The Card....
Well, Dear Readers, it is The New Year, and some Traditions really should not be ignored! I refer to my personal "Tradition" of being so late with my "Christmas Card" that it is a wonder it is still called that! As I have mentioned a time or two, I have been drawing an annual "Christmas Card" now for more than forty years. When I was a child, the sending of "Christmas Cards" was quite a big deal and you could buy many many commercial options to send to friends and family. Because my family leans to the artistic side, we often made our own. My Father designed and had cards printed some years... I remember quite a few of those, and recently came across one of his designs. Because "four color printing" was so expensive, his designs were black and white. Remember, these were the days before photocopying was possible! (Can you remember that?) When I was a teenager we made some linoleum cuts and wood-block hand printed cards.... I can clearly remember some of them, but don't think any of the originals survived. It was great fun to set up the "printing" process and make prints that had to be hung to dry all over the house! And then one year in my early twenties I discovered there was a local shop that would "photocopy" your original artwork in black and white...! I made a drawing and had it copied and hand colored the drawings at home. In the above picture you can see the first twenty-five years of the "official" Christmas Cards I began when my (now ex) husband and I got together in 1983. I began innocently enough with just pen and ink drawings... my favorite medium at the time and easy to get "photocopied"! As is often the case with my projects... I didn't have a clue what I was starting... but it very quickly became a "tradition" especially with the addition of children to the picture. If you look closely at the bottom right corner of the above picture you will see color copies had entered the world! My cards became pen and ink and watercolor..... which meant they took twice as long to make.....! So this year's addition to the pile.... not as late as some years.... again is a bit dark....
I hope you don't mind that it isn't very "Christmas-y".
Dear Betsy, I knew you're drawing your Christmas cards for years now, but I didn't know you did this for such a very long time, wow!
ReplyDeleteI think this last Christmas card is just as beautiful as they all are, especially because it's made in such difficult year for you and your relatives, it reflects all about joy, sorrow, faith and hope... All these things can be present in a year for each one of us too, so I think your Christmas card is (as usual) a true piece of art, because it's a reflection of your past year!
Seeing your older Christmas cards is like seeing the development in printing (also later in color) them, so nice to see you kept them all these years which are gone...
Happy 2025, wishing you good health and creativity, dear Betsy.
Hugs, Ilona
Dear Betsy, Your Christmas cards have become family and friends history treasures to keep and cherish. They reflect emotions and moments in your life that won't return. It is wonderful to have an artistic family who appreciates your work. I believe you are not the only one who saved them for this long time.
ReplyDeleteI wish 2025 will be happier for you.
Una tradición muy bonita y que la conserves tanto tiempo , este año será duro para ti con el recuerdo de tu padre pero te ha dejado un legado muy bonito, Tu última tarje está cargada de sentimiento, te deseo un año 2025 mucho mejor y que tus deseos se cumplan , pero lo más importante Salud. Besos
ReplyDeleteMe parece una preciosa tradición. Es increíble que la mantengas durante tantos años y con esa ilusión.
ReplyDelete¡Feliz año!
Betsy, the card is beautiful and in a big part because it's 'honest'. Christmas is also about remembering those you have lost and by carrying on the card-making, you are keeping little bits of your family alive. Christmas isn't easy for a lot of people and that is Ok. On that note, I do hope 2025 is a great year for you.
ReplyDeleteUna preciosa tarjeta, tan honesta y llena de recuerdos aunque no sean felices, pero con el paso del tiempo sólo recordarás todo lo bueno que nos pasó. Yo también perdí a mi padre este año pasado y lo entiendo!
ReplyDeleteTodas tus tarjetas navideñas son obras de arte!
Besos.
Dear Betsy, your Christmas card is extra special, especially because of your honesty. What a beautiful way to honor your father. I'm so sorry for your loss. Holidays are really difficult when someone so special is no longer there. Your card is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteCan it be that you've never been that early in being late with the C-card??? To me this seems like a personal best... and not only because of its finishing time. It was deeply touching me!
ReplyDeleteYou say it's a bit dark and not very Christmassy but after all honest. Forgive me, but the cards I know from you have all been honest... and in my opinion there's a lot of Christmas in this one. I don't remember seeing so many tiny elves frolicking all over the scene. And I spotted familiar miniature Christmas trees and also the act of buying a real one. Even Santas's sleigh is there again... and made me wonder if this one might already be a preview of the teenytiny reindeer sleigh you've been working on. And after all... Christmas is about love and family, about traditions and memories... all showing up on your card like a warm embrace.
And about the card being dark... of course there's a big "shadow" over your last year. It touched me so much to read your "So long, Papa"... even more as today when I'm writing this it was exactly 7 years and 11 months ago that life forced me to say this to my Papa. I missed him every single day since then so I can truly understand that this sad event colored your year. It's a true proof of your outstanding skills as an artist that you captured this so well in the small vignette referring to your Dad but even more in the big main part showing yourself reflecting the year.
But despite sorrow and darkness there was also so much love to be found in this picture and this is what only you can do... capturing these moments of going through your Dad's belongings and other boxes filled with memories. Allow me to quote yourself: "Only when the lights go out can we see the stars" - I was able to see many star moments in this beautiful, outstanding new member in the long row of Christmas-card-masterpieces drawn by you. Btw it was stunning that you allowed us a glimpse into the beginnings of this wonderful Christmas tradition of yours.
And apart from the dark and sad moments being a main part in your personal 2024 there were also some important events I too remember so well... the solar eclipse of course which had a great impact on you. And I must admit that I hardly remembered you experienced an earthquake. Oh, and it seems that your flight adventures made it also on the card... and of course so much of the wonderful miniature work you accomplished last year.
What a great thing to place the chapel's ceiling in the card's top corner... and I spotted some of your awesome needle work you've working on last year. Of course the stonework on the Castle's walls could not be missed as well as the creation of the most perfect rhododendron ever being seen in miniature. And you will not be surprised that it was my biggest plearsure to spot the whole Cloud gang enjoying Christmas time together. *beams-with-joy* And yes, even the snowmen on the tree were there. But what made me smile the most was discovering some of my earlier Christmas gifts... the happy little tree and even the cheerful mushrooms. Only you are able to add such details... ;O)
Thank you for making my day with the 2024 Christmas card edition... I've enjoyed watching it to the fullest.
Hugs
Birgit