Stephanie Hilvitz

the Art of Remembrance...a Visual Narrative

she is being born...slowing taking on the personality of Mnemosyne...the Greek Goddess of the personification of memory

she took the body of the mother Goddess from last year's Dia de los Muertos altar from last year

she gained limbs that allow her to cradle the memories...

the gathering of the 'presences'

 

she is growing, gathering the spirits...summoning the Monarchs

the Art of Remembrance...the stories continue

The stories continue...this rich community has grown to embrace family memories and those of friends near and far.

local friends, Bernadette and Jim have shared stories that were too long to be fully included so I am sharing here....Bernadette's father Edgar,

Edgar Robichaud

June 20, 191 - June 30, 1989

My dad worked hard to raise five children and it was a job well done.  Dad always had a vegetable garden.  Looking back I realize that each time a child left the house as a productive adult Edgar's garden grew. Oh how he loved and nurtured his tomatoes as he did each child. I too have a love for tomatoes and an endless love for my son.

Jim's parents

Lois and Fritz fell in love during WWII.  Their date sport was golf which they enjoyed for many years. I'm sure they're on the links together again.

Thank you two for sharing in the creation of the Art of Remembrance Goddess~

the Art of Remembrance

The community of this piece reaches far and wide...family, old friends...and new.

Ellen (Bateman) Bulterman of the blog Tree Fishing joins the family of Remembrance,

My Mom and Dad on their wedding day

 

Jesse Benjamin Bateman, Jr.   August 20, 1924 - July 21, 2009

Peggy Lee Deese Bateman   December 13, 1931 – June 13, 1994

My father had the most wonderful, hearty laugh.  Many, many years ago before my parents had even met, they were both at a party and my mother heard him across the room laughing.  She told her girlfriend that evening that she was going to marry that man.

My Great-Grandmother (standing in her garden)

 

Bessie Gertrude Walker Woffard   January 25, 1884 – August 18, 1983

My great-grandmother collected salt & pepper shakers and was known for her flower gardens and her out-of-this-world cooking.  

My Great-Aunt and Great-Uncle 

 

Harvey Bates Littlejohn   May 13, 1912 – February 3, 2001

Wylma Kate Wofford Littlejohn   January 19, 1913 – December 19, 1992

Willie and Bates loved to dance.  At that time it was illegal to dance in the county where they lived, so they often traveled to the adjoining county and danced the night away.

My Grandmother 

 

Ora Elizabeth Gilley Bateman   November 28,1893 – May 15, 1980

Whenever Grandma came to visit, she always had little gift surprises tucked in her suitcase for my two sisters and me.

 

the Art of Remembrance is another offspring the magical Monarch migration, this gathering of souls and stories woven into the fabric of this Goddess...Ellen shared another story that I would love to share with you too

 

Last November my husband and I visited a butterfly conservatory in Scottsdale, AZ.  It included a very cool animated film on the monarch butterfly, which really made an impression on me (along with your artwork and additional articles I have read).  In April I bought two milkweed plants (and talked my sister into three plants) from our local nature center's plant sale (my small way of helping out).  I have very little sunny space in my yard, but there are two spots in which I hoped they would grow.  And grow they did.  Over the summer I saw only one monarch but was thrilled... one is still one.  I didn't think much more about it until last week when I discovered healthy monarch caterpillars all over both plants.  I was stunned!  As of today I count seven caterpillars on one plant and four on the other, all fat and still eating.  A couple of days ago I release a small army of ladybugs to get rid of aphids that had invaded the plants (they're all gone... another amazing feat).  I'm hoping there's only about a week left before the caterpillars move on to their next metamorphosis.  I hope I have the privilege to see them through the whole process and off on their migratory route.  Each day I check on them...  you'd think I was birthing them myself.  Mother Nature is pretty amazing. 

Rich beyond Measure

the studio is FULL...of memories and stories...lives connected now, ties that bind and are released, sweet and warm

I was overwhelmed and touched to my core...with a package of delight, that will help send these sweet souls, that fill this space...on their way

Copal from Oaxaca, aromatic resins used by the cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica as ceremonially burned, copal incense from San Miguel...smudge sticks of lavender, white sage and rosemary, from a special garden...pine cone flowerettes! and rooster love.

rich beyond measure

my soul FILLED to the brim

Art of Remembrance

Haiku my HEART

 

the Art of Remembrance

more stories, more connections...the fiber of life carrying us into death

Lea, a dear blog friend whose paths, mine and hers crossed in Mexico, the place that held her Milt's heart...in her words,

Milton E. Harris

5/5/1947 to 10/2/2010

  

Milton Harris was thinker, a man of principal, and a seeker of the simplicity of life. His magnanimous heart and sense of humor touched so many people. His beautiful hands brought beauty through the written word and his love of crafting. He loved all things Mexico, the earth, and the wings of the sky. He was a great father, a loving husband, a truly amazing human being to walk this earth.

 

Dale Richard Goode

6/25/1934 to 9/23/2013

 

Dale Goode was a farmer, a father, a husband, and a beloved brother. Overcoming huge adversities he lived his life passion of growing grapes, enjoying history- for he was a cowboy at heart, all amidst the beauty of Sonoma County, California. His sweet smile was sunshine... and warmed the hearts of all who met and loved him.

thank you Lea for sharing your stories with me and the Art of Remembrance

 

the Art of Remembrance

there were so many beautiful heARTfelt stories shared with me...many too long for me to include in the small space I had on the Goddess that I am compelled to share in more detail here...

another group of stories that tie these women to each other and to me

Somepinkflowers 

Max and Yvonne 
met during WWII
{{ both in the Navy }}
and fell in love in Hawaii
where they were stationed
after being deployed to Pearl Harbor. 
After the war they were married,
a few years later there was me
and then my sister.
~~~~~~~
Max D Frye
October 1923 - February 2009
~~~~~~~
Yvonne R Frye
January 1923 - February 2013

I miss them both 
every 
single 
day.
xox
~~~~~~~

 

Constance's lovely parents that I shared with you previously here...

thomas houston brooks, the father of Rebecca

my father was the light of my life. he forged everyone a place in the house of belonging. a world of wonder ignited by his generous and always open heart.

Rebecca requested that he reside near bonnie's parents and constance's mom and dad- "it would really mean so much. this is how they "met" each other, my dad in the middle of these angels on our dia de los muertos altar in sanmiguel".

these stories weave round and round and tie us all together...like the sugar skulls, our memories sweet this time of year.

 

the Art of Remembrance

I have been making small faux tin frames to hold so many precious photos for my growing Art of Remembrance Goddess, it's been humbling and I take this charter very seriously...people have been sending me images of loved ones and beautiful stories

I am getting to know many of my own family better than I knew them before by slowly creating the  frames and assembling them to create this cloak of remembrance.  Some sent stories longer than I can contain in my little frames so I am going to share and introduce many to you here over the next month.

Constance sent a beautiful photo of her parents and these lovely words to share;

Lois Barbara Beyer Muller Sept 27, 1926 ~ Oct 16, 2012

She brought Joy to the world. She
liked to have Fun. She saw the good in people.
She was shy, She was from San Francisco, She was for
Peace, She loved flowers, even tiny ones that grow in weeds,
She adored trees. She was the master of costumes and dressing up, sometimes she attended church, though she was not a believer, she was a naturalist, a lover of life, an artist who turned her life into a work of art.
She was elegant and gorgeous, but never realized that the world saw her that way. She was rare. I was fortunate that out of all the mothers in the world, she was mine.

I loved her and miss her ! 

Joseph Muller Junior Dec. 6, 1924 ~ June 11, 2000

He was from New York, He served
as a Marine during WW11. He was smart,
outgoing, Opinionated and Openminded, He loved
studying American History and Politics. He was a hard core
Democrat, He was a musician and appreciated most music, but
especially opera, and Dixieland, He was dashing and dressed in Brooks Brothers, he appreciated fine dining and delicious food, He mixed a mean cocktail and liked to entertain. He played Croquet, He planted trees in every home he owned. He was a Christian who studied Zen. He collected fine and exquisite Persian Carpets. Only the best for Joe Muller! He made people laugh with his ironic and quirky sense of humor,. I loved him and miss the the world’s loudest banjo player!