cerowoodart blog

E is for Equality

Administrator — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 04:35:58 +0000

On MLK Day, some friends of ours had us over for a Birthday BBQ. They had a pack of Civil Rights Movement “photo cards” with stories on the back. One caught my eye, and my illustration is based off the card, a simple family photo. Martin Luther King once said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” The following copy is from the card, copyright of Library of Congress:

Viola Liuzzo, 1926-1965
Mother of five children and wife of a Detroit Teamster official, Viola Liuzzo might have appeared to be a “typical” homemaker, but as a part-time student at Wayne State University she had already participated in civil rights protests. In 1965, she saw the televised attack by state troopers on the peaceful marchers heading from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to petition for African American voting rights. Liuzzo felt compelled to drive her green Oldsmobile for three straight days to join the demonstration. On March 25, as a new group of marchers reached Montgomery and she was ferrying demonstrators back to Selma, she was chased at nearly 100 mph by Ku Klux Klansmen who shot her twice in the face. “My wife died for a sacred battle, the rights of humanity,” her husband said. “She took a quote from Abraham Lincoln that all men are created equal and that’s the way she believed.”

Cats

Administrator — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 05:18:30 +0000

Two of my father and mother in-law’s “farm cats” named Hairum (bottom) and Scareum (top). Still kittens, laying in the warm sun on a beautiful November day.

Glamour

Administrator — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 06:10:19 +0000

My Mom, the most glamourous woman I know. Circa early 1960s

Chair

Administrator — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 01:43:00 +0000

I picked up these tiny chairs at a yard sale. Only 16 inches high, and molded from one piece of plywood. “Chair” seemed like a simple subject, but it proved tricky for myself. Perspective is always harder than it looks!

Simple

Administrator — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 02:28:02 +0000

A Valentine for my sweetheart.

Song

Administrator — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 07:48:47 +0000

Ryan’s guitar, I love to hear him play.

Tea

Administrator — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 05:31:40 +0000

“A cup of tea, for me, and you-hoo-hoo!”

Insect

Administrator — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 03:26:33 +0000

These insects are near and dear to me, for many reasons. Mostly because they DO look at you when you look at them, and there is something about that alien face that scares the heck out of most people.

And now for some bug history: You see, I am bug girl, always have been and always will be. When I was little I would read about a beetle or spider and the next day find it and keep it for a while in a jar for observation, eventually letting it go. When I was in the 2nd grade, I caught a praying mantis. It even made a trip to school. I brought it home and I tried to grab it out of the “bug ball” to release it when it reached back and grabbed a hold of my finger, NEVER to let go. Mom got it off, (sorry mantis, I never meant to hurt you!) and it was the last time I took a bug for granted.

Recently my nephew has discovered them, his Dad finds huge ones where he works during the summer and brings them home. My nephew wanted to pick it up, so my Sister told him to call me and ask about the “big green bug that pinched me.” Hopefully he learned from my story. He named the mantis Ricka in my honor, then let it go in the garden.

tattoo

Administrator — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 04:53:15 +0000

This is what I can remember my Dad’s tattoo looking like. My Dad was a husband, father of two girls, and a baby clothes salesman who just happened to own a Harley. He got the tattoo from the next door neighbor named Gypsy, a wondering Harley Davidson tattoo artist partyer. These two souls collided one night over many beers and BAM! My Dad was the proud owner of a tattoo.

It was supposed to have his name on it. But for some reason, that did not happen. Must have been that last beer. So for my illustration, I put his name on it for him. Love you Dad!

feet

Administrator — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 19:09:01 +0000

A picture of our feet on our wedding day. I gave my hubby a toe ring a couple of weeks before our wedding. I already had a toe ring, long before they became so popular. And these are the real deals, a complete band. Because we were married in our bare feet, seemed only fitting to take a photo to capture the moment. Notice the “Teva Tans” from our sandals.