I spent a few days in Amsterdam after our daughter’s wedding before returning to the US. My husband Barry and I had been there together 42 years ago when we were first dating. Our return visit retraced some of the places we had visited then including the Anne Frank House, Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum and a meal of rijsttafel. It was the same and also very different. Exhibits and museums had been updated and improved. The bicycle traffic was impressive. People were still friendly and helpful.
Visits to a museum prove that pottery shapes often have an historic reference. See the Delft flower blocks from the 1600s pictured on the left and then my current interpretation of the shape on the right.
For me, the times I’ve spent in Europe are a visceral reminder of history that far exceeds the youth of the United States. Exposure to the cities, the culture, the art, the food and countries’ monuments to the past are a great lesson in appreciating our own circumstances and personal responsibilities to nurture and maintain our own piece of the world. What will our legacy be? What will we leave behind that people will visit and study in future generations?
Have you ever seen a yarn bomb? It was fun to run into this fiber covered sculpture in Amsterdam!
I like to think of my own legacy in a couple of ways. I am lucky to have two children who will carry the next generation into the future. Perhaps a piece of pottery I make or a sweater I’ve knit will be passed down the line and continue to be useful for years to come. Hopefully my curiosity about the past, optimistic hope for the future and ability to live my present life in some sort of meaningful way will set my personal legacy for the future.
Want to make a little shrine to honor something special in your life? I’ll be teaching a Craft Party Class sponsored by The Muse on November 14 in Frederick, Md. I provide all the materials (polymer clay, stamps, and paints), you bring your creativity (and maybe a friend!) to make this special piece that just might become one of your own legacies! Click on Photo for registration details.