My grandmother Susan came to America as a young girl, full of hopes and dreams for a life in a land where the streets were surely paved with gold. At home, in Scotland, she was an important figure in her village: she had a good education and was a school teacher, in the Montessori method, which brought her a fair bit of respect from her peers.
Here in America, she would play with my sisters, brother and me often, when we were small, and she'd pretend to be a character who couldn't do all kinds of things, so that we'd have to teach her. At the time, I didn't realize how much she was teaching us, and how independent she was helping us to be.
In Scotland, her husband Edward and she had read novels about America, populated with cowboys and swashbuckling figures who made it sound romantic and adventurous.
The America they came to know was experiencing the Great Depression, and they were immigrants in a new world. Poor Grandpa never did become a cowboy, (what with living on the outskirts of Manhattan and all.) But when I went through lots of papers and photos, some years ago, doing genealogy research, one of Grandma's finest, most prized possessions was the letter from the US Naturalization offices saying that she was now a citizen of the United States of America.
Grandma instilled in me a love of all things musical, artistic and elegant. She was one of the strongest influences in my life, and I often wish she was still around. I know a lot about her, far more than I know about my Romanian grandmother's past, but I often wish I could ask her things now, at this time in my own life when I would have appreciated her stories of the past even more. Here's a beautiful song, "Nursery Rhyme of Innocence and Experience," from Natalie Merchant's beautiful new CD, "Leave Your Sleep:"
(Above is a sketch of Susan, my Grandma McClafferty--)
15 comments:
Sue, this is a wonderful post...your portrait...the history...the music. Your dear grandma would be proud that you carry so much of her with you. I know she's smiling.
What a beautiful post, starting with the quote on dreams and the soul, to your watercolor and tender descriptive words of your grandmother, right down to the Natalie Merchant video. Surely, all hope of immortality depends on having children and grandchildren who remember us with such warmth and affection.
This is so nice. I like that little hint of a smile in the first picture of her and Edward. Isn't it interesting how the allure of cowboys and the American West, an era that really didn't last all that long, drew so many to our shores.
Being a genealogist myself, I appreciated the story of your grandmother - I admire your skills as an artist and I have Natalie Merchant's 'Leave Your sleep' CD and love it. Thanks for a great post.
Thanks, people!
Marilyn, I am completely enthralled with that CD--isn't it beautiful? Thanks for visiting and commenting. I appreciate it.
Chris, yes--very true of a lot of people...
Lorenzo, as always, thanks for your kind words! You're so generous.
Willow, grandma would be loving that I tried to paint her! Yes!
Been busy with another project..:).. so am just getting here. Love this portrait you painted of your Grandmother. Its wonderful. Loved reading about your family too.
Never heard of that recording artist. At least I dont think so but I LOVED that song. Must check into the CD. Thanks for sharing. Keep up the portrait work its wonderful.
A very 'felt' portrait Sue.
I love that she taught you to figure out things for yourselves and to teach others...
Rare it is to know how to instill self-confidence as evidenced by my post today.
I was never allowed to 'do the hard parts'.
I think I rebelled by roasting marshmallows over a flame when no one was home - to prove my self-confidence?
The watercolor of your grandmother is exquisite. Thanks for sharing their story. Lovely! They lived through a lot. Good to hear about.
Thanks for the comments about the book. Its been a nice learning experience although a long one.
I do so love the watercolors you are producing lately. I'm turning out mud lately and your nice portraits make me wish to get back in the saddle and try harder. Beautiful work ... as usual.
Thanks very much, folks! I can't seem to get a good scan that doesn't make this look really washed out, but it's actually not too bad in person. She seems to look jaundiced and not very "nuanced," here, but you get the general idea, anyway!
So utterly charming to know so much about your family. Truly lovely remembrance!
Thank you, Jeanette. Very kind of you.
Sue,
What an incredible coincidence - that you and I should both write something about our ancestors on our blogs just one day apart. And that both of us should have Romanian grandparents. We must meet the next time you pass through Ann Arbor - or Paris or Pisa!
Lovely post.
Beautiful! I love the background of this painting, and the way the violet touches her face but doesn't lose its violetness!
What a touching post. Your grandparents are a fine looking couple.
(My family came over from Ireland and stopped in Manhattan; my parents were the first to cross the bridge and they stopped in NJ! Maybe I'll make it to Delaware!)
Geraldine, I agree--I thought the same--I would love to meet you one day. Thanks!
Laura, thank you, too! My grandparents were very sweet. I loved them very much...I'll bet you'll make it to Delaware!
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