I think I watched the Shirley Temple movie, The Blue Bird, one too many times. When she goes to her grand parents grave site they come back to life and tell her they continue to live in her memory of them. Maybe that's why I love genealogy so much. I appreciate the Mexican way of embracing the memory of their loved ones, making sugar skulls with children teaching them death isn't horrible but a natural part of living and spending a day celebrating where their family is buried. In the U.S. visiting a cemetery is often such a maudlin affair and viewed by many people as down right creepy. I have sort of made a habit of picnicking on the grave sites of people I am interested in. Matt and I had lunch with Daniel Burnham, the architect of Chicago's 1893 World's Fair and my sister, Judy, and I spent an afternoon with Cora Taylor Crane. She was a notorious figure in Jacksonville history having many titles like madame, the first ever female war correspondent and the common-law wife of Stephen Crane (author of The Red Badge of Courage).Melbourne artist Madeleine Stamer is obviously very influenced by Mexican art including Day of the
Dead images. This is probably why I was drawn to her artwork. http://www.littlecircusdesign.com/
Dead images. This is probably why I was drawn to her artwork. http://www.littlecircusdesign.com/