What do you collect?

[gja1000]

Originally Posted by Tiramisu

Gayle, you'll appreciate this. Sometimes when I am totally scatter brained, I mix and match the Fiesta - the cobalt might have a green saucer, a yellow fork, a pink spoon, etc. It's a game I play when the g-daughters are setting the table. Nothing can be with it's matching set.

SANDY! When we use the Fiesta for a dinner - THAT'S the way we set it - nothing in a place setting can match!!!

[gja1000]

OK, here's some pictures of my collections.

This is the corner cabinet in my kitchen. I rearrange the dishes from time to time, and right now, I realize that what I have standing up in the cabinet is mostly the Homer Laughlin pottery (maker of the colored Fiesta) that was used to put on decals. Most of these dishes I collect have Mexican decals. It's the cream colored dishes with the pictures. Most of the traditional colored Fiesta is laying down in the cabinet. But you will see it in the other pictures.

1. Corner cabinet with Fiesta/Homer Laughlin dishes
2. The plate rack (that my husband made for me) hanging on the wall.
3. My pornographic Homer Laughlin bowl (look closely) - I've never found another dish with this particular decal, although I have read about it in antique books.

[gja1000]

Ok, here's my husband's kachina collection (yes, they are kinda scary looking!). They are hand carved out of cottonwood by different Hopi Indian artists. Each one has a different name and is symbolic of something or a ceremony.

1. (L to R) Morning Singer, Sunface, Eagle Dancer, Deer Dancer, Sunface
2. Deer Dancer, Sunface, Eagle Dancer
3. Morning Singer, Sunface

[gja1000]

Last but not least, here is the New Mexico stone polished pottery that I collect and the walrus and mammoth ivory carvings that my husband and I collect. This is an older picture, we have several more pieces of ivory now.

In the ivory, (L to R) you can see a musk ox, whale pod, sea otter chasing a fish, and a mother/baby whale pair. Also, there is an Alaskan dog sled in the front and a little eskimo figure. The whale pod (there are 11 whales - some on the back you can't see) was carved out of walrus tusk - there are no separate pieces glued together, it is one piece of antler with everything carved from it.

[lynne b]

Originally Posted by gja1000

Last but not least, here is the New Mexico stone polished pottery that I collect and the walrus and mammoth ivory carvings that my husband and I collect. This is an older picture, we have several more pieces of ivory now.

In the ivory, (L to R) you can see a musk ox, whale pod, sea otter chasing a fish, and a mother/baby whale pair. Also, there is an Alaskan dog sled in the front and a little eskimo figure. The whale pod (there are 11 whales - some on the back you can't see) was carved out of walrus tusk - there are no separate pieces glued together, it is one piece of antler with everything carved from it.

OMG your collections are beautiful, i like the ivory the best i think. right now i am into collecting dogs (LOL), one of the draw backs of breeding there always seems to be 1 out of my breedings that we become attached to and cant seem to part with. i have 7 right at the moment 3 are from my breedings. I really need to find a new hobby.

[Tiramisu]

Gayle, I love your collections and the way you have displayed them. I've been dusting a little this weekend, while I'm g-babysiting the 4 year old and 10 month old, and I've realized that I obviously collect pictures of my kids. I probably have around 80 pictures of kids around the house. That's just crazy!

[gja1000]

Originally Posted by Tiramisu

Gayle, I love your collections and the way you have displayed them. I've been dusting a little this weekend, while I'm g-babysiting the 4 year old and 10 month old, and I've realized that I obviously collect pictures of my kids. I probably have around 80 pictures of kids around the house. That's just crazy!

LOL! I collect pictures of my kids/grandkids too - and I'm sure I have about that many also. But I only have limited space to display them, so I have them in a drawer and rotate them on display.

[gja1000]

Originally Posted by lynne b

OMG your collections are beautiful, i like the ivory the best i think. right now i am into collecting dogs (LOL), one of the draw backs of breeding there always seems to be 1 out of my breedings that we become attached to and cant seem to part with. i have 7 right at the moment 3 are from my breedings. I really need to find a new hobby.

Lynne, I'd love to collect dogs too I've often wondered how breeders let all the puppies go. I remember in Janet's video, she called one of the pups something like, "My little man" - if I ever used "my" with a pup, I fear it would be all over and I'd never be able to let him/her go!!!

[judy]

I have collected different things over the years. It used to be cat figurines, then miniatures, then shells, and I can't remember what else over the years. Lots!

Now, I don't want anything that collects dust - no more collecting. But, then who knows what I'll find around here.

[Janet]

Originally Posted by gja1000

OK, here's some pictures of my collections.

This is the corner cabinet in my kitchen. I rearrange the dishes from time to time, and right now, I realize that what I have standing up in the cabinet is mostly the Homer Laughlin pottery (maker of the colored Fiesta) that was used to put on decals. Most of these dishes I collect have Mexican decals. It's the cream colored dishes with the pictures. Most of the traditional colored Fiesta is laying down in the cabinet. But you will see it in the other pictures.

1. Corner cabinet with Fiesta/Homer Laughlin dishes
2. The plate rack (that my husband made for me) hanging on the wall.
3. My pornographic Homer Laughlin bowl (look closely) - I've never found another dish with this particular decal, although I have read about it in antique books.

I like everything in these two pictures!!! I would love to have the Fiesta dishes...do they still make them? I don't really care for the Indian figurines much and I watch to many Animal Planet documentaries to want to collect the ivory things although they are sooooo beautiful. Just amazing the detail.

I'm still with Judy though, other than the dishes, I don't think I want to collect anything. After having a big garage sale this past summer I still want to get rid of more stuff.

[gja1000]

Janet, the ivory is fossilized ivory - they don't kill the walruses for ivory and the mammoths are long gone. The ivory is found as the Alaskan ice cap melts.

My husband is part Indian so the kachinas "speak" to him. He feels a strong connection to them.

[DianaB]

Gayle, your collection of Fiesta is so pretty and colorful! Your husband made you a wonderful plate rack too. How nice!!! The Katchinas and ivory pieces are really interesting! I can see that you've taken great care in picking them out because they are so intricate and very beautiful!!! Thank you so much for sharing the pictures of your collections! That was very interesting to see.

[judy]

Gayle,

Wouldn't you know it - I'm thinking about what to collect now.

[gja1000]

Really, I didn't set out to collect anything - we started with a couple of stone polished pottery pieces on a trip to New Mexico and then it just grew from there!!! We really loved them and learned so much about the pottery. In New Mexico the Indian land (typically called a reservation) is called a Pueblo - and in New Mexico there are about 15 (or so) Pueblos. Each one is known for a different kind of pottery or art. For example, the San Ildefonso Pueblo is known black pottery, while the Santa Clara Pueblo is known for red pots. Santo Domingo Pueblo makes pottery, but they are known for their beautiful jewelry, as are the Zuni. You can go right into the Pueblos (most of them anyway) and if there is a potter, he/she will hang a sign outside the house where they live and you just go in and look at their art and buy directly from them.

Most Indian artists love to tell you all about their craft and my husband and I love to listen to them, so we spend lots of time just talking. Indians are known for preferring to sell their art to someone who wants to hear the story of the piece or understand its meaning. Almost everything about Indian art has meaning. I once sat with an Indian silversmith at an art show and if someone came up to his booth and said, "how much is that", the price would be very very very very high. But if someone came up and asked about the same piece, listened to the story, seemed interested in the piece, then the price was reasonable.

Of course, my husband's fascination with kachinas came from our travels to New Mexico. Actually though, the kachinas he collects are made my the Hopi Indians which are from Arizona!

I didn't set out to collect Fiestaware either. I always loved it so my mom gave me her old Fiesta dishes (just a few pieces - some had been stolen years ago) and then my aunt gave me hers (both from the 40's-50's). I really loved them so my aunt bought me some at an estate sale, then I just began to pick up a piece here and there. Voila! Here I am with a whole cupboard full.