An Introduction

Are there any mother/daughter blogs out there?  

In the months leading up to my retirement after about 30 years of work in the financial markets, the idea for this blog took shape. My tech ignorance and my flailing around for easy answers to life's questions seemed a complement/contrast to Amanda's ease with Pinterest/tweets/blogs and all the trappings of the 21st century and her easy acceptance of life's challenges. Along the way we found a lot of common ground. I have a Ph.d in art history and she has a Master of Fine Arts. We both see the world through the filter of art and the joy of making things with our hands. In fact I cannot sit still without some knitting, needlepoint or something working in my hands. Amanda's hands are stronger, more adventurous.  She dyes with indigo and onion skins, spins, weaves, book binds. That's just the beginning. We also found that we can travel together and that we enjoy driving to places in search of yarns, warehouses filled with beads, cones of cotton and books. She drives (because I hate to and refuse to) while I try to take care of logistics. Her ease with finding directions and locating interesting places through her cell phone (I just got my first cell phone two weeks ago when I had to relinquish my company's blackberry) amazes me. We found a tiny local yarn store - Mermaid's Purls - through her cellphone on a trip to Providence which was a gem.  

Needless to say we also enjoy popping in and out of museums. The trick to really enjoying a museum is to limit what you see. Otherwise it becomes a chore.
Anyway, on Wednesday we popped into a talk at the Strand bookstore (if you don't know the Strand, I would love to tell you about it). It was a talk by Scott Schulman (the Sartorialist blogger - does anyone not know him?) and Amy Arbus of the Village Voice (I didn't realize that she is the daughter of Diane Arbus). The talk was about their books and the art of street photography, capturing real people "in the moment". I loved it because I admire his work and I was happy to learn about her work. But mostly I loved it because it was another opportunity to share an experience with Amanda doing something that we both enjoyed. I also loved it because, even though I was probably the oldest person there, I still felt endlessly fascinated doing the one thing that has interested me my entire life - watching people. If I were Maira Kalman I would have sketched many of the interesting faces and clothes of the hundred plus people who attended. Anyway, pre-retirement, I wouldn't have had the energy to attend so I suppose I should remind myself of that whenever I have another of my panic attacks.

We are going to talk about our craft projects, our road trips, our 'art experiences', the things that we learn as we shape our lives - I in my retirement and Amanda as she continues to figure out what to do with an MFA in a world of MBAs. We hope you come along on our parallel and intersecting journeys. 

Scott Schulman in conversation with Amy Arbus at the Strand bookstore