art challenge family history ideas museums pragmatic historian preservation

What To Do With Three Handmade Baptism Gowns?

As a fiber artist, when each of my three children were born, I saw it as an opportunity to make them baptism gowns. Eldest son’s baptism gown was a joint effort between me and my sister-in-law Stacy. I wove the fabric and she designed the gown and jacket using the fabric. As a less-confident sewer at that point, I was hesitant to cut my handwoven fabric, so I was really happy to have Stacy’s help.…

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The Litter Layer Challenge

In order to explore The Litter Layer I brought up in the last post, I’ve created a challenge to get you thinking about it. The Litter Layer is my term for what I expect archaeologists of the future will find in terms of dumps, landfills, and litter everywhere within this era’s layer of earth, especially in comparison to archaeological digs of previous eras. Take a walk a block or two from your home and make…

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The Litter Layer

I walk my dog twice a day. One of the things I note on our walks is how much litter there is. Aside from food wrappers and plastic bottles, the detritus has included a lens from sunglasses, a knife, random clothing, pens, plastic bags, receipts, and the odd coin. Pretty much anything that can be dropped or discarded eventually becomes litter. When I was a kid, there was not nearly as much litter as there…

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