Oregon Art Beat; #105; Tape 1; Mary Catherine Lamb

Good time again, it was like one of the orchestras was like a college round. What's the name of the room? It's you. It's you. It's you. Well, yeah. Before I began, I was at my little snapshot base, go out to this. And I went through it to my head. They're all going to go out a year, which I'm not before. But this June, which I'm committed to, what the gallery is. I'm going to do a show of my color photographs. Like I'm in the cemetery. It's in Broadway. And what's up? Do she have anything else to do? We're shooting her stuff. Did it? Or, or, or, or how do I put it? How do I put it? They're not. They're showing all their stuff with the models. But she and I have would become convinced that she needed some really tight stuff before. Because that's very, they're really, that's what we need to do. I don't know why. It's playing it up a little bit. You did this. All of us get distracted by the models. And, yeah, you just don't see that. It's just something you call it. And I'm just going to, you know, completely ripped the kitchen apart, set up a bunch of stuff in there, and lying to a studio, and stuff.

And I was at an art studio here in the day, and she had it to go. This piece? Yeah. Just this fantasy is rolling here. I'm sad. Okay. Is this what you call it? Is this a quilt? I wouldn't exactly call this a quilt. I think of it more as a collage, really. It's not quilted for one thing. But it's piece together of fragments of memorabilia of my mother's life as a young music student. What was your musician? She was a soprano. She was a beautiful singer. She wanted to be a professional singer. And my... She died in 1986, and my stepfather died a year and a half later. And at that point, the house had to be broken up. And it fell to me to go through all the things in the house and help disperse everything. And I came upon this box of her memorabilia of those days.

She was never able to pursue her ambition to be a singer. But I found this letter written as a rough draft in pencil with scratch marks. And, you know, I'll never know if it was ever really sent. But it was sent to this woman, Madame Shuman, who was at the time a well -known instructor in leader. And she worked on the East Coast. And my mother desperately wanted to study with her when she graduated from college. And I found this letter imploring Madame Shuman to allow her to send a tape of her voice, because she knew she couldn't afford the trip. That's what she said in the letter. But I think the truth of the matter is that maybe that was partly true, but her parents would never have allowed her to travel alone all that way. So I found this letter about the intensity of her hopes. And I found it very soon, relatively soon, after she died, in this house that I would never

be visiting afterward, the family home. And it was a really emotionally intense experience. And I wanted to pay tribute to those hopes. This is a fabric that was left over, scraps from the dress that she wore for her senior music recital. That's the program of the recital. This is a note written in the hand of her mentor and lifelong friend, Sister Rose Collette, who was her vocal teacher. And then some photo transfers. This is my mother when she was only 13 up in Seattle. And this is her college graduation picture. And these are little medals given to her by the nuns who taught her. What was the outcome of the letter? I'll never know. I mean, she never, I know she never went and auditioned with Madame Schumann that much I know. But whether she sent the letter and didn't get a reply, whether she never sent it, whether she sent it and got a disappointing reply that

no longer exists, I don't know. But I had never known about that letter and when I read it at the time, I was pretty overwhelmed with grief for her disappointment. And for the disappointments of so many women who want to do something with their creativity and are stifled by the role that they're told they should be playing, which I would say is what happened to her. Moving right along. Yes. What's going on in that here? Well, this is an example of what can happen if you notice one object that you really like and then sometime later you find another one and you think, oh, that would look nice next to this one. And then before you know it, I figure as soon as you have three of anything, you have a collection. And now I don't have room for anymore, really, which I suppose is a good thing. But some of them are souvenirs of, you know, travel spots. Some of them are

commemorative, like memorials, to people who have died. Sometimes you find these that are of the minister and his church, which I kind of enjoy. This is for a place right down the street, Crucible Steel at seventh and salmon street. This has a little compass in it. This has a single dice in it. And I like the way they look on this glass top table. They look in some lights. They look like, you know, kind of bubbles on the surface of the water. You're good at this. Now what? Well, nothing like being able to talk about what interests you most. I mean, you know, what could be better? Now let's spend another 20 minutes setting up the lights in here. Well, do you want me to go over here? And this immediate existence of this nostalgia for what she calls authenticity. Because before the Industrial Revolution, everything was authentic. Everything was made out

of natural materials. Everything was, you know, made, I mean, they might have been making many quantities. And she has this whole first section about glass, how the manufacture of glass, where there would be big glass or glasses did together. And it was this thing where you were viewing something that you couldn't touch, that was presented in this certain kind of a way. God, this woman is a genius. I was constantly making little pencil marks in here. For words, I had no idea what they were. I mean, I consider myself to have a fairly adequate vocabulary. And plus English is her second language. She's Venezuelan. And look at her. It's unbelievable. Oh, that's a thumbs up. Really, a really thumbs way up. It's kind of dense, you know? I mean, I know another French has started it and put it down after 30 pages.

But... You kind of didn't have the gimmicks to work, you. All right. Psst. What are you doing? Are you under there? Third. Talkative. The scene now I feel so talkative that I just want to keep talking. And I should be saving my voice. I haven't even read all the descriptions. I've been so busy. It's not a festival. It was just that. Oh. Oh, yeah. Was it related to those other smoke movies? No. No. Actually, please forgive me about that. But he was in smoke. Yeah, how weird to be in a movie called Holy Smoke. I want to look at that tight hand. That's what you're doing. Okay, when's it? Were they a love pair? Oh, for Christ's sake.

What is he? 58. And she's 24. Can you imagine two of them? Two of them. Oh. Yeah. Two of them. It drives me insane. It seems so bright in there. I would like to say a few things about that embroidered sampler. Okay. I'm going to be great and flip around and get to it. With the constellation up above them. You like it? I know. I just started editing this story on Rain Beagles tomorrow. Oh. Probably the biggest bee on board. Really? Yes, I did. Oh. No, so I'm sure there was a big guy, Chera

Growers. Pooha. But it's only because they, you know, they ordinarily, and I've done this for the roots in it. I know harm the trees at all. But in places where they cleared out the burrs and planted root trees, the beetle larvae. He would say that because I just started reading two days ago, the big epic novel by Annie Dillard called The Living. And it's about the settling of Bellingham area and Watcom. And the description of what it was like for these people in the 1850s to drag themselves. And my impression is that it's going to cover decades. Wonder if there'll be any mention of the Rain Beagle. There this might be. Oh. Only found the entire world of that. The West Coast. Really? The United States of the B .C. Yeah, right up. Ooh. Well, she was saying they were saying how the Douglas Burrs tremendous the work. What all you do

is work as hard as you ever could have imagined. And then you're barely making it. And you do that all your life. And some of your children die. I mean, it's just, it's unbelievable. Those settlers, man. I am not of that stripe I can tell. Oh, and they made coffee out of burnt toast. Oh, and a cure for measles would be to eat a roasted mouse. What do you think of that idea? No, probably the roasted one wouldn't have probably get a pet gerbil, and it would be in no danger. Get that in around the bulk of that. Yeah. Yeah, I heard it. It's just a stripe in the middle of the night. Four or five in the morning. I heard it. Yeah.

That allowed me to go back to sleep. Do you have a scratching post? Yeah. I think it's a clause for a cure. And I think they're pretty good about that. I can't accept a clause for a job of time. I mean, it's like being ripped with nails. Really? Or feet. But it's a way of marking their territory, not just sharpening the clause. They have a little, they have a little tiny scent glands in the tips of their toes. And so it's not just... I got to know it's freezing in here. It's just the other day. It's time. I went away in the stair plane. It stopped. It really was a little cut from the corner since then. Okay. I love these things. When I saw them at the big

collectibles show at the Expo Center, which I go to almost religiously, I saw these two things and I didn't know what they were. But I love... I love how beautifully made they are and how they look together. They look almost like figures to me. Like, I like the way I've got them kind of huddled together. Like, ooh, do you think we look scary enough? They have some kind of personality to me. But what they actually are is fishing baskets. You know, they... They put them in the creek and the fish swim in and get stuck and you reach in and take them out. So there they are. Happy to gather below the display of gloves. I didn't even know until recently. This is some Chinese made in China. It's supposed to demonstrate some scientific reality which of course completely alludes me. But there had been a hole in here. And when I bought it, it was like this. And I've been asking people

for years, what is this for? And someone pointed out that that hole just got worn through from this thing and it's perfectly balanced to move around. That was fun to discover. Any particular reason that you start collecting gloves? Well, I always like them as a kid and a friend of mine had a collection that really knocked me out. Okay. Okay, gloves. Well, I always like them as a kid. And years ago, I saw an amazing collection of friend of mine had. And I thought, oh man, this is for me. I love these things. So they have multiplied. I think that part of my attraction, there's another facet of my attraction for anything that looks scientific and has a lot of specialized information, little charts, little numbers. Everything is so serious. But I like spheres. And I like spheres

in a row, which is why I have all the bowling balls in front of the house. They seem kind of planetary to me. So I love how varied they are. There's a little hint of the boat collection, the little cryptic board in the form of a steamship. Oh, sorry, I kept looking away. It's hard not to look at the objects. I have to stop looking at them. No, look at the objects, but just remember to look at them. Keep turning away from them. Let me think for a minute before you had the camera go. Tell me reading the verse. I think I was at an estate sale over in Northwest. And it's always a little hard to walk through the home of someone with all their objects around. And you wonder what became of them and why are these things for sale. And you kind of piece together the evidence. And you see the outline of someone's life. And at this particular sale, it was clear that it was a woman who had lived alone

maybe most of her life. I didn't see any photographs of a husband or children. And everything that she had was originally you could tell of the highest quality. But it was now ruined. Filthy covered with grime, the walls were dirty. Stuffing was coming out of this beautiful old couch. And it was really kind of a sobering experience to walk through it. She had an oil portrait of herself over the piano. And she appeared to be about 40, obviously from her younger days. Very intelligent and composed. And here she was, you know, who knows. In her 70s or 80s or older with everything kind of deteriorating around her. But this embroidery was here, which she worked. And she changed the pronoun from he to she in the sampler. And she signed it and dated it. It reads, she who

from heaven expects to gain her end must by her own efforts herself befriend. The wretch who mere exceeds a faint desire goes not halfway to what she should acquire. She that to virtues high reward would rise must run the race before she win the prize. Julia Vimers 1940. So she embroidered this verse about the importance of self -determination and achieving what you want through the dent of your own efforts. And it of course made me very curious to know what her life was like. Anyway, I had to have it. Well, this little collection of four started with this one of Native American. I'm sorry to say I don't know what nation in his full regalia and holding his trumpet. And the next came this group of

an all -girl band, the Galveston Blubannets. The Texas Blubannets from Galveston was at in a state sale where a lot of stuff was from Galveston. They have a painted drum with a field of Blubannets on it, which I think is the Texas state flower. And I would love to be able to hear their music. A young girl playing the accordion. And then these guys, this was taken out in Eastern Oregon. And they've got, I mean, they hauled in all these cottonwood branches decorated the stage with them. And then they've got these stuffed oscillots or cheetahs or something down here in the foreground and all these fantastic instruments. Again, another band I would have loved to have heard. My little tribute to musicians, the love of music right there in the corner. Look what this is.

It's from the Grand Cooley Dam, a little souvenir concrete. Did not, I bought it exactly as it is. If only this bookcase were centered. That really drives me crazy because this is so symmetrical. Look at this. That's amazing. Have you done the bad plays? Yeah, actually I took some kids there once, but I would definitely fall on them. That's the permanent live. Did he die? He's still alive. You know, I was

really getting flustered in the bit about the fish bath. And I thought, I don't know what tribe they are. I know, but I got, that's why I stumbled. That was one of your best things he does with flowers or fish baths. Oh good. The city by the bay. Look what he put. He made a little pocket on the back that shows the postmark and who was aggressive. I never expected that. I mean, I didn't know. I might have made this joke to you when you were here before I record. I can't remember, but after tugboats either. But the fact that it's on this white marble, you know. And this thing is really great.

I painted Pacific City, July 25th. Is it an oyster? Yeah. It's 60 years ago. Gosh, I wish I had some food to offer you. We'll think of a way to find them. There's lots of food in this truck now. Yeah. Holy Mother of God, it's cold in here. You know what I think I'm going to do is warm by the time we get up there. I really did a

bad thing. I splurged on six new CDs. My name is Marty Brom. Plus, she's a total bomb show. It's called Snake Ranch. She sounds a little bit like Patsy Klein. A little bit like some of the rockabilly women in the 50s like Wanda Jackson. And these absolutely fantastic musicians in her band playing steel guitar. He's in this band. This is just his solo guitar stuff. And it's unbelievable. It sounds like Marl Travas and Chettacans and Joe Mayfus all mixed into one. And it swings. I mean, it's just gorgeous. I know. Open it and look at the picture of him on the inside. But the thing that I love is that it's not... It's really lacking in irony. I mean, not that I don't love irony. And I'm usually everything I say is drenched in it. But they really have this

heartfelt love of the music. And they're paying tribute to it. They're not making fun of it in any way. And here's Josie Cruiser, who came to town a year ago. This is her second CD. And Marty Braum are the three women in the neo -rockabilly thing who have gotten to be so well -known. And every single one of them is absolutely gorgeous. You know, they're like... They look like movie stars. And they're definitely absolutely talented. But you have to ask yourself, the success they enjoy if they hadn't been so gorgeous. Especially in the rockabilly world, there's so much of the revival of the sort of pin -up girl, motif from the fifties that they use and a lot of their CD promotion and posters and, you know, flyers

for the gigs. And it really... Is she finished? No. She's from Texas. The Finnish band that two or three of these guys is... Doesn't... She'll only let you pick her up if you're really... She's good about considering all this stuff right here, too. I mean, it's clear that they had noisy young kids who were constantly grabbing at her. Where's Marty Braum? While he's doing that, can I play you one song?

Where are we going? Penelope. Look. Who's that out there? Look. The dad just... My cat seems burned. Oh, those are... Take it luster. Does it stay on here? I really have a written songwriter. I don't know if she wrote one. Oh, several. I can't pronounce these

Finnish guys' names. Probably not. No. What are they called? Bartina. Really? Fuck music. Wow. Did you say they were sisters? Yeah. And turn it off. Because it goes off pretty quickly once I turn it off. Good. Feel. Aren't you cold? The stuff all gets pushed aside. The tables go back in there and the chairs get pushed

back and the rugs get taken away. And I set up my big round poker table with the green felt. But my cousin, Gary, is visually... I almost want to say handicapped in terms of not noticing details. And he doesn't notice anything. He doesn't notice anything. And his aesthetic sensibility is as adhidious. And he wouldn't know and then I'd tell him which it was. Anyway, he likes to put his... Anyway, there's the dried fish guy. Oh, huh. Drey? Greg. Oh, yeah. Oh, you don't like to play? I thought I'd like to. He's always so bad. I mean, he's good. I mean, we play different games. It's not all five or seven cards dead. But this business with, you know, exchanging cards and we don't allow any wild cards. I mean,

I can't stand it. And that'll be... Good girl. Here's your mouse. Any time. This is going to be good. You okay? Tell me when. Go ahead. Get ready. No, I'm sorry. Okay, anytime. Come out with me. You