June 17: Untitled Collage with Chickens

This is not one of the good ones, and in fact I almost didn't keep it. I remember making it in the back building of the house at 57 Ozone Ave. in Venice, California. Amazing. The house is still there. I saw it on Google Earth, but there aren't any photos of it online. I'd just moved in with Bruce and his sister, and I was finding my place there, setting up a small art area for myself. The back house wasn't a house, but more like a tiny studio or basement. I can't quite picture all of the details any more. Mainly I remember that it backed onto the alley, and it didn't feel completely safe. But then, I didn't feel very safe, either, trying to get things back together after moving to Venice, feeling unaccountably nervous.

The collage itself is more an attempt to put something (anything) on paper. I had to find my stride again, and it seemed difficult. I was glad I got a few elements I liked - the ancient face, the chickens, a few lines and the blue. Now that I look at it, it the chickens aren't very well protected, but the soldiers really aren't harming them; the threat is actually whimsical in a way. But they are under observation, not quite private, not quite secure. And yet, in a way they may be being protected, too. The computer always seemed out of place and it's the only thing in color. The printing on that bit is bad. I don't know why I put it there. It's monitoring, recording. In the end, there's usually a reason. The dark orange bit at the top is old masking tape.

(Scanned and posted September 7, 2009)

c. 1971: Pictures of Ted Todd

Ted Todd ~ photos by Sheryl Todd

I don't know the date, and I'm only guessing the year, but it's approximately right. My dad needed a photo of himself to be printed in an agricultural journal, so he drove over to Claremont (California) and asked me to take a few. I don't remember if he had a meeting in the area that day, or only drove over for the photo. We went across Central Avenue from the house, where, quite conveniently, there was a lemon grove, and I took some photos with black and white film.

I remember thinking that they were too high contrast, and I wished I'd had a chance to do them over, but of course now that so much time has passed, I'm just glad to have them at all.

c. 1964, Corona: Portrait of Elizabeth V. Todd

This is the only time I can remember that Mom went out and had her portrait taken without the rest of the family. We didn't have family portraits taken very often, but we did on occasion. I remember her coming home with this photo. I think she said she just felt like having a nice photo made of herself. I wonder if we should all do that sometimes. I thought it was kind of silly then, and maybe she did, too, but now I'm happy to have it. I dated the photo "about 1964."

Sep 1959: Sheryl with a calf

I've always liked animals. This may have been on a cattle farm owned by my father's relatives, the Sortors, in Tulare, California. As I find them, there will be a lot more pictures of me with animals before we get to the tapirs in 1968. The photo was dated Sep 59, when I was 10. Sometimes the film was in the camera for awhile before it was developed, but the date will be close. Yeah, yeah, I know. Somehow I turned into a chronologist and historian. Wait until you see how precise I am about some of my other projects. Anyway, why not? Don't worry about the posting date, above. I'm trying to work out a system where the older pictures fall into the right order - and the earliest date Blogger will allow is January 1, 1970. You can organize the pix using days, hours, and minutes, too. This could be fun, but if anyone has an easier work-around for dates before January 1970, please let me know!

Feb 1956: Ted with Kathy and Sheryl, printed February 1956

Ted with his first two kids, either 1955 or 1956. From left: Kathy, Ted, Sheryl, and Sheryl's doll. The photo was printed in February, 1956. I almost remember that we were supposed to be singing Christmas carols, so it was probably taken in December. Remember when film stayed in the camera for months? Gary was born in 1954, but was not in the photo.