How Old Are You?

The message found in a fortune cookie:

"No one grows old by living, only in losing interest in living."

has made me think of a friend of mine. She often tends to say that she and her husband should not do this or that, "because we are not the youngest, you know." The lady is only a few months older than I am.

In my opinion, finding life as an extreme sport and giving up doing things means being old in spirit. Obviously, during all those years when we get more mature, our interests change and, even at a younger age, we also adjust things we do to our possibilities. However, one's attitude makes them actually older than their body/calendar age is. There are always things we can do, new things we can learn. Regardless the numbers (our age).

And how old are you (in spirit)? 

Photo: My latest creation - I got that shirt as a gift. Its dark color did not suit me so I made it a bit more colorful.

K for Kashubia

Somebody has asked me what the creature on my T-shirt is.

It is a griffin, mythical animal - half-eagle, half-lion. It is also the crest of Kashubians, an ethnic (Slavic) minority group, who live in the Pomeranian region of Poland. 

Kashubians have their own language, a flag (black and yellow), and an anthem.
I have no family connection to Kashubians, but I lived in Kashubia all my Polish life. In that way, Kashubian music and traditions are part of me.

One of the cutting boards I have decorated, with Kashubian motifs, of course

 

 

And my hand-painted T-shirt (one of a few) with a Kashubian pattern. People tend to think it is an overprint.

However, in Poland, I never had and never wore a Kashubian folk outfit. If somebody had told me then that I would wear one in Texas, I would have taken it as a good joke.

 

At the State Fair of Texas in Dallas

 

Well, we both did wear Kashubian folk costumes when we were part of a Polish-American folk dance ensemble. 

 

At the Dallas International Festival

 

We enjoyed that and, at the same time, were quite proud of our outfits too. 

 

Me in Kashubia, years ago.

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"My Polish Alphabet" is about things, places, and people that come to my mind when I think about Poland.

Legend of La Llorona

The legend of La Llorona (the Weeping One/Crying One) came to Texas from Mexico. This story was probably written in 1550 and has many versions. Here is one of them. 

A long time ago, a beautiful young widow named Maria had two children. She also had a wealthy lover whom she wanted to marry. The problem, however, was that the man refused to marry her because he did not accept the widow's children. 

One day, the lady went with her offspring for a picnic on the Rio Grande River. There, she unexpectedly came up with an idea - how to solve her marriage problem. She stabbed each of the children, then pushed them into the river so they drowned. Immediately after this event, the widow went to the house of her lover to tell him about what had happened. She was convinced that the man would appreciate her dedication, there were no longer any obstacles so they could get married. However, it happened otherwise. Horrified by the horrible action, the man rejected Maria. He no longer wanted to have anything to do with her. The distraught woman, screaming loudly, ran to the river - she wanted to save her children. Unfortunately, it was too late. 

All in all, Maria died a tragic death. Some say that an enraged crowd of her neighbors seized the murderer to punish her. According to others, the woman stabbed herself with a knife and then threw herself into the river. It is said that God will not let her into heaven until she finds the bones of the children she killed. So, doomed to eternal damnation, she wanders along the rivers of southwestern Texas, looking for her dead children. The lady's despair and crying are endless. There are folks who claim to have seen her - punished for her sins, she now has a horse's head instead of a human head. It is also well known that you should not go to the river at night, because La Llorona can drag the night wanderer into the abyss. Each time when the body of a drowned victim is found, it is said that the lonely La Llorona was looking for companionship.

 Picture: La Llorona - my own work, watercolor

Painted Church in Praha, TX

At the time when I lived in Europe, I did not an opportunity to visit Prague in the Czech Republic or earlier, when it was Czechoslovakia. However, last summer, we did go to Praha in Texas.

 

The St. Mary's of the Assumption church is our most favorite one of all the painted churches we have seen so far.

It was built in 1895, painted by Gottfried Flury, who was an artist of Swiss origin.

 

Just to let you see some of the church interior.

The St. Mary's was the third painted church we visited on that day. Outside the church, there is a lovely little place dedicated to Holy Mary.

After the visit and the spiritual and esthetic experience we also visited the ones who were buried at the local cemetery. 

Then, it was finally time to play in the church yard!

After that, we went to see the Texas Czech Culture and Heritage Place in La Grange. However, more about that another time, in a different post.

St John the Baptist - Painted Church

In August, we visited some of the so-called "painted churches" in Texas.

The first one was St. John the Baptist Church in Ammansville. The church structure was built in 1919. The two previous ones were destroyed by a hurricane and fire.

The pretty pink church interior was decorated by Fred Donecker and Sons.

 

The settlement of Ammansville, situated 9 miles from San Antonio, was founded by Czech (mainly from Moravia) and German immigrants in the 1870s. The first man who made his home there was Mr. Andrew Amman. He came to the area on 12 March 1870.

 

 

 

Normally, we do not wear shorts when we go to church. That day was an exception - a whole day trip on a very hot Texas day. No Sunday type clothes were possible.

 Pretty, isn't it?

Not many people live in Ammansville theses days but it is quite a charming place.

Source:

Texas Handbook Online

 

 

My Haind-Painted Tops and T-Shirts

I have not shown you these shirts and tops, yet. They are the results of the hand-painting on the fabrics which is my hobby.

I have painted all the plain T-shirts which I have got so I gladly welcomed the four summer tops which I received from my mom. More space to paint on!

I really like the traditional Pomeranian/ Kashubian folk patterns, they are the ones which I use in my painting most often. However, the pink top has a different kind of folk shapes.

The t-shirts which I painted as a gift for my mom. Various colors of the background make the pattern look different. The white and yellow material emphasizes the tones of all the shapes and flowers the most.

Some people - when they see my T-shirts - tend to think it is just a print. Some assume they were embroidered and are rather surprised to hear it is all hand-painted, and need to touch the pattern to believe it.

Which combination - background color/pattern do you like the most?

More hand-painted T-shirts which I have decorated myself here.

My Hand-Painted T-shirts: Gifts

Recently, I have painted some more t-shirts. They were gifts for ladies in my family and friends.
As usual, I decorated all the t-shirts (besides one) with some folk motifs of Kashubia.

I need your advice and opinion, what do you think?

• Which pattern do you like best?
• Which t-shirt would you like to get?
• Which t-shirt color would you choose for yourself?

Pattern #22

Pattern #15/1

Pattern #12

Pattern #23

Pattern #23/1

My own design - Pattern 10/1

More patterns and examples of my hand-painted items here.

My Hand Painted T-Shirts: New/Old T-Shirt

I did not like that t-shirt. It got old (you can see in the picture how old it is) and was quite boring. Therefore, I decided to decorate it with one of my own designs. If you do not know, Chef Pol-Tex is a kind of my 'self-portrait'  😀 as I am the chef and a manager of our Polish-Texan home. Bluebonnets are related to Texas of course. 😊

Having been painted, the shirt got a new, happy 'face' and has become more interesting as well. Although the year included in the original design still shows the age of the shirt, at least, it is more colorful and not so unattractively plain anymore.

You can read more about my Chef Pol-Tex and its origin here.

New/Old T-shirt

My New, Hand Painted T-Shirt

I love painting T-shirts. I find it not only relaxing but also entertaining. Besides, I enjoy creating things and wearing pieces of clothing which are quite unique. Obviously, nothing is original about a plain, regular t-shirt. Thanks to the design I paint on the fabric, it becomes something different - something that nobody else has. And I like it!

The angel is part of the series of  little creatures I designed a long time ago when I was about 16. Since then, the little 'girl' and notebooks. In a way, the drawings are part of me. Inspired by my husband, I thought it is time to show them/myself to the world.
The flowery motif, with a thistle in the center, is another folk pattern of Kashubia ( region of Poland).

More examples of my hand painted stuff HERE.

How to Make an Old T-Shirt Interesting Again

If you happen to have an old T-shirt which seems to be no longer interesting, you can try to improve it and make it look nicer.

1. The easiest way - find a decorative element and sew it on your T- shirt. Well, if you are not good at handling a needle, get an applique badge which you iron on with heat, to attach it to the surface.
2. Another way of decorating a boring piece of clothing is painting it. And this is what I enjoy most!
3. Simply choose a pattern you like and have fun (doing the painting) :-). 
4. When you do not like the effects of your work, all in all, it is just an old T-shirt. You can wear it at home only or throw it away. Just dare to be creative.

See what I have done!

First, I sewed on the apple badge

Then I painted some flowers - a Kashubian pattern of course.....

Later I painted more flowers...

And here it is!

An old - new T-shirt

The back is a result of: do what you feel like doing ;-)

Hope you like it as much as I do.

See my other 'hand-painted projects' here.