jar
February 1st, 2016, 09:43 AM
It is the early 50s and the location is downtown Baltimore between the harbor and Mount Vernon Place. Ike was running for President and my school had a mock political convention to help us understand the process. That makes me about eight or nine at the time of this story.
It was late spring; school was about to end and summer was coming on. Trees were in bloom and the weather warm and the smells from McCormick's plant down at the harbor filled the air. It was a weekend and I had gone to work with dad but had set out to explore some of my favorite places.
Just a ways down the hill from dad's office was the Walter's Art Gallery and one area I always enjoyed was their section on Japanese military armor (http://art.thewalters.org/browse/category/japanese-military-armor/) with swords and helmets and parts from swords and daggers often depicting scenes from tales and myths, often engraved or painted but in a way unlike scabbards from European makers. I'd often ask about the scenes on an object and they could always find a man that would explain the history and tales depicted.
Soon it was the images and tales that became my focus and I was guided from the armory into the Walter's vast collection of lacquer and inlay (http://art.thewalters.org/browse/medium/lacquer--inlay/) and then their collection of Chinese, Japanese and Korean paintings and drawing.
The Walter's became my special haunt for the rest of the spring and summer and I would wander down every chance I got. Gradually some of the tales became as familiar as the North American Indian tales of Raven and Coyote and luckily dad insured several companies that could help my explorations into the tea ceremony and incense game, iron and bronze casting. I learned the tales of the Tongue Cut Sparrow, the Mandarin Ducks (that one really bugged me), the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, how a Prancing Pony made the fallen cherry blossoms fragrant by dancing on them and the tale of the Old Man who Made the Trees Blossom.
I learned about urushi and maki-e and "Japanning" (raden) and tea services and boxes to hold writing implements and the inro that took the place of pockets when wearing a kimono. At McCormick's they let me sample teas from all over the world a taught me how to "taste teas" (although I was not allowed to slurp at dinner). A jeweler that dad insured would let me play with bags of different gems and taught me the history and mythos of each stone. I got to visit (later worked one summer there) an iron works and foundry and see molten metals poured into molds. One small shop down on the waterfront sold incense and charms and fans and kimonos and papers with leaves and insects embedded (but they were Chinese not Japanese they said; it was less than a decade since the war ended).
So my fascination with pens that tell stories and incorporate various materials and hand craftsmanship began rather early. Now, on to the Boring Pictures.
http://www.fototime.com/79F2FA362AB379C/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/61F921D373BE791/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/7B20DDE5F05AEB0/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/B89ABB3EF75EC39/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/3A76CF565AD4D60/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/DFF209ED3DB9153/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/EA8E361D35BE853/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/8F594C651109E42/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/381CD2C1E309C0D/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/BC3596068B7BBED/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/F90828C484A85B8/large.jpg
It was late spring; school was about to end and summer was coming on. Trees were in bloom and the weather warm and the smells from McCormick's plant down at the harbor filled the air. It was a weekend and I had gone to work with dad but had set out to explore some of my favorite places.
Just a ways down the hill from dad's office was the Walter's Art Gallery and one area I always enjoyed was their section on Japanese military armor (http://art.thewalters.org/browse/category/japanese-military-armor/) with swords and helmets and parts from swords and daggers often depicting scenes from tales and myths, often engraved or painted but in a way unlike scabbards from European makers. I'd often ask about the scenes on an object and they could always find a man that would explain the history and tales depicted.
Soon it was the images and tales that became my focus and I was guided from the armory into the Walter's vast collection of lacquer and inlay (http://art.thewalters.org/browse/medium/lacquer--inlay/) and then their collection of Chinese, Japanese and Korean paintings and drawing.
The Walter's became my special haunt for the rest of the spring and summer and I would wander down every chance I got. Gradually some of the tales became as familiar as the North American Indian tales of Raven and Coyote and luckily dad insured several companies that could help my explorations into the tea ceremony and incense game, iron and bronze casting. I learned the tales of the Tongue Cut Sparrow, the Mandarin Ducks (that one really bugged me), the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, how a Prancing Pony made the fallen cherry blossoms fragrant by dancing on them and the tale of the Old Man who Made the Trees Blossom.
I learned about urushi and maki-e and "Japanning" (raden) and tea services and boxes to hold writing implements and the inro that took the place of pockets when wearing a kimono. At McCormick's they let me sample teas from all over the world a taught me how to "taste teas" (although I was not allowed to slurp at dinner). A jeweler that dad insured would let me play with bags of different gems and taught me the history and mythos of each stone. I got to visit (later worked one summer there) an iron works and foundry and see molten metals poured into molds. One small shop down on the waterfront sold incense and charms and fans and kimonos and papers with leaves and insects embedded (but they were Chinese not Japanese they said; it was less than a decade since the war ended).
So my fascination with pens that tell stories and incorporate various materials and hand craftsmanship began rather early. Now, on to the Boring Pictures.
http://www.fototime.com/79F2FA362AB379C/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/61F921D373BE791/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/7B20DDE5F05AEB0/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/B89ABB3EF75EC39/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/3A76CF565AD4D60/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/DFF209ED3DB9153/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/EA8E361D35BE853/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/8F594C651109E42/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/381CD2C1E309C0D/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/BC3596068B7BBED/large.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/F90828C484A85B8/large.jpg