The Woodsman

 

(Above:  The Woodsman.  Altered antique photo in old, birds-eye maple frame with wavy antique glass.  23" x 19". Click on any image to enlarge.)

Some anonymous photos seem to speak to me.  They call out from their frames or tattered photo albums saying, "Use me!  Alter me!  Save me!"  Such was this one.  Perhaps it is because it reminded me of my Great Uncle Howard, a WWII veteran and later firefighter who retired after saying, "I always wanted to be a farmer."  He and my Great Aunt Janet then bought a farm in "a hollow" ... pronounced "holla" outside Huntington, West Virginia where they raised a few cows and grew every sort of vegetable imaginable.  Great Aunt Janet's "green thumb" could likely raise dead plants to full growth.  Uncle Howard was proud of his farm and bragged from the front porch,"I own everything you see, right up the the rim of the hollow!"  (He'd add with a full belly laugh that the property line was at the rim of the hollow!)  They named their cows.  They had their cows slaughtered and called the steaks by their proper names.

(Above:  The original photo after used a hammer and thin nail to poke holes around the subject matter.)

Uncle Howard hunted on his land.  He absolutely adored his hunting beagles.  He once told a story of a beloved beagle who was old, blind, and crippled.  He knew that if this dog got out of its enclosure, it would run itself to a painful death, trying to be its younger self scouting, trying to hunt again.  With tears streaming down both cheeks, Great Uncle Howard told how he took his shotgun and mercifully ended the dog's life.  I'm not sure my uncle ever recovered from the experience.  In this picture, I see a man that must have been a lot like my Great Uncle Howard, a man whose identity was captured in the one photo that was probably taken of him ... a proud man, a hunter, and a lover of his best companion.  I knew when I saw the photo at the Pickens County flea market that I had to use it, alter it, save it.

After poking holes around the subject matter, I collaged the entire background with scraps of paper.  The hard board was painted a dark charcoal/green.  The board was originally that same shade but had a few nicks and expose scratches.  Then, I backstitched through the holes using a tan, #3 perle cotton thread.  Finally, I selected buttons for the edge.  One at a time, I poked holes for the buttons and stitched them in place.

(Above:  The back of the piece after stitching.)

When the piece was finished, another challenge was started.  Just how did I want to present this work?  I just couldn't wrap my head around any new moulding.  Thankfully, I had an old birds-eye maple veneered frame that looked fantastic.  (See the photo at the top of this post.  This is before glass was installed.)

 

(Above:  Steve holding The Woodsman in my sanctuary/studio.)

Steve suggested using a beautiful, very wavy piece of antique glass.  He also remembered one of my pieces from my installation Anonymous Ancestors that had just the right piece of glass.  Within minutes, Steve got the pane and used it for The Woodsman.  If I can say so myself, it is PERFECT!