Katya Reimann, Writer & Artist
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Welcome to December

12/1/2017

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PicturePen & Ink, Canary. ©2017 Katya Reimann
I'm going to try something new... I'm reconfiguring my social media use.
When you've maintained (in a general, if not in a organized, ongoing sense) a website since 1995, you periodically realize that what you are doing with your site isn't working.
Facebook has been a part of that--it's so easy to share my ideas there, that I haven't taken the time to share them here.
But today... I have a new App installed today, and I am going to see how this goes.

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Marie Bashkirtseff: the journal of a young artist, 1860-1884

4/25/2017

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I'm reading the "New and Revised" edition of 1919. My understanding is that there's a good, more recent, complete e-edition out (from Fonthill Press), an edition which restores all the "rampantly expurgated and cleansed" bits that her mother took out before allowing the work's publication.

Oh yes. Given the mischief I've read already on the page, I'm definitely intrigued to at least dip into Fonthill's unexpurgated bits, but... I'm also curious about the text that became a bestseller in Europe in 1887 (three years after Bashkirtseff's death), the text, evidently, that held a beloved place of pride on the shelves of many a young educated woman of a certain class in the years before--and after--WWI.
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Thus far, the book has lived up to my expectations. So far, Marie is only 16 years old, and I have moved only a little on from her early entries as a precocious 13 year old. But what an odd privilege, to read the words of this petted child, as she rackets around some fine estates in Italy and France:
[May—in Nice]
Paris—At last I have found what I longed for without knowing what it was! Life, that is Paris! Paris, that is life.... Nice—I regard Nice as an exile....

[September—in Paris]
Here there is neither morning nor evening. In the morning they are sweeping; in the evening the innumerable lights irritate my nerves... While at Nice one is comfortable! It is as if one were in a nest surrounded by mountains, not too high or too bare... I love Nice. Nice is my country...
Something tells me that both Nice and Paris must have been nice... in 1873, when Marie was living there.

Marie is known best these days for her journal, which she herself predicted... and somewhat for her paintings. She did some very fine paintings--not enough of which are on the internet.
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Happy Easter

4/16/2017

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Thomas Andrews's Mount Auburn Cemetery Posts

11/8/2016

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My friend Thomas Andrews periodically posts short pieces, with photos, about his walks in Mt. Auburn Cemetery.  I love these pieces, which constitute brief rambles through a scenery with which I am intimately familiar.  Mt. Auburn, the first landscaped rural or “garden” cemetery in the United States, was founded in 1831 on a site that spread along the Cambridge and Watertown, MA line.

In honor of election day 2016 (US), I am reproducing here (with permission) his entries from today.  Text and photos, unless otherwise credited, are all Thomas's.

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Meandering Paths at Mount Auburn--Ann Chapman (click photo for linked source)

Less than 100 years ago, Helen Taussig was allowed to take medical classes at BU and Harvard, but not allowed to earn a medical degree from either school. Her Harvard histology professor only allowed her to take his class if she did not talk to any classmates, for fear of "contaminating" them.

She eventually got her MD at Johns Hopkins.

She was part of the team, with Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas, who invented the first heart surgery, solving a common heart issue common to newborns.



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©2016 Thomas O. Andrews. Grave of Helen Brooke Taussig, Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, MA.
©2016 Thomas O. Andrews. Grave of Dorothy Dix, Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, MA.
©2016 Thomas O. Andrews. Grave of Dorothy Dix, Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, MA.

Dorothea Dix worked tirelessly for the more humane treatment of the mentally ill.

During the Civil War, she was the Superintendent of Army Nurses.

She was never allowed to vote.

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Local History

10/7/2016

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I've learned about this building by several names: the Paul Martin House, the Riverside Hospital, and now the Saint Paul German hospital.  This first picture is when it was the Saint Paul German Hospital.  I'm pretty sure it's significant that the date of this photo is ~1910.  After hostilities with the Germans and WWI--well, I'm guessing that that was when they renamed it.

The whole thing is gone today.  I'm not sure exactly when the building was pulled down, but it used to be a near neighbor.  It was a grand building, set on grounds that backed onto the West Side bluff of the Mississippi, to the south of the city as the river wends its way through St. Paul. 

It got an addition sometime before the 1930s.  Here's the same side of the the house, with the porch removed and the gracious arch balcony on the third floor where the nurses are standing (above), bricked in:
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And a final photo--this one dated to ~1888.  This was when the building was Paul Martin's private residence.  I wish I knew where north is in this photo!  Did that great tower face out over the river bluff, or did it stand in the opposite direction?
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There is only a single building of this grandeur in my neighborhood today, and the buildings all around--they are overshadowed by mature trees.  The culture that built this house--it is utterly vanished and gone. 
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Past Lives, circa 1991

10/6/2016

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Ah, the delightful grubbiness of it!

The English taking their club minutes seriously... How I ended up Secretary of this lot, I definitely do not remember.  But how very fortunate I was, to be a part of this club through the late 80s-early 90s, which was just a great, great time to be caving in the UK.  Some new technical advances meant a new level of descent had just opened up to a broader, perhaps more casual caver, and I got to visit (and indeed to explore) some amazing places, both magnificent and... scrofulous, as we-afterwards-in-the-pub-affectionately-called them.

Termcards dating back to 1959 (definitely before my time!) can be found here.

(drawing credit Tony Seddon, I believe)
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The Year is 1844...

1/28/2016

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Equally, I could title this post, "cool things you find on the internet."

Here are the passenger landing cards for the first Reimanns in my family to arrive in America. 

It's not really useful information.  I believe "Jean Key" was the name of an owner, and not of the actual vessel, there's no port of embarkation (family lore says Bremen), and the names are somewhat wrong.  This Ludwig and Attillia Reiman went on their tombstones as "Phillip Ludwig and Maria Ottilia Reimann"--so I come by that second 'n' in my name honestly, or at least it's been used by my particular family for ~150 years.

But, although these cards lack an influx of really good new information, looking at these cards, one thing struck me: my understanding is that Ludwig and Maria Ottilia were not people of great means.  Ludwig's occupation "mechanic" was more a sort of a class competency than a profession (think: the 'mechanicals' in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, not car engines).  Yet somehow they arranged for their entire family to travel to America together.  Phillip, one of their older children, was already married to Margaret (listed on his "accompanied by, line, following his parents), and sister Barbara, also traveling in the group, was married just four years later, in 1848.  What prompted this middle-aged couple to pick themselves up and move here?  War?  A draft? A prospect of a better life?  It's true that, on arriving, the family traveled straight to Buffalo, settled there, and prospered.  But the family did know know that was going to happen when they set foot upon that ship.

I'm 50 this year.  Four years older than Maria Ottilia.  As I sit here, typing to you on this marvelous machine, I stretch my imagination to consider selling my possessions, and moving with my husband and children to a new country.  Chidren--I have three.  Would they all want to come with me?  Even if the stakes were high, and they knew they might not see me again?  My great-great-grandmother: she had 10, and all 6 of the survivors came to America with her on this ship. 

What was so wrong with where she was living that she, that they, made this choice?
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Terri Windling's "Perfectionism" post

8/31/2015

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Now, there are several artists I know whose life and work gives a viewer or reader moments of pause, in which it seems one is viewing/reading/experiencing something close to "perfectionism" snared. 

Terri Windling, who has maintained studios in Arizona, US, and Devon, UK, is one of those individuals.

Seriously--could there be anything more perfect than these images of her working space?  The books?  The drawings?  The tapestry?

(photos from Terri's blog entry, click the link below for the original page and context)

This said--the subject of Terri's post, and the wisdom with which she observes the topic...

"The ability to view one's own work critically is, of course, a necessary skill; but when healthy discernment turns into destructive self-judgment, there is usually a persistent "perfectionism" in the mix....and although some folks boast of this, believe me, perfectionism is Not Your Friend...."

Go and have a read.  She's collected a number of people's thoughts on the topic, and a lot of them are good ones--great ones--& inspiring.

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When Every Day is Judgment Day, Terri Windling's 'Myth & Moor' blog post, January 7, 2015
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Tape Day at the Science Museum of Minnesota II

5/4/2015

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On Saturday, May 2, from 12:00 - 4:00, I demonstrated tape sculpture techniques, and showed some of my tape sculptures.  My focus was on teaching museum visitors to build tape sculptures using:

Armatures

 (a structural framework over which other materials can be mounted.  It remains embedded within the sculpture when the sculpture is complete)
and

Forms

(a stabilizing structure over which a sculpture can be built. When the sculpture is complete, it is removed from the form)
The staff at the Science Museum of Minnesota was incredibly helpful and did everything they could to make my time enjoyable.  The visitors were a terrific group, and very adventurous.  Some beautiful bowls were created (form sculpures), and a variety of creative masks, animals, spaceships, and flowers.

Thanks are due to all who participated and made it such a great experience.
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Tape Day at the Science Museum of Minnesota

4/30/2015

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Saturday, May 2, is Tape Day at the Science Museum of Minnesota

From 12:00 - 4:00 I will be demonstrating tape sculpture techniques, and
showing some of my tape sculptures.

Animals, bowls, masks, and my large scale Chinese dragon will be on display.

It's been a lot of fun getting ready for this show.  Tape definitely has its limitations as a sculpture material--but there's also a lot you can create from a basic, flat, adhesive strap.
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    Katya Reimann is a writer & artist living in Saint Paul, Minnesota.


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    Sites I recommend

    These ones are maintained by long-time personal friends.

    Bensozia
    John Bedell is an archaeologist, historian, and father of five living in Maryland. His blog is a fascinating grab-bag of historical, artistic, and political materials.  This entry about work and leisure gives a good example of his voice.

    William Reimann
    is a consummate artist.  There are so many images to enjoy on this site.  His carved wooden long-leaf red pine Rhinoceros (which he made for me when I was ~11 years old)  is a personal favorite.

    Metro Bikes Trails Guide
    (St. Paul, MN)
    "Reviews and Reports on over 70 bicycle paths in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area!"
    Maintained by the tireless Seamus Flynn, and a great little site for those local to the Twin Cities area.

    Starless River
    Is the U.K. based caving gear store run by serious hard-ass Tony Seddon. This link goes to the 'caves' section of the store's site--complete with alarming portrait photo of Tony ("After 7 days underground and 700m prussiking").

    The Oxford University
    Cave Club
    Maintained by Steve Roberts, a guy who is extraordinary in so many ways, I'll just limit myself here to saying "Steve is a man who knows about motors."

    Earthsign Studios
    This is Liz Manicatide (now Liz LaManche), principal at Emphasis Creative's personal art & graphics site.  I love Liz's work, panache, and aerial artistry, which leads me to--

    Flying Squirrel Consortium
    Phil Servita's site, and the place to go for custom fabricated circus equipment (either freestanding or fixed point), and aerial classes, if you happen to live in the area.

    Paul Nordberg
    Paul's site is... unique, authentic, & expressive, and pretty much exactly what I think of when I think of a website as an artform.

    Green Ivy
    I enjoy the Ukrainian/Russian artisanship on this wesite.

    Sites I enjoy

    I don't know these people, but I appreciate their work.

    What's That Bug?
    The title says it all.  An incredibly useful site for both the non-bug-phobic & the consummate bug-phobe.

    Margaret & Helen
    Best Friends for Sixty Years and Counting…

    Raging Grannies
    Okay, I'm nowhere near a grandmother, but I very much appreciate what these women are trying to do.  Especially the fact-checking part.

    Dog-shaming
    This site is ridiculous.  The home-made signage is the best.

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