On My Drawing Board: December 2011

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Back in the flow

Long time, no posting! Fall was incredibly busy, between running the gallery, working on commissions, and having a full exhibition and teaching schedule. Today, as I sit here trying to come back to "real life" after having a wonderful few days with as many of my family members as were able to be present, I thought I'd share the image I used for my Christmas card this year. This is a scene set up at the Shriver House Museum --309 Baltimore Street in Gettysburg, PA -- in the parlor of the Shriver House for their annual Candlelight Christmas tours, depicting traditions and decorations of an 1860's Pennsylvania family. It's a wonderful museum -- a beautifully restored 1860 home -- with a fascinating story of how one family dealt with the Battle of Gettysburg. I highly recommend a visit in person, or at the very least to their website: www.ShriverHouse.org.

Happy Holidays to all! I'll be posting new work soon.

What is the "Civil War Chronology Project"?

(formerly called The Civil War 150 Project)

The commemoration of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), which was held in October of 2009, is widely considered to mark the beginning of the Sesquicentennial -- or 150th -- anniversary of the Civil War era. Over the next five years, many states and local communities will be marking the 150th anniversary of battles and important events that occurred in their areas during that era, and state and local commissions are being established to bring attention to those events.

Since I first began developing my series of images inspired by Civil War-era America and its people, my goal has always been to provide a complement to the images of battle scenes and famous generals focused on by most other Civil War artists. My approach has been to get to know these people in their pre-war identities and culture, and try to move through the War era in a chronological fashion, hoping to gain some sense of what they experienced as the War unfolded and engulfed them. My work can essentially be described as homage to life in the midst of war, but it carries a contemporary sensibility in hopes of encouraging viewers to see parallels between their lives and the lives of Americans gone before us.

The Civil War Chronology Project is the title I have given to the ongoing project I have developed for myself, to chronicle the lesser-known people and events of the Civil War era beginning with the publication of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852 and continuing through the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in April of 1865. I currently have created more than twenty pieces which were inspired by the incidents and people in the years leading up to, and then including, the First Battle of Manassas (also known as First Bull Run). To view the works created prior to 2010, please visit my website, http://www.civilwarfineart.com/, and specifically, my Beyond the Battlefield gallery page. Since helping viewers establish a more personal connection with the people of the Civil War era is a primary goal of mine, I welcome feedback from my audience. Thank you for viewing! ~~Amy V. Lindenberger