🎨 "Friendly Indians ahead!" - Graphite pencil and watercolor on glass
Long time ago, when I lived in Chicago, my parents came from Germany for a visit. The plan was to do some sight seeing there and then go for a trip to Arizona together. Thing is, my dad is most likely the biggest fan of (wild) west movies who ever lived. So we thought, it would be nice for him to see the land he knew, from watching every movie that was made there as often as it was shown. We flew to Phoenix and rented a car to drive around. Of course the main attraction was to be Monument Valley.
It was a very different world for us Germans and we were constantly amazed. The giant cactus everywhere, roads straight for up to 12 1/2 miles (we double checked) and the areas called "Reservations". With our history we are very sensitive to discrimination and racism and so we were very cautious and hoped not to make any mistakes or say and do things that might be misunderstood... It turned out, that we actually worried to much and everyone was really relaxed.
Thing that cracked me up was a sign we saw at the side of the road. It said: "Friendly Indians ahead!"
That alone was already really funny, although we didn't really understand what "message" was behind it. It turned out, that a mile or two later, some artisans had built a place, where they sold jewelry and other souvenirs. After we passed the place, there was a series of more signs saying things like "you missed it" and "turn around :-)" and such. We were laughing our heads off!
A little later, we came to a small town and I saw a young man with a drink standing by the street... together with the signs and souvenir shops it inspired me to this painting with the (ironic) title: "Vorsicht Navajo" (Beware of Navajo).
We went on to a place were my mom and I visited a museum, while my dad went horseback riding. Of course, he complained, that they gave him a very slow horse 😜
But all in all, it was a wonderful trip with some very special encounters.
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All photos/scans by me of my own artwork done in my special technique as introduced in What is Hinterglas?
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I love these little stories from way back and how they inspire you in the current day, please share more!
Was just thinking of you today, when I came across this one:
Because you know I like men in uniforms? 😇 Are you in the picture, I don't think I can spot you🤔
Haha 🤣
Because I had told you about my time on the sub before. You can see the tower on the left behind the officers. I'm more towards the right... see me now?
no.
This post was shared in the Curation Collective Discord community for curators, and upvoted and resteemed by the @c-squared community account after manual review.
As always, many thanks for your kind attention. I feel honored :-)
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Dear Artzonian, thanks for using the #ArtzOne hashtag. Your work is valuable to the @ArtzOne community. Quote of the week: Art, freedom and creativity will change society faster than politics. -Victor Pinchuk
Many thanks, as always :-)
This is an amazing memory! Unfortuately I don't think that sign would be allowed today, as the PC culture would take offense. I honestly don't care what people call me as long as they are kind :)
That is also a funny American tradition, the signs that give you a message as you go along the road. The highway, motorway, expressway culture that was born out of the post WWII building boom in America just lead to it.
There was even an advertising gimmick in the 50's that used the signs on the road for shaving cream Burma Shave. Here are a couple examples. (one on the right down and one on the left down.)
I am all for being respectful and not discriminate anybody. But today sometimes one gets the feeling, that the correctness is it being over done. What if someone decides, calling me a German is no longer correct because of our history... oh well, like you say, a lot of things are all right as long as people are kind and polite.
Haha... yes, these signs are really something! Never saw anything like this here in Europe 😀
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Great story and gorgeous artwork! I can totally envision the scene and all the laughter the little sign has brought you and your family :')
Thank you. I am sure with your imagination you can see it in front of your in or are you very well. Hope it gave you a good laugh too :-)
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Very beautiful memory of travel ! I really enjoyed this post, @reinhard-schmid :D The drawing is very cool, too <3
Thanks a lot, glad you like it. We all had a great time, as you can see :-)
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Was eine schöne Geschichte und ein sehr passendes Bild dazu. Finde ich toll, dass du das mit deinen Eltern gemacht hast.
Die USA sind ein beeindruckendes Land.
War eine tolle Zeit in den USA und ich bin froh, dass ich diese Reise mit meinen Eltern machen durfte. Ein unvergessliches Erlebnis! 😀
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Loved the story behind this. Well done.
Thank you, hope it put a big smile on your face :-)
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It did, coincidentally I had posted on Native American’s as well.
Hello @reinhard-schmid, thank you for sharing this creative work! We just stopped by to say that you've been upvoted by the @creativecrypto magazine. The Creative Crypto is all about art on the blockchain and learning from creatives like you. Looking forward to crossing paths again soon. Steem on!
Yes, as German tourists we also observed everything very attentively at that time, 1994, that was ... Reminds me on the ride towards the Grand Canyon.
it's so different to move around in a foreign country. We were also in such a way that we looked attentively on everything! We were delighted by the endless straight roads! I can't believe you actually measured it. Typical boys. :-)
The friendly Indian is to the point. What's that in his hand? Is it a pot pipe?