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Friday, February 5, 2016

More or Less - February


I've not been very successful with my "Less" list, but I have made some progress with my "More" list.  January was largely devoted to children's books and my desire to illustrate mine.  To that end I've been drawing more in preparation for my monthly Beatrix Potter post. . . .

I've spent most of the month reading my collection of books on Beatrix Potter so I can plot out a year's worth of monthly posts.  I realized I have to do the research up front so I can include pertinent information with the corresponding character I will be drawing that month.  I've already realized there is a wealth of information I could have included with last month's Jemima Puddle-Duck.  But since she's my protagonist I will have a chance to slip these tidbits in all year long.

The research has enabled me see connections between Beatrix's stories which has allowed me to assemble an order for our journey through the Lake District.  I am also realizing that if I ever do go to the Lake District in England I will know exactly where everything is!  I'll know background information and interesting side notes to enrich my time there.  I even spent an hour "cruising" down the lanes in and around Near Sawrey via Google's Street View.  In short, I'm pretty much becoming a Beatrix Potter scholar!  In the past I've only read biographies about Beatrix.  This time I've been reading her letters and journals and am coming to understand the private Beatrix Potter as opposed to the Beatrix Potter/Beatrix Heelis she presented.  Often when I've endeavored to find out more about a person whose artistic work I admire I've come away disappointed.  With Beatrix, however, I've been able to read some first-hand accounts written about her which help to explain the scruff, rude person she's been portrayed as in later years.

So my question this month is:  When you find an author or artist you like, do you try to find out everything you can about them?  Do you often come away disappointed?  Share any stories you have, please, about these people.


.•*¨`*•. ☆ .•*¨`*•
Take Joy!

16 comments:

  1. I am afraid I haven't pursued my interest in knowing more about favourite authors or artists. I would like to when I have more time, other hobbies seem to take over.

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  2. Since one of my hobbies is reading, devoting some of that reading time to biographies and Internet searching comes easily for me.

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  3. Oh yes, when I find a favorite author I like to know a bit about them. It always helps I think to understand how they may have come by their stories.
    Cheers,
    Suzanne

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    1. It adds another element to the stories to know something about the author's life. When I read Elizabeth Goudge's biography I saw pieces of the stories I'd read--plus, I understood why houses were like one of the characters in her stories.

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  4. Sometimes we find out that authors have the same warts and wrinkles that we do. I think it's amazing what you are doing with Beatrice Potter and I look forward to your posts. Do you have an 8x11 sort of padded book about her, showing some of her letters, etc?

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    1. I have a large book of her letters, edited by Margaret Lane, that I've borrowed from the library.

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  5. Cathy, You are doing a fine job of it with your recent drawings. I too, want to learn about the life behind my favorite artists, living and deceased. Anton Pieck was a marvelous artist I've always admired so I tracked down 7 books about him. Unfortunately, they're written in Dutch! I can only learn about him by observing his illustrations, so be it. I would like to learn more about Jill Barklem, but there is very little personal information. The surprising thing about Beatrix P, is the wealth of information. My theory for that is the fact that she left countless acres and properties to the National Trust and therefore, they have a huge part in keeping her memory alive and well. I own a dozen books about B.P. because I love her art, her stories, and personal life story. HOWEVER, there were countless, wonderful illustrators living and working in the same time period, of whom we know very little. Margaret Taraunt, Margaret Temple, Cecily Mary Barker...where are the biographies about these illustrators? I think I'll do a post on them; they should also be recognized for their contribution to children's books and maybe I can learn more about them with some searching.
    Have fun with your drawing, I am working on a schedule as well, I'll think of you sharpening your pencils as I do the same.

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    1. Thank you, Jeri. I'm not familiar with Margaret Temple, but am with the other two--I've collected their books. I'd love for you to do a post on them!

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  6. Good Morning Cathy :-)
    Your drawings look so great!! Yes!! I ,like you, dive in and want to learn and absorb everything about people of the past whom I admire! Including artists, illustrators, authors and poets! (and the fathers and mothers of our country)! Beatrix is one of my obsessions and I swoop up any~everything I find ;-) You and I share the same love for the others too!(Tasha, Edith) and how about Hellen Allingham and Kate Greenaway (who were friends) I enjoy all of these biographies so much because they open a window to the lives of even their parents and beyond! Laura Ashley (more recently) was another biography that I LOVED :-) And Louisa May, Emily D and Jane Austin~(STRONG or determined women who have left a mark)!!! Oh and Georgia OKeefe I have read everything that I got my hands on about her too!
    I don't think I have come across any bios that left me disappointed though, maybe sad if there was tragedy, but always a deeper appreciation of these noble yet very human people that were here as a "vapor"!!!
    Also another thing that happens to me is I will read one bio and find that there is a connection with another interesting figure, and so I become hungry for more history or bios and the time line!! For instance, Beatrix 's father hung out with Elizabeth Gaskell's husband (read her bio by Charlotte Bronte)or Kate Greenaway led me to read Hellen Allingham's bio...they hung with Lord Tennyson, Kippling and John Ruskin and so on!!And then there was the Queen's reign!! And so on and so on!! There ya have it never bored!!! LOL!! It is an un-ending quest for me!! And like Jeri, I want to know more about Jill Barklem too!!
    Have fun dearest kindred friend!! I do so enjoy all of your inspiration!!
    Sending warmth and love many joyous blessings, Linnie

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    1. Thank you, Linnie. I absolutely love YOUR drawings! I've saved a couple of yours and "copied" them into my journal. ☺︎ I learned about Mr. Gaskell's connection to Mr. Potter in one of the books I've read about Beatrix. I love finding connections between people I "follow." In fact, I wish they'd teach history by connecting the artists and authors who lived during that time period. Same with geography. I would have paid better attention in school! As far disappointments, I have to say I became disappointed with Tasha Tudor when I read what her daughter, Efner, had to say about her after her death. I have to keep my focus on what it is I do love about her in order to write about her on my Take Joy web journal--but then, I guess that's true for just about everybody, right? It's a good reason not to put people on pedestals because when they get knocked off, something's bound to get broken (them, or what they land on!)

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  7. Great question - let's see. I can't recall ever doing specific research about a particular artist or author I've liked, although if I had had the Internet earlier than I did I think I would have. I look up people/places all the time NOW, as I read something that interests me, see news items etc. But I can't say I dig to find out all I can, because you're right. Most of the time we learn that people we've put on pedestals are like everyone else. Brilliant in some ways, flawed in others. Normal. It's not possible to remain on a pedestal forever, and finding out our "heroes" have feet of clay does wound us to an extent. No one enjoys being disappointed by people they admired. Take Bill Cosby - wow. It's better NOT to hike people up when they never belonged in the first place. But how nice is it to find out what a special person Beatrix P was in real life? Apparently, the media have always chosen to go with the "good story" over the truth. I've been a huge Barbra Streisand fan since I was 16 and hearing for 50+ years about what an obsessive, demanding & detail-oriented control freak she is. Well I recently purchased her design book, which chronicles her restoration of an oceanside property Barbra bought somewhere. This book is, to start, thoroughly gorgeous. Barbra is an artist with more than her voice. And she may be detail-oriented but I personally don't see that as a negative thing at all. As the saying goes "God is in the details" and it's in the details where one can show how much he really cares. Do they want it done correctly, and as well as possible? Or not? And then I always think "If this person is comfortable blowing off these details, what else can they toss under the bus?" I also received a DVD of "Yentl" the first movie Barbra directed, with a commentary track. I couldn't believe how often I heard Barbra praising/giving credit to so many crew members she worked with. She kept saying "So-and-So gave a very timid me the confidence to do X..." or "So-and-So saved my life when his suggestion..." or "I couldn't have done the movie without X..." It was amazing when for years the press have given the impression that Barbra calls the shots on everything she does, pitching fits when she doesn't get her way etc. And this got me thinking, you don't hear these things from the people who actually work with Barbra. It's always some journalist's impression. And which makes a better story? Barbra Streisand is a warm, thoughtful person with tremendous talents and an overwhelming need to do Whatever the very best way possible? Or Barbra Streisand is a controlling b----? I also recently read an article that talked about how many friends Barbra still has from her very early days, her late teens even. People whose friendship she values and is a loyal friend too in return. I think that says a lot, and it certainly flies in the face of everything the media would have us believe. I honestly believe she's been maligned like this for so long because she's female. She's criticized for being aggressive, but in a man those traits would be spoken of as strong and assertive. But Barbra's not willing to sit down, fold her hands and behave like a good QUIET little girl. Anyway that's my story about learning more about someone I admire. Like you with Beatrix P, I learned some wonderful things that validated my long-held admiration for her in the first place.

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    1. Janet, I knew you'd have something to share on this post since I know you love to read biographies. That is interesting to know about Barbra Streisand, and I agree that being a stickler for details is only a problem for those who aren't! I went to see "Funny Girl" probably 4 times at least in the theater and bought her albums in the 70's, but I've never researched her life in any way. I remember seeing that book about her house when it came out. I'll have to see if my library has it. I just got a book from the library about Beatrix Potter that is articles written by people who had met her. I'm eager to dig into it.

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    2. I hope you can get the book at your library, Cathy. It's called "A Passion for Design"and it's primarily photography. Absolutely stunning pictures. Barbra did a mountain of painstaking research and spent God knows how much in restoring this property - including the gardens. The amount of detail is staggering, and a lot of it is not my own personal style but ALL of it is still really beautiful. If you can't get it at a library it might be online [although that would probably cost you something]. I'd be glad to loan you my copy if you can't find it any other way - seriously. I looked it over very thoroughly at Barnes & Noble but it's the kind of book you want to pore over, so I decided I needed to buy it. I think some of the purchase price went toward one of Barbra's charities too, which is great. Let me know if you can't find it and I'll send my copy on a little vacation to Maryland for a few months - no problem. Be forewarned - it's a big book!

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    3. Janet, that is very sweet of you! I can only imagine what the cost would be to mail it to me....but thankfully we don't need to find out because my library DOES have a copy. I've requested it to be sent to my nearest branch.

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    4. Great news, although my copy was looking forward to meeting everyone at your house, and maybe even Olivia... 💛

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  8. I too like to learn more about anyone that interests me. It is a bit like one of my ancestors it does add something understanding how they lived. I too have read a biography of Beatrix Potter. It was amazing how she managed to help preserve some much of the landscape of the Lake Distict. It has always on our list of places to visit, we have only flown over the land on our way to Scotland. Sarah x

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