Instructions For Saying Goodbye
It is never easy to say goodbye. To take a path away from your friends and loved ones. To leave home behind. It is important to cry. Not only tears of heartache, but tears from fear of stepping into the unknown. Acknowledge the facts. You may never see these people again, but embrace them while you can. Smile down at the dog fur on your clothes. Retrace the familiar routes and savor the air you have acquainted yourself with. Ride around town and park in the spot with the peculiar divot. Grab a coffee from the café that knows your order. Stroll through the grocery store that smells like steamed carrots and mackerel. Throw a party. Retrieve the camera from the back of the storage closet. Enjoy the silence. Realize that goodbyes are transitions. Transitions to new hellos.
Close Families
A family in Neolithic Period Cyprus can be found residing in round houses that contain just a singular room. This one room is however divided up into areas for various tasks such as sleeping, cooking, and eating. It seems the families living in these houses have strong ties as they bury their deceased beneath the floors they sleep, cook, and eat on. It is amazing to think about just how many people share the one space.
Handshake
In ancient Greece, handshakes symbolized family unity in not only the present world, but the next life as well. Handshakes also represented proper family relationships.
Cycladic Figurines
Once thought of as ugly marble figurines, cycladic figurines are now appreciated for their simplistic beauty. Interestingly enough the largest category of these figurines is of nude, pregnant women, who have their arms crossed over their stomachs. Also quite thought provoking is that the figures visibly become less curvy over time. Women's roles have changed. The oldest figurines celebrate “achieved fertility” while later models show more slender women that have “potential fertility”. Women became possessions to win.
Two Young Boys
“Look through your glass. Look through your glass!”.
“What is this supposed to be?”.
“A hand”.
Jade
Requires patience, time, and is labor intensive. Thus, it has great value.
A green stone.
Hand and Forearm of Buddha
A hand gesture that looks like it is saying “halt” or “stop” when it is a way to give a blessing. I see that even simple hand gestures change over time and by location.
Ceramics of the Middle East and Back Home
The ceramics with familiar arabesque and colors reminds me of home in Winchester.
My father, an immigrant from Turkey, was left with pieces just like these when his mother died.
Family heirlooms passed down through generations.
They are now displayed throughout our house in carved wood cases with glass fronts.
My family does not collect art, but we do value the history of the objects and have kept them safe
Our ceramics are not nearly as old, but the personal connection makes them more valuable to me
These vases and plates will one day be mine.
I must keep them alive so others can enjoy their beauty just like I have.
Mummies
A funny exchange between a mother and her young son.
Mother: “They look so modish”
Son: “They look so fresh in the box, but they aren’t”
How does ‘Colonialism and Collecting’ make you feel?
Various viewpoints from varying age groups:
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