Portraits of Grandma

I've decided that I am going to accept that my Grandmother is slowly dying. In fact, we all are...I'm embarking on a new project of photo essays called 'Elders in the Light'. For now, my grandmother is the first subject of the portraiture work. I plan to document her store house of our family's oral history, and the many stories to make them part of my 'store' of knowledge, and to love her fully (along with all of the loved ones in my life) each and every day that we breathe, and even after that...with my heart relaxed and full of love...

Revisiting Synchronicity : The Last Docking of The Delta Queen in The Port of Paducah, Kentucky

(c) jj leatherman
(c) jj leatherman

This morning I woke up with The Delta Queen (song by Nathan Lynn and Bawn in the Mash) playing in my head...then all this morning, I think I am hearing the Calliope Whistle loudly announcing??? Something...So, I peruse the Ol' BLOG and find that we are nearing that sad anniversary. I think it's worth a re-post and a re-visit. There is something about synchronicity and nostalgia that never grows old...



SAVE THE QUEEN~October 27, 2008

On Synchronicity: The Delta Queen and Nathan Lynn



We went early and made a day of it starting with a good morning salute to the Queen, and then headed to the River Maritime Museum, then onto the Railroad Museum, next for lunch: Kirchoff's good soup and sandwiches and then onto Wildhair Studios to pick up my first music purchase of Bawn in the Mash's Atomic City, their first album. Finally, we got back in the car and re- parked right down by the river to watch the Queen leave the Paducah Port for what could be the very last time.



Still in the sunny part of our day before the Queen's departure while relaxing in the warmth of the car by the river, I put the Atomic City album on and listened and stared at the old gal that is the Delta Queen paddle boat, and tried not to cry too hard in front of the children, but I was really sad, and then a head pops in our window~who but the singer of our farewell serenade: Nathan Lynn: http://www.nathanblakelynn.com/index.php.


 He popped his head in and said, 'hey I sing that song, that's me singin'" The boys were delighted, and I went and got his autograph, and he gave me a cd! I felt like the most privileged of fans.


www.save-the-delta-queen.org

After I hopped back in the car, my eldest son didn't believe that the person on the cd that we were listening to was who he said he was there at the river front, right in front of us, so I said~'hey, he's got that guitar on his back maybe he's about to prove it." So, then the boys and I shamelessly followed Lynn and Dixie up to where the river gage runs and Nathan commenced to singing his beautiful tune about none other than The Delta Queen. It was such an honor to be there at the confluence of great art and history.

Japanese girl

Japanese girl, originally uploaded by ookami_dou.

Japanese girl
Tinted albumen print from a japanese photo album of the 19th century.

Uploaded by ookami_dou on 28 Jan 07, 1.11PM EDT.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Tree of Life Series by JJ Leatherman

Mother Roots

Belly Casts

Finally, 4 and 6 years later, the boys and I put gesso on on our belly casts. I say ours, because they were the little beings that caused my figure to blossom so bountifully. You'll notice that one is larger than the other, as I was much more supple to stretch ;)..i think both forms are absolutely beautiful in their own way, just as my children are in their own way…

 

My eldest wants to paint our first house on his…while my younger insists that he is Venus. I want to have the moon and sun be central in each one of their designs as I feel that I am the earth and they are my sun, and moon. My husband is that vast space that holds us, elemental like me, earthy, the tree rooted in me….

One is my egg, the other, my igloo…

 

I'll post the next phase in the process, sanding, hopefully very soon.