready to glow again if called up.:-D

Thanks Angels!!!! 

elle smith fagan Bloomsday 2016 vigil note.

Molly Bloom

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Poirot Marathon-ing

Poirot's  famous Boutonnière Vase

This is late being posted because of "'Air-kyool"  - Hercule Poirot.    And I feel fine about it.  Some things are important. Marathoning a series is valid in this case - my life is in flux and it is a fine and affordable distraction; and a lesson in authorship for any writer, and  a quality engagement.  To me, it is an honor thing - he completed the entire series, a thing not easily done! Bravo!   But for me, it is just the epression of it all at this phase of things, of my passion for the mystery-thriller of quality since childhood- so do not gloat, Monsieur! I just happened to be going that way.

At ages 8-10, in the late 50s, I was the one in line at the LIbrary - no Google - for the next episode of Nancy Drew Mysteries!  How would it be this time?  Never disappointing!  Never bored, curled up with a exciting Nancy Drew Adventure Mystery !   Days were sunny for me and in Nancy Drew land.  We'd spend a Saturday or rainy afternoon companioning along as her chums and I followed her lead,  immersed in one more challenging scenario to happy conclusion!    No other girls my age on the block just then,  Nancy was a handy friend and inspiration for so much in spirit and goodness.  

Then, hooked on mysteries, I'd raid my brother's Hardy Boys and Tom Swift, then, back to my "Trixie Belden"  nurse sleuth stories.   And then it was  TV and  "Mr. &  Mrs. North", "The Thin Man", and favorite "Charlie Chan" - my Father was Charlie Smith and so we'd come tearing in from school or play and call out, with Key Luke's enthusiasm,  "Hiya, Pop!" as Charlie's many children did in old China and US Chinatown.  Dad was a fine one,  and would return the fun at us, mimicking "yeh, yeh, but..." Chan's longsuffering love for his "number one son" and  'number one daughter".  

At fourteen, the crush I seemed to be dealing with, for the family friend and local beach lifeguard, enjoyed some satisfaction, when I asked him about the book he was reading and it was Ian Fleming "Bond, James Bond" - brand new in the movies!  He , his steady girfriend and later wife, and I read all the books - such fun to talk the good and bad of it....always that excitement in realizing some of such things are true!  

Soon it was on to college and cutting study hours for "The Avengers" and "the fuge"  ... "The  Fugitive"  Some things were more important than - there was the place for mysteries;  the appeal to the intellect and skill set and the way all issues are resolved at stories' end.  Life ahead, no matter how well we prepped, was a mystery, still,  when it came to the core of it all.

Then  into the core, indeed, with no-joke time:   JFK's assassination , Martin Luther King's, Robert Kennedy - serious bad guys , right in our back yard!  Worse:  instead of John Wayne wars, it was about Americans as idiots sacrificing our own in unwinnable conflicts and Agent Orange of the insidious kill.  

Lucky me - bride to the son of a Federal Agent / whose job in Viet Nam after college was getting rid of chem warfare/ Agent Orange, with USACE's special ops, while I spent my first hours with wonded soldiers and  felt honored to serve....while others were fighting for peace with pot and dancing in the mud - horrors!   Dangers notwithstanding, I felt the lucky one.   My brother too, in berets jumping out of planes chasing enemy in the jungle.   The day they came home from war in one piece remains te happiest day of my life!

This go-round , we won thru nicely!    

And sooner than we ever hoped, at the mysteries again -  Husband relaxing in the den after his work day with Wellcome making medicine, and our son asleep and helping our little girl in her wiggly age, by NOT engaging with her , but quietly rocking along side her crib, crocheting a coverlet for her, or reading a book - this time  the COMPLETE Sherlock Holmes stories.    

Then it was winter and I was critical of me because I'd finished the Holmes and now what?  Winter reading hunting,   I met Hercule - and  I ran to the mailbox when "Curtain" arrived from my book club - after going through the Poirot stories  and looking for more of the Herculean ouevre...50 years of works about Hercule Poirot!   Better.

I wrote sometimes and so I was impressed with the 56 years of Agatha Christie's stories about the wonderful Belgian sleuth !    

 I always wonder - did the Herculean name inspire the Herculean achievement, or the other way around? 
And why is there not more said  about the famous Boutonnière Vase of such romantic origins in "The Chocolate Box"?  He was rarely without it.  Like the famous swan cane.

Then there were the years with NO TV and no fun reading: but that's another story.   

Lucky  me today! The past few days, "In " for me - resting a toe-fix -  I have just completed marathon viewing "Agatha Christie's Poirot" videos at Acorn TV !     I cried at the final story, "Curtain" then realized that our hero, Hercule, and his world,  was not dead but sleeping - not "Sleeping Murder" as one of his mysteries was called, but sleeping mystery chum -  and I could revive him at the click of my trackpad!  Thank you Acorn TV !  Well Done!   

David Suchet, the actor who played the role, spoke my thoughts, when he stated that the idea was to faithfully portray and  that was certainly done so that Dame Agatha would be pleased if she could view the results. In fact, Ms. Christie's  daughter found the David Suchet portrayals  perfect, and said so !     Me, too!  Thanksomuch for the immortality of it for us.   And most of all thank you,  David Suchet and the book he has written about the world-class achievement of the complete Hercule ! It is worth the read for fans !      

They say that we immerse in someone else's mysteries to remain calm when we cannot work on my own, and get back to solving our own puzzles with renewed energies for it.   Life!   I am non-violent so I always wonder why it must be murder mysteries, then decide that the author feels that if it is not life and death, when it's only a story, and not real,  we might not be interested.  

I don't know: for me it has become part of grief recovery -   before Hercule,  the last time, it was Jessica Fletcher all 268 (  I think ) episodes , they helped when my Father died and now it's Mother at her last days and Poirot and Phryne Fisher - yay girls CAN!  and when my FBI godfather passed, it was NCIS.   Unique validity in it I guess  :-D  since,  finding a thing to companion along during such testing times, is better than "biting the lifesaver' in it all.

Thank you three times, then!  

There remain so many places in my life, where my reply must be:  "It's still a mystery to me" !   Notes for my own mystery next?  okay.  I realize that I can actually solve a few of them - do you not agree, Captain Hesssteengs?   Hein?  

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercule_Poirot_in_literature

Irish and Other Celtic

 
Toasts & Cheers: 
For my Irish-American Gramps “The Chief” and his beloved “Else” - for our Father, his eight siblings, and all their respective loves and children
~~~~~~~

My childhood world entertained me - I sang for my Father, leapt at every interesting moment with glee, to help with the Mothers and Gram - dressed in royal blue satin and white lace or red velvet and bunnytfur or summerdresses of perfect organdy over our little swim suits , pails and shovels and littlegirl beahshoesies for rocky shores in New England beach outings and sunny plaids and sweaters for back to school.

Special.

We loved our social times
but also enjoyed a passion for good work, 
and, afterward, celebrations with bustling ladies, 
songs and good men, filling the skies with
broad laughter from hearty food and great ale. 

And after get-togethers of great meals, fine pipes and cigars and an ale or brandy or port, the songs might go on till midnight- fun growing up in Hobbiton?sort-of.

The main thing was that A child got the idea - life was a great occupation! 
And so, I cannot, in truth, omit this! 

---

"May ye be in Hivven, half 'n' hour
before the Divvil knows yer' gone!" 

Another Irish Toast, from the Famous Irish poet:: 

A Drinking Song

Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye:
That's all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh. 

~ William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

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SAINT PATRICK AND HIS DAY

An old Saint Patrick's Day Rhyme from Christin Fagan 3-17-2011 

Good St. Patrick traveled far, to teach God's Holy word
And when he came to Erin's sod, a wondrous thing occurred
He plucked a shamrock from the earth and held it in His hand
To symbolize the Trinity that all might understand
The first leaf for the Father
...And the second for the Son
The third leaf for the Holy Spirit
All three of them in one. 

thanks, Christin ! 

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Biography:   Saint Patrick - also known as Maewyn Succat; Apostle of Ireland; Patricius; Patrizio ~ Memorial: 17 March

Profile:
Kidnapped from the British mainland around age 16, and shipped to Ireland as a slave.

Sent to the mountains as a shepherd, he spent his time in prayer.

After six years of this life, he had a dream in which he received a command to return to Britain; seeing it as a sign, he escaped. Studied in continental monasteries.

Priest. Bishop. Sent by Pope Saint Celestine to evangelize England, then Ireland, during which his chariot driver

was Saint Odran, and Saint Jarlath was one of his spiritual students. In 33 years he effectively converted the Ireland.

In the Middle Ages Ireland became known as the Land of Saints, and during the Dark Ages its monasteries were the great repositories of learning in Europe,

all a consequence of Patrick's ministry. Born 387-390 at Scotland as Maewyn Succat
Died 461-464 at Saul, County Down, Ireland
Canonized... pre-congregation, meaning that the pronouncement was made before good written records.
Name Meaning warlike (Succat - pagan birth name);noble (Patricius - baptismal name)

His Patronage:
against snakes, engineers, "excluded people", fear of snakes, and a range of several spiritual sees, including of course, all of Ireland. 
Representation: bishop driving snakes before him; bishop trampling on snakes; shamrock; snakes; cross; harp; demons; baptismal font
Images Gallery of images of Saint Patrick at CatholicForum.com and other Church and Celt sites online...have a fun search! 
too little was known of Saint Patrick, and at one time , he was thought to be a fiction, an invention

to explain the Christianization of his part of the world. However we know his profile much more accurately now,

thanks to modern data manipulation. I want to spend myself for that country, even in death, if the Lord should grant me this favor.

It is among that people that I want to wait for the promise made by him, who assuredly never tells a lie.
He makes this promise in the Gospel:
"They shall come from the east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
This is our faith: believers are to come from the whole world.

... from" the Confession of Saint Patrick"

saint patrick, per catholicforum.com:

+++++++  +++++++ 

"LORICA" 
Morning Prayer of Saint Patrick

"Lorica" means "Breastplate", or the chest-protector in a suit of armor, as this prayer is meant to be, and was, for Saint Patrick and his followers whose work was the transition from pagan worship to Christianity. They were sometimes physically threatened, and an alternate name for this prayer is "Faed Fiada", or "Deer's Cry" because an old legend says that the saint and his monks escaped pagan pursuers by turning into deer and running swiftly out of harm's way. 

This prayer is very empowering if used sincerely. You may wish to read the entire Lorica, then choose one line or paragraph that reaches you specially, for a true spiritual vitamin. 

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, 
The invocation of the Trinity, 
Through belief in the threeness, 
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation. 

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism, 
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial, 
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension, 
Through the strength of His descent for the judgement of Doom. 

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of the Cherubim, 
In the obedience of angels, 
In the service of archangels, 
In the hope of the resurrection to meet with reward, 
In the prayers of patriarchs, 
In prediction of prophets, 
In preaching of apostles, 
In faith of confessors, 
In innocence of holy virgins, 
In deeds of righteous men. 

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven; 
Light of the sun, 
Radiance of the moon, 
Splendour of fire, 
Speed of lightning, 
Swiftness of the wind, 
Depth of the sea, 
Stability of the earth, 
Firmness of the rock. 

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me: 
God's might to uphold me, 
God's wisdom to guide me, 
God's eye to look before me, 
God's ear to hear me, 
God's word to speak to me, 
God's hand to guard me, 
God's way to lie before me, 
God's shield to protect me, 
God's host to save me, 

From snares of devils, 
From temptation of vices, 
From every one who shall wish me ill, 
Afar and anear, 
Alone and in a multitude. 
I summon today all these powers between me and those evils, 

Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul, 
Against incantations of false prophets, 
Against black laws of pagandom, 
Against false laws of heretics, 
Against craft of idolatry, 
Against evil spells of witches and contrivers and wizards, 
Against every knowledge that corrupts body and soul. 

Christ to shield me today
Against poisoning, against burning, 
Against drowning, against wounding, 
So there come to me abundance of reward. 

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, 
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, 
Christ on my right, Christ on my left, 
Christ when I lie down, 
Christ when I sit down, 
Christ when I arise, 
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, 
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me, 
Christ in the eye of every one who sees me, 
Christ in every ear that hears me. 

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, 
Through belief in the threeness, 
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation. 

Note: There are many Loricas, or prayers for protection, but Saint Patrick's is so famous, that his is the definitive Lorica.

It is one of dozens of translations from the early Celt 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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LESSER SAINTS AND SACRED LORE
new, incomplete, so please return!

St. Celsus of Armagh, also known as Cellach Mac Aodh, was born in 1079 and much of the information of his early life has been lost. In the year 1105 he became bishop of Armagh, in Ireland, a position he would hold for the rest of his life. Soon after becoming bishop, Celsus began to develop a wide reputation as a reformer and as an effective administrator. As bishop he traveled throughout his diocese, and other parts of Ireland, calling for reform and encouraging the clergy and the laity to a more zealous practice of their Faith. In 1111, Celsus was requested to preside over the Synod of Rath Bresail. This synod worked to bring several practices of the Church in Ireland in line with the rest of the Church. After completing the synod, Celsus returned to his diocese and oversaw the rebuilding of the cathedral at Armagh. Throughout the rest of his life, he often served as a mediator for political conflicts and he was widely respected for his wise decisions. Celsus died at Ardpatrick on April 1, 1129. 
I hope to link here,soon to some of the many more Celtic Saints I am meeting, lately, and hope you will enjoy it all along with me!

ERRATA:     In my writings about my Irish-American side of the family, they lived in the same town for the most part, and so I saw them constantly and interacted frequently and happily and yet, in my writing , I misplaced an entire Uncle, making it nine, not eight in total ! A major  'errata' indeed!  

I omitted the eldest - Tom - and a lifelong friend on fine terms - who was Gramps' son in a very early marriage that was brief - not even sure of the details. Tom was eldest he was "grown 'n' gone off on hizzown" on the other side of the state and not at the homestead very often, though visits were joyful and Gram loved him, too. We would Tom, his wife and children loved by all and of fine schools and work, and wife and children. 

Apologies! Tom, Em, Bill, Jim, Dad, Hank, Al, Joe ... and Bob, still with us! ...and their loved ones - oh, what picnics in the summer we'd enjoy!    And our wedding? oh..... With even a modest collection of friends and maids, groomsmen, flowergirl and priest - it was over 200 at the reception. I helped pay for it, at the nicest non-countryclub reception center in the area at the time - you could hardly call it a "hall".  Lovely, with its sunken dance floor and stage, and more.    Gram also had a child who did not live from a too-early marriage that did not last, as well.  I do not know why they keep lowering the age of reason, when the statistics of error from  too early assuming things are skyhigh.

Irish and Other Celt

Click here to enjoy the Irish Music of the late David Machell

Gramps, called "The Chief", celebrated his Saint Patrick's Day Birthday with his darling wife of 50 years,   eight sons, one tiny daughter, their families and a lifetime of friends, associates and neighbors.  The line of party visitors began at dawn and ended at midnight.   Those days are passed, but their abundance is mine always to share!  Have some!    - Elle Smith Fagan

---

The Finest Music

Fionn Mac Cumhail was a legendary Irish hero, urbane, cultured and cunning, 
who combined elements of warrior, seer and poet. 
In one story, Fionn sparked a debate when he asked his followers
what they thought was the finest music in the world. 
"Tell us what you think," said Fionn, turning to Oisin. 
"The cuckoo calling from the highest tree in the hedge," cried his jolly son. 
"That is a good sound," said Fionn. "And Oscar," he asked, 
"what do you think is the finest music?" 
"The best music to my ears
is the ring of a spear on a shield," cried the sturdy lad. 
"That is a good sound," said Fionn. 

And the other champions told what
best pleased them: 
the bugling of a stag across water, 
the baying of a melodious pack heard from afar, 
the song of a lark, 
the laughter of a gleeful girl, 
or the whisper of a moved one. 

"Those are all good sounds," said Fionn. 

"Tell us, chief," one ventured, "what do you think?" 
"The music of what happens," said great Fionn, 
"that is the finest music in the world." 

- James Stephens, Irish Fairy Stories

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Above: Watercolor, "Jesuit Celtic Cross ", by Elle Fagan
Gift to Sacred Space Dublin, Ireland -
Not For Sale - Special display for
Jesuit 500th Anniversary Celebration
Ask me about other available Celtic Crosses & Similar

---

A Serious note:

Here in America, we pray that the new millennium will bring new solutions to old conflicts, and that "Peace In Ireland" will be more than a prayer and a wish!

May it be that the FOUR green Fields of fame and song will once again be “the way of it” .
May harm to a beating heart, within and without the womb no longer be. Education, birth control and morning after care are more than enough to help us through these complex times. There is NO NEED TO KILL the very lives of the helpless, which man is given responsibility to protect above all!

The loving spirit and fearlessness of my Irish forebears gave me the illusion that humanity comes first.     An illusion that I have never surrendered.

So I am horrified at the laziness we must be allowing to let this murderous way exist. Free Ireland - Protect the unborn beating heart!

NOT ONE OF US is excused from life's challenges, BUT these are the very opportunity to shine!

Good sense, good work and good love, and willingness to strike out on one's own, team play for a cause, the worst days could be" turned 'round" completely - we celebrate the win!      

I am not an activist, but follow the news and have helped in some civic and US Patriotic, and my art was shared at the White House in 2007, so, In hope for all of us for a finer future , I felt this link to The Bogside Artists was worth the posting.

I am no expert and they may be the most unworthy blokes to call themselves Irish, but I think they aim well and strong, at least, they are not “lukewarm” as the Bible warns us against ! Their work portrays the 70's uprisings and the time of Bernadette Devlin in "unmissable" format, and fine skills. Lest we forget....looking for the right things for this page, re: Michael Collins and The man, DeLorme of early 1900's fame in "the cause".

SAGA OF A LITTLE WHITEHOUSE

A 20th Century Irish-American Song

Irish and other Celt cultural have been enjoying a rennaissance!

And I have been enjoying time spent with all branches of my senior relatives and friends, an All-American collection of souls, but at one time, with a strong Irish contingent! They were so challenged and still made it a life to interest and delight us! 

It will always be my prayer that in their senior years, they would pat themselves on the back at least a little bit, for the grand business of life and all our parts in it...

And it is also my wish that you might rap on the door of the little house, below, to enjoy their story!..
a fun and rhythmic "read"...and a "bunny in the bottom of the bowl" for those who follow it to completion.

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Visit the complete posting at Knowth.com & its "Art Works" link at the home page head, for complete show/sale data, a treasury of text, image and links about this mystical occurrence. I will say that the backstone is the spot at the back of the inner walls of some of the Ancient Irish Burial Mounds. Like the astrological arrangement of the famous Stonehenge rocks, the doors of the mounds were constructed to admit the lights at specific times, revealing the ancient glyphs, runes, carvings and symbols. Thousands of years later, the effect is still true and impressive. 
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Aon-Celtic Art by Cari Buziak Comprehensive.Award-winning. Don't miss it ! Lost arts, crafts, lore and more, Rediscovered Our parents did well by us and so we were able to be their fans in the preservation of their heritage, to learn and share more of things Celtic...the memory of their special charms compels us to listen, and remember, research and share ! Most of "our own" have been Americans too long to do more than learn and love and respect the ethnicity, but most of us also have an interest in understanding it all and learning more... so, I hope to keep my promise to this page.
You, too, can design and create stunning examples of this lost art ~

Winter leaves by Aon-Celt artist Cari Buziak! Her site and advice was a Primer for my own interest and work in the Celtic Traceries. You will not be disappointed in a visit to her site.

Thank you so much, for visiting this page and do contact me with comment, corrections or ideas to enrich its offerings! ~ elle 

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Page Links, with a Celtic Touch, from Around the World: 

Elle Fagan artworks, with a Celtic tone - Commissions accepted!
Saint Patrick Profile Modern data & "Celtic Cross" watercolor/graphic by elle fagan
Lorica, or "Breastplate" of Saint PatrickAncient Power Prayer

Fun with "my own" - An entire page of artists named "Fagan" and
Link to the Clan Fagan Website
Celtic Webmerchant.com based in Holland, features some Elle Fagan artworks and others celebrating the Celt-Viking Connection
Celtic Britain Net ~ originates in Holland ! Global-be-gorra!
Tolkien & Lord of the Rings for fans, Old & New! Prequel, "The Hobbit" is coming this Christmas!
NEW ~ Amazon Portal for Reading and Research of Things Celt from Ireland's famous "Knowth.com" & Michael Fox
Loughcrew Backstone at Solstice 2004 The year's first lights, at the ancient site! by artist, Elle Fagan
"Sacred Space", Dublin-Based Daily Inspiration
Aon-Celtic Art by Cari Buziak Comprehensive.Award-winning. Don't miss it !

Knowth.com ~ One of the best on the Web ! Irish & Celt resource ~ Special focus on the Mounds ~ And much more! Do visit !

Mythical Ireland and Shadows & Stone Do stop in! The latest stunning photos and reference,history and current activity reports.
"Spirited Ireland" a wealth of Irish Experience
The moving "Four Green Fields" from the iconic late Tommy Makem

A very strong "Support Tara" Group Goal to enjoy modernity, but to protect the ancient sites! TaraWatch.org is active, worldwide and worthy. Stop in and see what you think !

Story & Crafting of "Saint Brigid's Cross" 

National Art Gallery of IrelandGreat place to start!
Heritage of Ireland
Romance and the Irish
Johanna Murphy, artist/hero
George M. Cohan, Patriotic Music
Celt Cheers, Wishes & Toasts
Gaelic Language Lessons Online
Erin go Braugh! Irish spirit &Irish-American song, "Saga of A Little Whitehouse"
Unicorns, "Beowulf"and Other Celtic Creatures in Fact and Lore Contributors to this page most welcome ~ perhaps a blog here, soon!
Michael Flatley's "Lord of the Dance" Official site!
"Christmas In Killarney" at Winter Holiday Page!
My pages at Jigzone.com Puzzlefun - Irish & Travel images. Try one! A Fine Wish: May there always be work for your hands to do; May your purse always hold a coin or two; May the sun always shine on your windowpane; May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain; May the hand of a friend always be near you; May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you! ~~~~~~~ And another: "Love covereth !"(Saint John) ~~~~~~~

a really fine page of Irish Toasts with translations! Have fun!

Photo Stories for my Soldier 1968

A friend shared her firstborn son's four-month  baby photo story at Facebook this morning and improved Monday measurably!  Thanksomuch, Jessica !   Mother and child are a gift to life itself!  It reminded me of our own son's baby days!   May this post help do my part for veterans and all loving parents.

The story:   My new husband and Corps of Engineers Lieutenant liked my Red Cross work  as he prepared for deployment with work as Assistant Brigade Adjutant at Fort Knox, Kentucky.  Partners in it all,  and now parenthood too!  Our new marriage was getting really good!   So he obtained an extension on his departure date so he could be there for the birth and the early christening, and then off to war, when our son was 22 days old.   But we had run along with our cameras as sweethearts and newlywed, and promised to let photos continue to help us stay close.  

I'd plan the photo shoot and get busy - back and forth as photographer and with a drafted helper, then, into the photo myself for my mommy role.  Then the editing:  I’d assemble the stories with captions and send them on to his Daddy in Viet Nam. 

With his degree in Chemistry and hatred for Chemical warfare,  he was proud to be with His USACE Special Ops group, "Black Diamonds",  bridge-building and getting rid of Agent Orange.   To be sure to get that job, my late husband took on Construction work as a summer job and was required to enlist before his draft notice arrived. They would be sent at birthdays, and his was in July, so not much graduate partying in June, but running to Army Recruiting to get in on time.    

I don't know what sort of mass hypnosis we use to make it bearable, but war is "like, dangerous" and they were not showing enough John Wayne movies!   His job was not especially combat of any sort, but they all took their turn at duties with guns.   I was twenty-one and in love;  I pretended it was just “post partum”   stuff when I swooned from horror at the dangers he faced...he and friends and neighbors' sons and soon, my Brother.   The wonderful new Playtex baby nurser with super safe  disposable bags was fun.   But an innovation called "body bags" was not.  I never stopped getting sick at the idea of bagging people. They needed a much more respectful term for it, and insistence use of that term. Both soldiers and newscasters were awful in their deliberate disrespect when they used the term. 

Unable to cry, desperate to do something to help, all I could do, was find the good perfumed stationery and send the photo stories and pray a lot, and " not make waves" .   There was no SKYPE and no digital imaging, but now the photo stories for my lieutenant got serious in their mission.   Keeping up morale when those who were supposed to do and say supportive things were NOT.    And what if my pathetic efforts got lost in the famously-horrible mail?  The popcorn and cookies I sent NEVER got there.  Once his letters did not get to me for weeks and once mine did not reach him and the letters back were full of his concern as were mine to him, by the time they arrived, it was frustration to read them, since the issue had passed.

Young and low-budget or not,  there was money for at least two copies of the photo essays.   Head and heart in the production to keep it light and helpful for all the best fun.   The christening and the bath time stories remain my favorite -  wiggly before, splashing during, full of delight.  And after?  One he'd love with  happy, sleepy, clean and dry baby and happily wet and messy Mommy.   His Father's letters in reply were full of love and praise  for the joy the stories brought in the middle of a war.   The highchair mealtimes, the fun in the stroller and  other photo stories - easy!     How good to know that they helped!  

And, thanks to the extension on the deployment, Daddy was home in time for his son's first haircut and baby's first Christmas  - Father and Son together "all ten fingers - all ten toes" - my favorite baby picture story of all!   

Art in America - a Timeline

ART IN AMERICA - A TIMELINE

March 2, 2016 SketchcrawlHartfordConnecticut USA 8-15 esf

SketchcrawlHartfordConnecticut USA 8-15 esf

ART IN AMERICA ~ HISTORICAL OUTLINE and a MYSTERY

I posted this timeline in 2003 at my first site. It made a good thing to share and handy reference for me.  

But in the loss of things from the old site hacking, is the loss of the SOURCE of this neat post.  

In trying to find it, I found ten newer ones but none so simple, elegant and easy to USE.  

Will continue the source search and will add a few links to other good sources.  Thanksomuch - Elle
  
 

Art in America of course begins with Indigenous Art - long before the 1600s, the land now called America 1000 BCE or Early Ancient Period already shares pottery and leather crafed goods, and it goes on from there - I am sharing this resource for a great overview I found, for you and for my own updates and reference. http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/ancient-art/american-indian.htm

Colonial Period: 1607-1788
    
  With survival uppermost in the minds of our earliest settlers, the arts were slow to take root, but there are always crafted items for practical use, made from materials in the New World - I think they sold well “back across the pond” immediately . The earliest painting, primarily portraiture, was accomplished by untrained artists called limners, whose main task was to record the likenesses of the stalwart colonials.
  
  The first artwork was, naturally, derivative and found its inspiration primarily through imported prints that reflected styles then prevalent in England, Holland, and Spain. Many artist/artisans divided their time between attempts at fine art and designing utilitarian objects, such as signs and carriage decoration. Our first glimmerings of serious sculpture, for instance, were done by gravestone carvers.
  
  The earliest trained painter to come to the colonies was John Smibert, whose hefty portrayals of landed gentry and merchants derive in style from the seventeenth-century Dutch realists. Our first native geniuses of the brush, Benjamin West of Philadelphia and John Singleton Copley of Boston, found it necessary to leave the colonies in order to fulfill their artistic visions, although Copley's highly illusionistic colonial work surely remains a monument to American ingenuity. West eventually became painter to King George III and opened his London studio to a continuous stream of emerging American artists.
  
  
  
  Early Republic to 1812: 1789-1812
  
   
  
  A new nation, the United States of America, continued its reliance on Old World artistic traditions, especially with few opportunities for training in this country. American artists John Vanderlyn, Washington Allston, John Trumbull, and others sought instruction in London (under our own Benjamin West) and in Paris but also sojourned in Italy, where they absorbed that country's rich classical style and subject matter.
  
  Upon their return, these artists and enlightened American citizens recognized the need for creating institutions where artists could be trained and where art could be exhibited. Trumbull was instrumental in the running of the New York Academy of the Fine Arts (founded 1802), with its imported casts of antique sculpture, which offered a definite teaching tool to eager students. Boston followed suit with a cast collection located at the Athenaeum (founded 1804) and exhibitions that began in 1827. Charles Willson Peale was a pioneer in creating Philadelphia's art circle, establishing the first art gallery in 1782 and the first American museum in 1786.
  
  An awareness of our history inspired the nation's leaders to recognize the need to capture images of leaders in significant portraits by Peale, Gilbert Stuart, Samuel F.B. Morse, and others, but history painting itself made little headway until later in the 1800s. When sculpture was needed for the neoclassically-inspired government buildings in Washington, D.C., Italian sculptors were hired to embellish them. Home grown sculpture, however, always flourished due to its ties to functional objects such as gravestones, ship's mastheads, and practical decorations.
  
  The first glimmerings of landscape painting surfaced at this time, thanks to trained artists who came from abroad (for example, Robert Salmon), who concentrated mostly on recording the emerging cities, harbors, picturesque places, and native inhabitants of a new world. The unique talents of John James Audubon elevated the recording of America's flora and fauna to unprecedented artistic levels.
  
  
  
    
  
  Jacksonian Era through Civil War: 1812-1865
  
   With the election of Andrew Jackson in 1828, an era of democratization and equality swept America and with it a period of vast expansion of creativity in the arts. Landscape artists Thomas Doughty, Thomas Cole, Asher B. Durand, Frederic Church, and George Inness strove to document the untouched look of the "new Eden," blending their individual styles with the Old World romantic traditions of the sublime and the beautiful. It was the American landscapists who first captured the symbolic features of the new nation. Instead of ancient ruins, these painters found history in spectacular land and water formations and, especially, in the inclusion of Native Americans within their scenes. Unleashed waterfalls, soaring eagles, and other emblems of liberty came to represent the country's image.
  
  A narrative or genre tradition of depicting everyday experiences began in the Jacksonian era when artists like John Quidor matched imagery to Washington Irving's History of New York or when William Sidney Mount committed the rural life of Long Island to canvas or when Lilly Martin Spencer explored images of her own household. An expanded audience for landscape, genre, and another relatively new Jacksonian subject, the still life, came with the mid-century explosion of magazines, newspapers, and journals, and with prints produced from original artwork, distributed through organizations like the American Art Union. Lush beautiful still life paintings by Severin Roesen, John Francis, and others celebrated the American harvest, offering little indication of a major civil war on the horizon.
  
  The 1820s and 1830s saw the first cluster of American sculptors working in Italy, where marble was readily available and trained artisans could carry their designs to fruition. By mid-century the colony, which also included painters, was larger than ever and included Horatio Greenough, Hiram Powers, and Thomas Crawford.
  
  
  
  
  Civil War to End of the 19th Century: 1866-1899
  
   The 1860s brought to American landscape painting several options. Artists could concentrate on the tiny details of nature in close-up studies recommended by the American followers of Ruskin such as Aaron Draper Shattuck or William Trost Richards. They could expand their subjects to include highly dramatic views of the West, such as those portrayed by Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran, or scenes of the arctic by William Bradford and others. Or they could concentrate on quieter views that explored the full potential of light, a style known as luminism. Gradually the extreme detail of Ruskin's adherents and the dramatic subjects of late Hudson River landscape painters turned inward, capturing the spirit rather that the topography of America's natural views. Inness's conversion to Swedenborgianism, William Morris Hunt's adherence to Barbizon influences, Albert Pinkham Ryder's and Ralph Albert Blakelock's choice of dream-like subjects--all reflected the nation's somber mood at the end of a devastating internal war.
  
  
  
  
  
  Beginning of 20th Century to World War II: 1900-1940<br><br>
  
   The twentieth century has been one of continued emulation of European styles, exploitation of those styles into unique American trends, and, beginning in the 1950s, leadership in the contemporary art world. A group of Philadelphia journalist/artists later known as the Ash Can painters--Robert Henri, John Sloan, William Glackens, George Luks, Everett Shinn--began the century with a new brand of realism, their subjects drawn from the street life of New York, where they ultimately settled. The first decade also saw the initial glimmerings of European modernism in American art in the work of Alfred Maurer, Max Weber, John Marin, Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley-all members of the New York circle around the photographer Alfred Stieglitz. A groundbreaking event was New York's 1913 Armory Show, where Americans saw in huge numbers the work of Matisse, Picasso, Kandinsky, and Duchamp.
  
  Between the world wars, however, American art took a more conservative bent, echoing the nation's isolationist posture. Pride in our industrial architecture-skyscrapers, grain elevators, barns, machines-found a visual counterpart in the work of the American Precisionists Charles Demuth, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Charles Sheeler. Other realist movements between the wars were Studio Realism in the work of Kenneth Hayes Miller, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Eugene Speicher, Leon Kroll, and the Soyer brothers. American Scene painters Charles Burchfield and Edward Hopper explored the sometimes lonely existence of town and rural living. Regionalists Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry, and Grant Wood celebrated agrarian life and culture as no one had done before them. Social Realism flowered in the Depression era in the scenes of heavy labor, shopgirls, and the unemployed as shown in the work of William Gropper, Ben Shahn, Philip Evergood, and, later, Jacob Lawrence, who, like many American artists, received his first incentive as an artist through the Federal government's Works Progress Administration (WPA), organized in 1935 for artists on relief.
  
  Abstract art was kept alive in this country during the 1930s through groups like the American Abstract Artists association. A huge explosion within the American art world came in the 1940s and 1950s with Abstract Expressionism, a New York movement concerned with the process of painting itself. Painters Arshile Gorky, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, and Mark Rothko, and sculptor David Smith were all pioneers in this new instinctual method of working.
  
  A reaction to abstraction came with the precise geometric imagery of Josef Albers, Ellsworth Kelly, Kenneth Noland, and Richard Anuszkiewicz in painting and Donald Judd in sculpture. The 1960s brought Pop Art, suggesting in its title a celebration of the commercial world; practitioners were Claes Oldenburg, Andy Warhol, George Segal, Roy Lichtenstein, among others. Sol LeWitt's conceptual art and Robert Smithson's earthworks also evolved in the 1960s, focusing on the idea and less so on the product, if one were produced at all.
  
  The Post Modernist era has capitalized on the art movements of the 1950s and 1960s. Abstract Expressionism in all its manifestations, pure geometric styles, the art of the absurd--have all opened up a new artistic exploration of our world. The human body, long the basis for representation, has now been fragmented and super-analyzed from both within and without. Our gender roles in society have become grist for the artists' mill; private worlds have been exposed for all to see and imagine. Democratization is key to the understanding of the new art, whether created by the professional, the untutored, or other "outsider" artists. It is important today to understand how the viewer thinks and how people learn in order to form a more engaging dialogue among the artist, the onlooker, and the art itself. A healthy questioning of the past, quoting from it with skepticism at times, has also created an atmosphere out of which new art can develop for the future

In Art, writing, patriotic, American Art, ConnecticutTags Elle Smith Fagan, Patriotic Art, Patriot, Writing, Connecticut

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Charles Ethan Porter - Hartford Artist of the Black Elite

"Apples", by Charles Ethan Porter.
 References to the work of a former neighbor in time and space.

Wikipedia's fine Biography of Charles Ethan Porter at this link - click, please.

Charles Ethan Porter (c. 1847 – March 6, 1923) was born near Hartford, and, among other things, was a protege of Mark Twain, who raised the money to send Mr. Porter to Paris to refine the training of the talented Rockville, Connecticut , Black American native.

He is said to have painted in the Florentine style  and always elegantly. His works are found in the leading collections of the world and spotlighted - top honors-  in Black American Culture venues.

At one time, his artwork was so much in demand he kept a studio on Fox Hill in Vernon, Connecticut AND one in Hartford.
All sources agree his work was later suppressed by racial discrimination, only to triumphantly re-emerge in these more correct times.

But many of his paintings remain hidden, from those old days, and then rediscovered by descendants.
The new day we enjoy today is making it possible for all to enjoy his fine work once more...... elle

Vernon Historical Society  in Connecticut, USA  keeps a veritable shrine to his work. The town is very proud of his beginnings there.
The State Historical Society and the Hartford Public Library and the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford are also fine resources, online and off.

Links to Charles Ethan Porter art online...
much of it from our Connecticut Historical or the the Amazing Mr. Driskell of Black American Arts Elite.   This one from the Arts Center named for the famed David C. Driskell,  http://www.driskellcenter.umd.edu/index.php 

Thomas Colville Fine Art, LLC  http://www.thomascolville.com/index.cfm?pg=2&pgtitle=Inventory&m=a&k=281

Citizens of Color, 1863-1890: The Black Elite: The 'Talented ... Citizens of Color, 1863-1890: The "Talented Tenth". Charles Ethan Porter. Mounting racism certainly was a barrier that narrowed the ... http://www.hartford-hwp.com/HBHP/exhibit/05/3.html 

More about the Elite and the Talented Tenth 

I hope you will wish to Link to a Top Source for all things "Charles Ethan Porter" at the Vernon Connecticut Historical Society, located northeast of Hartford; we are apples and ice cream and once a Megapolis for Textiles. 

Vernon's Fox Hill with its three-state view was Mr. Porter's home for part of his life. 

Mr. Porter's archived writings include recommendation from Mark Twain, courtesy letters of introduction, and the Historical Society here has reverently Archived and shared his work and history. 

Mr. Porter's work and life are favorite local school display projects. 

Whatever your source, do look up his work - it is truly elegant and top-notch! 

Charles Ethan Porter, noted Black American Painter 

Purpose

Also named  "A Splendid Torch"  or, "Purpose" -  this is A New Years Inspiration for everyone!  A vitamin of a sort,  from George Bernard Shaw, one of my least favorite persons, but most favorite storytellers.  It is reprinted everywhere under several titles.   I hope you enjoy the easy read!  Elle

This is the true joy in life,

the being used for a purpose

recognized by yourself as a mighty one;

the being a force of nature

instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of

ailments and grievances

complaining that the world will not

devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that

my life belongs

to the whole community,

and as long as I live

it is my privilege

to do for it whatever I can.

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die,

for the harder I work the more I live.

I rejoice in life for its own sake.

Life is no “brief candle” for me.

It is a sort of splendid torch

which I have got hold of

for the moment,

and I want to

make it burn as brightly as possible

before handing it on to future generations.

What's in a name? Google-gangers unite!

"What's in a Name?" 

~ a celebration of the diversity of arts expression among those having only a name in common. 

"What's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet !" ~ the famous line from Shakespeare, Romeo of his Juliet.

This page resulted from the true consternation experience , when an artist who shared the last name, Fagan,  actually suggested I change my name, so as not to confuse her online fans.  YIKES!

It was no joke to her and some trouble before it cooled.  The issue of reliable ID for an artist's work is important, and more about it at the end of this post.  YEARS later, I am looking for a Leprechaun behind that 2004 controversy AIMED AT me, since it arose at our Saint Patrick's day, and hope you find this page as much fun I did creating it.    I won the peace by first respecting her upset.  Once I realized where she was in it, it was easy simply researching  and sharing this  PARTIAL LIST of Artists named "Fagan" to help her realize the way of it online.  It worked. 

Take a quick look at this honored  list and followup as you like!   Google-gangers - my namesakes, all artists named Fagan, and a few others who seemed to come along with them, somehow, as I have done, in making this page.
It is our business to celebrate one another ! 

I hope you agree and will accept this invitation to join the celebration ... of a line, a hue, an image, a message, a thought, an inspiration, and the diversity of those who create them ! 

And now, onnnnnnn with the parade!   ALPHABETICALLY

Ada Fagan, South Africa

Allison Fagan - Ontario,Canada

Amanda Fagan, artist, former events co-ord for the American Cancer Society, Meriden, Los Angeles CA and .my Daughter...she does not have much posted online,but has won her visual arts awards, as well. Incognito on her honeymoon. 

Beverly Fagan Gilbertson,  the "Google-ganger" whose fluster inspired this page.  Friends!

Bob Fagan, NOT the TVwatercolorist...silver gelatine photographic prints New York City USA 

Bob Fagan, yes, the TV Watercolorist, Florida USA. John Leben, his film producer says, "Bob continues to paint and teach in the Ft. Myers area and he sells his work down there. " 

Brian Fagan - art, achaelogical writing, Florida USA ( I think ) 

Chas Fagan 

Christine Fagan - Artist 

Danielle Fagan - Digital artist - Universities in VA and Texas USA

Dorothy Fagan 

Garth Fagan - Dance Org, internationallly famous, NYC USA could not leave him out

James Fagan 19th Century Magnificence USA

Marc Fagan - Giclee Photographic Prints - Georgia Gallery USA

Peter Fagan, at his jump-off site, "Theta-g.com" A founder and webmaster at San Francisco Chronicle's site "the gate", 'True Who-vian', Tolkien fan, and my only son. 

Peter Fagan, Tyne & Wear UK find his famous "ColourBoxCats" and "Home Sweet Home" sculptures on the internet in collectibles and for sale. His no longer sells them, and the link here is to his present financial business. 

Peter Fagan, Sculptor and teacher Illinois USA namesake to husband and son, but no relation

Regina Fagan  Artist and Teacher Chicago Arts Institute trained and great smile

Robert Fagan, noted 18th Century painter - at the Tate, London and at Hunt, Ireland 

Sandra Fagan - American, lovely birds ! 

Sarah Fagan  - wonderful paintings!

Sarah Emily Fagan - youthful artist and Tolkien fan - good luck!

Sean Fagan, Arts Director for Clown Arts - Berkshires USA- 

Fagan Promo - arts marketer - Pennsylvania, USA

RE: Identifiers for security and legal purposes- see your tech-spert for online identifiers andthings you can do on every one of your artworks to mark it as yours without intruding on the art image...a sneaky invisible watermark of a sort.    The bottom line is that it is up to YOU to find a unique identifier for your work.  The equivalent of YOUR signature.  Beyond that, as your own style evolves, it may be easy to see it is YOUR work and no one else's.   I use secret hidden squiggles , sometimes a monogram etc...then I simply include reference to  it in my artworks catalogue - the one the artist uses for files and reference.  Some images will slip thru the cracks. that is the way  real life works, but even then: your digital photo of your artwork may be more than enough to do the job.   IF your name thing is so people can find YOU and not anyone else - good luck. Adding some middle name or keyword to your name and then sharing that helps.  Promoting YOU online a LOT helps. And for the rest, celebrate life and stay friendly  about it all or you will be undermining your own creative energies.

Well! That's it for now, folk!   And this is a partial list - it's a wide world with a plethora of Fabulous Fagans sharing fine lights in all directions. God bless you ALL!   Add your name here and I will followup.  

elle