So for my project, I’m kind of expanding on my honors thesis. For my thesis, I’m trying to undermine the stigmas that come with individuals with communication disorders through art and drawing portraits. Because of my project, I get to know these individuals a lot more and I hope to portray their beauty through my artwork.

For this final project, I asked one of my friends who used to stutter severely to tell his story through an object. He chose to talk about the menorah. At first in the interview he goes in depth about the significance of the menorah in a historical and biblical point of view. Then he talks about how its relevant in his life and how it has helped him overcome so much. He is a very spiritual and religious person, so the more you read through the interview, the more you so how closely tied his life is with this menorah and all that it represents. I posted a excerpt of the interview, it is not everything that I have.

Can you describe the physical object?

Okay, so the menorah has seven branches and it has one sort of middle branch, like a trunk of a tree. And then there are six branches that branch from that. It’s usually gold or silver, and it usually has candles because it’s meant to be lit. It has symbols like the tree or different animals, like the lamb or the goat…because these were animals that were significant in the Old Testament, especially when it came to sacrifices, religious and ritualistic sacrifices. So they [the animals], have a profound meaning, especially in the Jewish and the Christian…but more so the Jewish tradition. I hope I expressed the physical description of the menorah.

So what color is the menorah? Is it gold or…?

It’s gold or silver. [It’s] most likely gold because it’s meant to emulate the original menorah. It’s also called the candelabrum because of its branches and because it has candles, and they’re lit! So it’s usually gold because it’s meant to emulate the original menorah. The original menorah was located in the wilderness tabernacle of the ancient Israelites when they were wandering in the desert to the Promised Land, and so part of the design of the wilderness tabernacle was to have a menorah. It was there to symbolize the presence of God amongst the people of Israel. And usually, in a more Christian understanding of the seven branches, they are meant to denote the seven churches that are addressed in the book of Revelations when the author, I believe his name is John, he is writing about his revelations that God gave him of the end times. But in a more sort of Judaic understanding of the menorah, the seven branches, I believe, basically stand for sort of the fullness or the wholeness of God’s promise. So the number seven is meant to stand for or represent the idea such as wholeness and completeness and peace. And sort of a fullness of God’s presence and sort of God is wholly present in the people of Israel.

So this must have been a very spiritually comforting object to you.

Oh yes, definitely. Whenever I looked at it, because I grew up in a Messianic Jewish congregation, and Messianic Judaism is basically an amalgamation of Jewish traditions and beliefs along with loosely, the Christian notion of Christ or Jesus Christ as the son of God, and as the promised Messiah. Or deliverer.

Wow, I didn’t know that

And so in terms of it being comforting, I remember going to temple and, especially Sabbath-

So this is something you’ve had your whole life?

Yes, pretty much my whole life. And I would look at it and I would feel comforted because I would believe that that stood for the fullness of God’s presence in my life. So I didn’t just have a part of God, I had all of God in me. In my life.

Okay so, when did you realize its significance? Well, how has it been significant to you over the years?

I gradually realized its significance. Um, I remember going to bible class as a child. They taught us about the different narratives of the bible but they really didn’t introduce us to any of the sort of profound symbolism in the bible. It’s actually when I transitioned into the youth bible study where they began to provide us with more advanced studies of the bible, especially of the Old Testament. So they taught us about the wilderness tabernacle and they taught us about the different parts and elements of the tabernacle and they taught us about, especially the menorah… and sort of, it’s historical significance as well. And why we didn’t use the cross as our representation because the cross stood for Christendom and sort of

the Medieval ages and the oppression and the imperialism that took place. And we understood it, as messianic Jews, the cross to be erroneous and it did not represent the original intention or quote on quote, the pure beliefs of the original believers that were called ‘believers of the way’ or believers of who we called Messiah Yahshua, which is Hebrew for Jesus Christ basically. But there is a whole argument on sort of the linguistic meanings of those names. And so we felt that Yashua Messiah was more…was pure and it is the name of the Messiah. And Messianic Jews felt that that should not have been replaced with any other transliteration. So back to the menorah, the menorah you know, as a consequence of all of this…it’s meaning, the fullness of God’s presence… But more than just that, it’s a political message to the community that we are messianic Jews that we are distinct from Jews and we are distinct from Christians. That we’re not Christians, nor are we Jewish. But we’re sort of in the interface between the two. And so Jews would sometimes comment and say ‘well, you know the menorah is our symbol’ and so the Christians will say ‘but why are you using the menorah, that’s Jewish!’ So we would have to constantly remind or reiterate the political message of saying ‘this is our identity as messianic Jews’ and this is why, because we’re in the interface and we’re bridging Judaism and Christianity together. The way that Messianic Jews understood it was always supposed to be.

I’m curious how the two connected (the menorah and speech impediment). You said the menorah or what the menorah represents, shaped you as an individual and you also said you used to stutter. Did you have times when you had trouble communicating with people, you found the menorah as being something of a comfort to you?

Yes. Actually, because like I said, the menorah represents the fullness of God’s presence. And this is a God that is invisible. So in times of disbelief or doubt, I would look at the menorah and it would be reaffirming of my faith. And therefore, I would return to my strong belief that despite me having a speech impairment or severe stuttering, that I could overcome that. And my faith at the moment, regardless of the social influences that I had, was that God would help me overcome stuttering. Little did I know that it was also my community that I grew up with that helped me get over my stuttering. They pushed me to read biblical verses in front of the congregation. They also pushed me…they strongly encouraged and motivated me to eventually speak full on sermons in front of the congregation. And at first I would stutter every other word. But there came a point where the social influences I grew up with and my faith united. And even when I did eventually speak more and more sermons, there came a point where I was more enthusiastic, I was very animated when I preached, and I eventually began to more and more overcome my stuttering problem.

Did you have- were you seeing a speech language pathologist at that point?

I was.

And did she also encourage that too? Like was she really good about that?

Actually, she was more…I guess her approach was more…because she had no idea about my religious community or my religious upbringing. Actually, that’s a lie. She knew that I did…she understood that I was Christian because I didn’t really know how to explain my Messianic Jewish faith to her, so I would just say to her I was Christian. And I didn’t want her to misunderstand that I was Jewish either. So she really knew very little about that aspect of my life.

So she didn’t even know you did sermons and things like that?

No

But you improved so much through that feedback you got from the sermons. What did she think was happening?

Well um… she really worked with me…The different speech pathologists that I consulted throughout my elementary-middle school education. She really worked with me sort of, the details of my speech impairments. You know, working pronouncing words properly, and sort of you know, she had me read sentences, and she [and the other speech language pathologists] was very scientific, very structured. Ad opposed to my religious community where it was spontaneous. And they had me stand in front of the whole congregation and they had me…

How did they even convince you in the beginning to get up there?

Well, part of it was that it was part of our socialization. And our training as Messianic Jewish children and youth [was]…to prepare ourselves to be trained in knowing the basics of how to spread the good news, or spread the gospel pretty much. Or spread the message of Messianic Judaism. And so we were trained to be spokesmen. And so I turned out to be amongst my peers, the one who stood out for some reason or the other. And I was just very into, you know, especially around the age of twelve or thirteen where I would just be very into and dig deep into the religious and also the spiritual experience of being a Messianic Jew.

So these two aspects really tie in together. That’s amazing.

It does, it does.

You must be so proud.

I am. I’m thankful for the experiences that I’ve had. And it was really because of my community, because of my education, and the positive influences that I had growing up. And my faith. I would even venture to say, that all of those elements combined helped me overcome my speech impairment. And the severity of my stuttering problem.

How severe was it?

It was severe. I stuttered almost every other word.

Since what age? Ever since…How young were you when you first began stuttering?

I’m going to say four?

And then when did it start getting better?

It started getting better early teenage years, around thirteen, fourteen years old. Because I was so active as a youth leader in my congregation, and they constantly had me singing and preaching. And then in school, I was an active student in the classroom.

Wow. It’s crazy because even in my life, looking back in my high school years, even without a speech impediment, I was a shy kid and I wasn’t active at all. How did you, what—How did you do that?

It’s because of my faith community. Really. Because that whole socialization of being strongly encouraged. And socialize to be a spokesman. And singing helped. Growing up and singing. Singing helped so much, and that’s actually something that I left out. Singing was actually preceded sermons and preaching. Singing was something that really was sort of, one of the first steps that I took within my religious community to open up. And that’s one of the first times that I actually sort of publically performed, for lack of better words, was singing. And from there it [confidence] grew. I first sang with my sister, and then eventually I sang by myself, and then eventually that lead to sermons and preaching and public speaking and so on and so forth.

Is there a specific instance you can remember as a child or whenever, when you faced a big obstacle and you turned to the menorah for comfort?

Well throughout my life, besides all the positive influences that I’ve had, and I’ve given into those positive influences and I was able to step outside of my comfort zone and speak in front of other people. Because of my stuttering problem, and I wouldn’t necessarily think this as a negative. My stuttering problem helped me develop a rich inner life. Because it sort of fostered me in a sense or shaped me to be this very introverted individual who valued the inner life a lot because of my faith and also because of my stuttering and sort of, my experience of socializing not being as easy for me as it was for others without a speech impairment. So it helped me develop this inner life which, when I did confront difficulties of which I can’t remember any situation specifically at the moment, but I know that because of that, I was also able to turn to the menorah. This also made me feel, because of my rich profound inner experience, it made me feel strange, peculiar, and weird. Like, I couldn’t fit in with my peers growing up, because no one really understood that part of me. That part of me was a huge part of myself. A huge part of my life.

So menorah, simply because it stood for the fullness, you know because usually in Christian theology, and even in Judaism and even in Islam, in the major Western monotheistic religion, there’s this idea of God being transcendent and apart and wholly and God is this separate entity. This almighty, all-knowing entity, apart from the human experience, but yet, the very significance of the menorah told me that that wasn’t fully the case. That the very God that was transcendent; is also fully a part of my life and a part of my human experience. And so the fullness of God’s presence was in me. And so I could literally turn to that when I felt nervous or when I felt like I wanted to retreat and maybe not socialize anymore because people didn’t understand me. Because when they heard me stutter, that affected my self-esteem and so on.

So when did you start being more comfortable in the school setting? Because it sounds like you kind of had two very different identities and experiences in school vs. your congregation.

Towards the end of my high school experience. When I decided to take chorus classes and, when I was inducted to the National Honors Society, and when I became more of an active student towards the end of my high school years. In my senior years especially, that’s when I slowly began to open up. Because I really did not have, I didn’t feel like I could fit into any particular group or clique in high school. Actually, it’s when I came to New Paltz and and started to attend college, is when I really started to open up. Because I was actually two different people. In high school I was shy, I was more to myself, I felt like I really couldn’t fit in at all but within my religious community I was this youth leader, I was this spokesman, I was well known…

So now you’re starting to see that person in just everyday life?

In everyday life yes.

And now that I think about it, the speech therapy that I had and the social forces that basically combined to help me overcome my stuttering or my speech impairment, the combination of the two… first of all the speech therapy helped me pronounce words and develop a structure for me to work with and eventually develop mechanisms to overcome my speech impairment or stuttering. And then the social forces, my religious community and educators and my family members, they helped me and that whole social experience helped me and impassioned me. And so those combined really have shaped me and molded me into the person who I am today.

(Photography credits to Shelley Weresnick)

Caption 

This epaulet belongs to Colonel Johannes Jansen who served in the 4^th militia during the Revolutionary war. Much of what is known about Colonel Johannes Jansen comes from his home in Shawangunk, as well as from a popular story about the failed ambush of the Colonel near his home

Physical Description of the Object 

This epaulet measures about 24 cm in length and 14cm in width.  The steel or metal wiring hangs in coils about 5cm from the body of the epaulet and runs through the front. A braided pattern and two coiled lines made up of the metal border the edges of this piece. In the center of the epaulet is a ball of coiled steel that wraps around itself. This ball measures about 3 ½ cm in diameter. There seemed to have been more metal decorations, but must have gotten ripped out. The fabric underneath the metal decorations is black wool. Beneath the wool is some kind of paper that the metal was sown into, perhaps for more support. Under the layer of paper is a sheet of metal and under the metal there  seems to be a coarse form of cotton that fills the insides of the epaulet. The material at the bottom of the epaulet is a tan colored linen or cotton fabric.

Some of the coils hanging off the epaulet are falling apart and the seam connecting the hanging coils to the body of the epaulet is burst open, allowing us to look inside. On top of the epaulet, parts of the wool and paper have been ripped away, exposing the metal underneath. It seems that the layer of metal inside the epaulet gives it its shape, although a section must be broken because one of the “wings” of the epaulet concaves about 10cm in.

Provenance (about 100 words) 

Johannes Jansen was born in 1725. He served as a Colonel during the Revolutionary war and was in charge of the 4^th regiment in the Ulster County Militia. He was also part of the Whig party, which caused him to be a target for Loyalist and Native American attacks. Johannes Jansen lived in Shawangunk and is currently buried in the Bruynswick Rural cemetery near the Reformed Church of Shawangunk.

Historical Society of Shawangunk and Gardiner- Volume 2 Number 3

Date(s) of Creation 

Circa 1775-1783 (During the revolutionary war)

Narrative 

Brief overview of Epaulets

Before the 20^th century, epaulets and shoulder straps were commonly used to show the rank or status of an officer. The rank of the officer could usually be deciphered through the insignia that appears on the epaulet strap or near the rounded portion over the end of the shoulder (the crescent). For ranks like ‘Major’ or ‘Second Lieutenant,’ the sizes of the epaulet or the fringes on the epaulets were indicative of the officer’s rank (since some officers did not wear any insignia). The word epaulet is derived from an old French word to mean shoulder; and was first made with cloth straps that were worn on the shoulder to keep shoulder sashes and belts in place. Epaulets are also thought to have begun as protective pieces of armor to shield the shoulders. During the Revolutionary war, epaulets were used both by the British and French. These epaulets were created with gold or silver and started from the collar and ended at the end of the shoulders. They were decorated with heavy fringes of gold or silver wire. The epaulets were very expensive as they were made of silver, gold, solid metal, and or plated metal. Officers started wearing gold or silver epaulets in their dress uniforms from 1780 during the Revolutionary war, to about 1872. For sergeants and other enlisted men, the epaulets were made of cheaper metals or cloth.  

http://www.history.navy.mil/trivia/triv4-5a.htm

Johannes Jansen

Johannes Jansen was the lieutenant colonel of the fourth (Hardenbergh’s) regimen of Militia, and represented the people of Shawangunk in the Revolutionary war. In the colonel’s same regiment were; Captain Isaac Davis, Matthew Jansen, Cornelius and Matthew Masten, David Ostrander, Peter Roosa; Lieutenants Jacobus S. Bruyn, Peter Decker, William Ostrander and various others.

(376). The History of Ulster County, New York, edited by Alphonso T. Clearwater

Much of what is known about Colonel Johannes Jansen comes from the Johannes Jansen house, as well as from stories and tales told about the Shawangunk area. The Johannes Jansen house is an example of early stone architecture in the area and it is believed that the west one story wing was built by Johannes Jansen around the 1750s. The main building of the house was built in the early to mid-1800s by the nephew of Johannes Jansen who inherited the house in 1803.

http://www.wallkillhistory.com/Houses/JohannesJansenHouse/JohannesJansenHouse.htm

In the article “Notes of the Ancient History” of Ulster County, published in the New Paltz Times of March 10, 1865 the author writes of Colonel Johannes Jansen. Because Johannes Jansen was a colonel of the militia of Southern Ulster and was part of the Whig party, was very wealthy, and lived so near the mountain, he was thought to be a valuable prize if captured by loyalists. In September 1780, members of the loyalist party Samuel Gonsalus and Ben. DeWilt as well as three Native Americans decided to try and capture Colonel Johannes Jansen. Samuel Gonsalus was the first white man born in the county and was well known as an ‘Indian hunter’ and scout.  Ben. DeWilt or ‘Shank’s Ben’ was also well known in Shawangunk and served in the French war, and had often worked for Johannes Jansen. The party tried to ambush the Colonel as he was leaving the house, but a boy raised the alarm and the Colonel was able to run back to the house and secure the door. Because they couldn’t through the door, the party ransacked the kitchen instead (it was the only room that they could enter). A female slave discovered them there and when the party heard Mrs. Jansen calling out to the neighbors, they took three slaves and a girl named Hannah Grunenwalden who was employed by the Jansens. They ended up killing the girl because they were afraid that her cried would lead their pursuers to them. In the area of Scrub Oak Ridge, the party encountered a man named John George Mack, Elsie, his daughter, and John Mentz, his son in law. While Mentz saw the enemy in time and was able to escape, John George Mack and Elsie were slain and scalped. A few members of the militia found the remains of the old man and his daughter while pursuing the party. The bodies of Hannah Grunenwalden, John George Mack, and Elsie Mack were deposited in their last resting place.

History of Sullivan caounty: embracing an account of its geology, climate, aborigines, early settlement, organization with biographical sketches

James Eldridge Quinlan, Thomas Antisell 

Pg 395

References 

History of Sullivan caounty: embracing an account of its geology, climate, aborigines, early settlement, organization with biographical sketches::James Eldridge Quinlan, Thomas Antisell:::Pg 395

http://www.wallkillhistory.com/Houses/JohannesJansenHouse/JohannesJansenHouse.htm

(376). The History of Ulster County, New York, edited by Alphonso T. Clearwater

http://www.history.navy.mil/trivia/triv4-5a.htm

Historical Society of Shawangunk and Gardiner- Volume 2 Number 3

Caption

This tiny 17^th century brass button found in excavations in Amsterdam and Historic Huguenot Street can be very telling of the history and culture of the Netherlands and early Dutch settlers.  This button most likely belonged to a man’s jacket or coat as the buttons in men’s jackets and coats in the 17^th century Dutch fashion were very small, numerous, decorative, and functional (“History of Buttons”).

Physical Description of the Object 

****I need to go back and fill in the blank measurements*****

This brass button measures about 1.2 cm or 12mm in diameter. The button front is rounded and juts slightly outward. The face of the button has a center basket weave/ braided thread/ checkerboard pattern design that takes up about ____ cm/ ____ mm of button. Around the basket weave pattern is a circular border that measures _____mm thick. Next, around the first border is another weave pattern, ______mm thick, going around the circumference of the button. After this weave pattern is another solid border measuring ___mm thick. The edge of this border is the end of the button, which is slightly worn away. This wear prevents the button from being a perfect circle. The back of the button is smooth and flat, except for a circular piece that juts out perpendicular of the button. This piece measures ___mm wide and ____mm thick. In the middle of this piece is a hole _____mm wide, meant for a needle and thread to pass through.

Provenance

The exact ownership of this button is unknown. The only concrete fact known about where this artifact came from is that this button was excavated in Historic Huguenot Street, New Paltz NY in the year 2009. The button was excavated by Professor Joe Diamond, an anthropology professor of SUNY New Paltz. Although there is not much information on the exact origins of the button and how it came to pass in New Paltz, a very similar, practically identical button was found in the excavations in Amsterdam, along with a few other 17^th century small brass buttons (“Knopen”).

Date(s) of Creation 

17^th Century/ First half of the 17^th Century (“Knopen”)

Narrative 

Time period of 17^th century in the Netherlands

The 17^th century proved to be a very successful explosion of overseas expansion for the Dutch. Also known as the Dutch Renaissance, this was when overseas commerce was making the Netherlands one of the most prosperous nation in Europe. At this time, the Dutch trading posts extended from Portuguese Brazil to the islands of the Caribbean, the “Wild Coast” of Guyana, and trading stations of West Africa (Bailyn 192).

The Netherlands was also a melting pot of people from all over Europe. By the 1600s, about a hundred thousand refugees flooded the coastal cities. Some refugees (from Flanders, Antwerp, Brabant, and Hainault) came to escape the harsh administration of the Catholic Church Spain. They were later joined by Jews, crypto-Jews, Polish Socinians, Czech Comenians, Swiss and Prussian Baptists, and English radical separatists (Bailyn 192).

Dutch East and West India Company (Leads to the discovery of the Hudson area and thus the colonization of New Netherland and New Amsterdam)

In 1602, the Dutch East India Company was founded. In 1609 it was sent out to locate a northern passage through the Far East, but landed in the Hudson area instead where trading posts were created and the New Netherland Company was created (1615). The company was given three years to monopolize the region’s Indian trade. After the charter expired, individual barter with Native Americans resumed. Moving on, the Netherland’s east India Company competed for wealth of the Moluccas, Malaya, Ceylon, and India. In the meantime, in 1621, the Dutch West India Company was created to strike aggressively against the Iberian powers of the Atlantic world. In 1630, the company took the northeastern Brazilian captaincies of Pernambuco, Itamaraca, and Paraiba from the Portuguese(Bailyn 195). The far eastern portion of Portuguese America named New Holland, but after two years, the area was retaken by Portugal. Thus “New Netherland” was created instead. On both sides of the Delaware River and on the lower shores of the lower Hudson, Dutch, Swedes, Finns, Walloons, Flemings, Frisians, Holsteiners, Danes, Germans, and French Huguenots settled in the isolated trading posts (Bailyn 191).

Textiles and Buttons in Colonial Trade

In colonial trade, textiles were always considered very important. However, wasn’t until the 1620s where the direct and regular trade of European textiles and furs was created, resulting in a rapid increase of the manufacturing and distribution of these goods (Blackburn 6). This rapid increase can be seen through the evidence of textile material from the Seneca Steele Site and Power House Site in western New York (1640-1655). Artifacts found in this area included 185 glass buttons, 38 brass buttons, a few pewter buttons, 18 textile fragments, and 17 bale seals. It is believed that most of the items were from the Dutch cities of Kampen, Leiden, and Amsterdam (Blackburn 6). The Marsh and Dann sites (1655-1675) also produced items including 35 textile fragments, 32 bale seals, 32 glass buttons, and other buttons made of brass and pewter. The button found in Huguenot Street can come from any one of these sites! The button can be aged back to the first half of the 17^th century because the Dutch material found later on in the time period (Seneca sites of Rochester Junction and Boughton Hill 1675- 1687) revealed relatively few buttons, only 11 compared to the 185 plus found for the 1640-1655 time period. This can be because European fashion started moving away wearing long rows of small brass or pewter buttons. The only buttons that were left for fashion were large disc shaped buttons on costumes (Blackburn 7). However, the use of glass, brass, and pewter buttons did not completely disappear. These buttons and other textiles were used by means of trade with the Native Americans. These buttons were often used as ornaments and fastenings for clothing by the Native Americans (Blackburn 7).

Costume/ Fashion Featuring Buttons

In the beginning of the 17^th century, the court and society tended to dress more high fashion, which had French influence. However, the regents preferred a more conservative but still rich costume. With the split of Catholicism and the Protestant religion in Spain, the fundamental principles for all the sects of the Protestant religion emphasized modesties and looked down on fashionable frivolities. Interestingly enough, the Netherlands costume at the time period was very similar to the old rigid Spanish fashion, except for the women’s caps (Jacques plate 14).

All the details in the Netherlands costumes were functional as well as loose and decorative. The appearance of dress moved towards natural proportions and the whole appearance, as opposed to lace frills from the knees and breeches that were wide as skirts. The most characteristic change the man’s costume was the hat. The hats represented elegance and humor and usually had a wide sweep of gar brim and feathers that were very distinctive of the time period (Jacques plate 14).

The picture on the left is a portrait of an Amsterdam ebony worker (1640) by Rembrandt  a Dutch painter (Rembrandt Herman Doomer). The portrait on the right is a painting of a standard bearer (1659) also by Rembrandt (Rembrandt The Standard Bearer). Both of these pictures depict the possibility of how the button may have been worn.

Works Cited

Bailyn, Bernard. The Barbarous Years: The Conflict of Civilizations 1600-1675. New York: Knopf, 2012. Print.

Blackburn, Roderic H. and Nancy A. Kelly. New Dutch World Studies: Dutch Arts and Culture in Colonial America, 1609-1776. Albany: Albany Inst. Of History and Art, 1987. Print.

“History of Buttons.” Antique Buttons.nl. Webring, n.d.  Web. 14 March 2013.

Jacques, Faith and Margaret Stavridi. The Hugh Evelyn History of Costume: 1500-1660. Boston: Plays Inc., 1969. Print

“Knopen.” De West-Frisiae 4.nl. n.p, n.d. Web. 13 March 2013.

Morse, H.K. Elizabethan Pageantry: A Pictorial Survey of Costume and its Commentators from c. 1560- 1620. New York: Benjamin Bloom, 1969. Print.

Rembrandt. Herman Doomer. 1640. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Metmuseum. Web. 13 March 2013.

Rembrandt. The Standard Bearer. 1640. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Metmuseum. Web. 13 March 2013.

First, I really enjoyed reading these wiki pages.

For the New Paltz Village page, while reading the history I wanted to physically walk down the streets while learning about the history. I could almost envision it all in my head.The only thing is the history is so short! I want to know more about the Lenape tribe called Esopus! And I wished they just went more in depth with details of the history of New Paltz and how it came to be. Instead there was a lot of other details on the Newspaper and Transportation. However, when I think about it, New Paltz is a very small town and you could easily walk the length of it. Therefore I guess it does make sense that the history is dwarfed by the sections on New Paltz culture and transportation.

I found the history of Suny New Paltz much more interesting! It was crazy reading about the protests during the Vietnam war that took place in front of the Student Union! And also learning about how the school started off as a education school and then the art programs were added on. Education and Arts is still what SUNY New Paltz seems to be known for .  One of my favorite parts of reading this wiki page is when it talks about all the classes that people could take like video art, dance therapy, clowning, camping, and ecodesign. And these classes were offered by students who were hired and compensated through the student activity fees. I know as students we definitely pay a lot of fees for student activities but cool classes like these are never offered. This was really cool too “A four-acre environmental studies site operated by students and community members under the aegis of the program at the southern periphery of the campus included geodesic domes, windmills,kilns, a solar-powered house funded by the Department of Energy, and more inchoate variants of sustainable architecture.” Unfortunately these interesting projects were taken down in the 1980s when the school took a turn for a more scienc-y turn with professional degree programs in nursing, engineering, journalism, and accounting. For the page of Suny New Paltz itself, I think the page could have gone into other majors that the school offers as everything was really based on the arts and theatre. I feel like even now there’s strange tug-a-war where New Paltz is trying to become more science and medical based, but it has so much art and educational history behind it that these changes would take time.

This is a 13.5 inch wooden drawing mannequin that I bought from IKEA in 2011. The mannequin is made completely out of wood and the individual pieces of the mannequin are put together with glue and screws that come in various sizes. The mannequin seems to be made out of twenty-eight wooden parts; the head, chest, hips, thighs, legs from the knee down, feet, upper arm, lower arm, and all the balls that connect to each limb allowing movement for the mannequin.

This mannequin has many purposes but the initial function and use of this mannequin is that it is used as a figure drawing aid. The mannequin allows for movement and therefore can be placed in different poses/ positions. Mannequins in general are often used by artists, tailors, designers, dressmakers, etc. and it is not uncommon for mannequins to be used to display clothing (as you would see in any type of clothing store). According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, a mannequin is “A life-size or partial representation of the human body, used for the fitting or displaying of clothes; a dummy. “ It is “a jointed model of the human body used by artists, especially to demonstrate the arrangement of drapery. Also called lay figure.”  The word originated form the Middle Dutch where it was called manikin or little man.

In another wordpress blog called “The Madness of Mannequins,” Emily and Per Ola dAulair go into the history of mannequins. Apparently, mannequins dated all the way back to 1350B.C. where it might have been the world’s first dress form. In the tomb of King Tut, an armless, legless, wooden torso is found exactly in the pharaoh’s measurements and it stands next to a chest full of the pharaoh’s clothing. The blog article states that although these “fake people” have been around in children’s toys, artist’s figures, wax figures, and tailor dummies, the European fashion doll was actually the original version of the modern mannequin. “In 1391, Charles IV of Spain shipped a life-sized doll, dressed in the style of the French court, to the Queen of England as part of ongoing peace negotiations. Henry IV dispatched miniature, elegantly-attired dolls to the de Medici women to update them on British trends. And Marie Antoinette kept her mother and sisters apprised of the latest vogues at Versailles with the elaborately clothed figures she regularly sent them.”http://mannequinmadness.wordpress.com/the-history-of-mannequin/

Although I don’t know exactly when the wooden mannequin I have was made, the sticker on the bottom of the mannequin indicates it was made in China.

For me, the uses of this mannequin have been plentiful, although I have yet to use it as a drawing model.  Its main use for me is as a form of entertainment for friends who visit my room. Since dormitory rooms are quite small the only place guests can sit on is my bed. My table happens to be right at the foot of my bed and so my mannequin is easily accessible to anyone sitting on my bed. The mannequin is perfect to play with during idle conversation and it can strangely be a good way to express emotion. You can make it seem like it is jumping with joy, it can be hunched over with depression, you can make it dance, and kick, sit, and it can strike incredible poses that defy gravity. It can also be a hanger for my jewelry, it can hold my bag of chocolates or snacks, and it can even hold bottled drinks.

The mannequin has been manipulated so much that I no longer have any idea what position each piece was in when I bought it. The chest and the hips have a flat surface to indicate the back and front, but I no longer know which is which. The joints are also a bit off and it takes a bit of jiggling for the limbs to move in the correct direction.

The object I decided to post today is a Filofax 1999 Personal Planner.

The planner measures a little less than 7 ½ inches in height (~19cm), about 5 inches wide (~13cm), and 1inch thick (~2.5cm). The color of the planner is a dark navy color, and it is made out of leather, giving it a smooth but textured feel. The inside of the front cover has eight slots for cards, credit cards, IDs, etc., and beneath the slots, there is a long pouch that can be used to store paper money. The inside of the front cover has the words “FILOFAX PERSONAL PICCADILLY REAL LEATHER” engraved in it. In the back cover of the planner, there is another pouch with a zipper attachment that can be used to store coins. The planner contains two rulers (one clear and the other black) and six sections/ dividers. These sections include: diary, notes, projects, information, financial, and an address section. The paper for every section except the ‘project’ section is labeled “Personal Filofax c 1999” (however, each section has a different reference number labeled to it). The ‘project’ section is labeled “BAROG BE- 1102.” The planner also contains a map of all the countries and capital cities and a map of the standard time zones for each country. Finally, the planner has a plastic pouch that hold six cards. The first few pages of the planner as well as the map attached to the back looks aged and a bit worn, but none of the paper inside shows wear

Before this post, I had no idea where this planner came from, when it was made, where it was made, and what the name of the brand even was. I came across it one day when I was bored and I was searching through a drawer of old items that my mom had kept throughout the years. The drawer contained old ID cards, credit cards, some jewelry, a nice handkerchief, and among other items, it contained this planner. Never used, never written in, the only signs of age came from some dust accumulated in the covers of the planner, as well as the worn look of the first page.

I love notebooks, planners, sketchbooks, paper, journals, diaries, and anything else that offers a clean slate for ideas, thoughts, doodles, and drawings. At home I have 26 journals/ diaries/ notebooks in all shapes and forms. The first one dates back to 1996 and the journals follow me through till present. I finish anywhere from one to three journals per year. The penmanship in that first journal is horrible and the content is actually really funny. I think I write that my brother is being a “pane in the but”?  I keep all my journals in a special shelf made out of cardboard that has doodles all over it, deep in my closet at home.

Paper just draws me in, and there is something about fresh notebooks or journals that just make me want to grab a pen and fill it with words or pictures. So when I saw that this really nice leather sophisticated planner was unused, I asked my mom why it wasn’t touched. She told me she just never had any need for it and that I could keep it if I wanted to. Over break my mom saw how well I was using it and told me she was glad; she hadn’t wanted to see it go to waste.

In order to find more information about the product, I tried a Google search on the brand name. There were a lot of similar planners on the website, but there were none from 1999, which is when this one seems to have been made.  The brand name of the planner is called FILOFAX and they make organizers, planners, diary refills, paper/ essentials, pens, bags/ briefcases, leather accessories, folders/ folios, and more. The merchandise is available worldwide from the United Kingdom, to Taiwan, to the United Arab Emirates. It seems the website was created in the year 2001 and the registered office is the Royal London House in England. The products seem to be made in Britain, Scotland, and Asia. The products are mostly made of leather and the price range for these products includes $29.99 to $2,300+ (the most expensive planner is made out of alligator skin).

According to the English Dictionary (http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/filofax), the term Filofax means “a type of loose-leaf ring binder with sets of different-coloured paper, used as a portable personal filing system, including appointments, addresses, etc.”

I actually finally did find the same exact planner that I have. I found it on ebay and I found pictures of the same planner on flickr. The title for the ebay website is “Filofax Personal Organiser: Piccadilly, black leather.” The pictures on ebay match my planner exactly and the price in US dollars is about $103.13. And here I thought the planner was worth only twenty bucks.

I love my planner very much. It contains all my different cards, IDs, and it is full of written schedules, lists, post-its, and drawings. I just know that if I ever lose it… 😦

The object I chose to post is a bottle of Propolis.

The bottle is about 9cm/ 3 ½ inches tall. The spout of the bottle is covered by a plastic lid that measures about 2 ½ cm in diameter. There is a circular black sticker on top of the cover that states “AGITE ANTES DE USAR,” which translates to “shake before using.” Another rectangular green and white sticker is attached to the side of the plastic covering. This sticker has the words “QUALITY SEAL,” “CERTIFIED ORGANIC,” “IBD,” “INSTITUTO BIODINAMICO,” “SP 162,” and “This product is inspected and certified by Instituto Biodinamico according to international standards” stated on it. The bottle itself is made out of a thick, amber colored glass. The glass itself has another brown-yellow sticker label that measures 3 ½ cm tall, which goes all the way around the circumference of the bottle. This label indicates that this product was imported from Brazil. The official name for this product as stated on the label seems to be “MN Propolis.” Underneath the name of the product the label states “Composto de Mel com Extracto de Propolis” and “Producto Organico Spray.” This seems to translate into “Product of Mel com, Propolis Extract” and “Organic Product Spray.”  This bottle contains 35ml of propolis and the ingredients include organic propolis extract and distilled water. Finally, the label states that the product is valid from March 2011 to March 2013.

The bottle is about 2/3 full of the propolis extract. When sprayed in the mouth, the propolis has an almost minty, medicinal, slightly sweet, and very strong almost honey-like flavor. The bottle  looks slightly worn. The multiple stickers on the product are fraying slightly at the ends.

According to my parents, propolis has numerous health benefits and can be used to treat many ailments. In our household, we mainly use it to spray in our throats when we are sick or when we show any cold symptoms. Propolis itself is “a resinous substance collected by honeybees from tree buds, used to fill crevices and to seal and varnish honeycombs.” According to the free medical dictionary, propolis is a “compound made by bees by mixing balsams and resin collected from vertain trees with saliva and digestive enzymes. Used for its antioxidant, antiviral, antibacterial, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory properties and to promote the healing of wounds” (Healthline).

To me it’s not the propolis itself that is important, but it is what the propolis signifies that is important. Up until I was in second grade my parents didn’t worry about health foods and eating healthy. However my father suddenly picked up an interest, which was followed by many comical, painful, gross, and frustrating memories for me and my two brothers. One in particular was when my father tried to make a “yummy” healthy snack for his kids. He took organic strawberry yogurt and organic peanut butter, mixed them together, placed them on some homemade bread, and handed it to us. Whenever we (my two brothers and I) are sick, my father force feeds us onion oil and cooked garlic. He also comes up with strange concoctions of apple cider vinegar honey, lemon, water, and various other health foods. I’m sure if it were someone else other than parents who encouraged us to eat health products, then my brothers and I would have listened more. However, because it was our own father telling us we should eat this, not eat that, exercise, and be healthy, it was almost a game for us kids to get away with replacing the health foods with the junkiest foods we could find.

The only strange health product I allow myself to take is this propolis. Not because my father pushed it on me, but because my mother, who never really pushes anything on us as she was always on our side, recommended it. Just as my father has his many home remedies for all kinds of ailments, my mother’s remedy is green tea and propolis. Every semester when the time comes for me to come back to school, my mother always makes sure I have a bottle of propolis equipped with me to face all the ailments of college.

Farlex. (2005). Propolis. The free dictionary. Retrieved February 1, 2013. From http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/propolis

Healthline. (n.d.). Propolis. Healthline connect to better health. Retrieved February 1, 2013.  From http://www.healthline.com/natstandardcontent/propolis.