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An unusal source for ideas and graphics is in our local cemeteries. The small town of Nevada City, California has a rich history dating back to the 1840`s. Gold prospectors flocked to this area when John Marshal; not Sutter found gold in 1848 at Caloma.(east of Sacramento) Each of the stones are hand carved. The stones of this era reflect the craftsmen's talents, which I suspect doubled as a sign man. Here are some of their art.
My next step is to take "rubs" of this art, and digitize them. I'm guessing their copyright free.
^^-in the heart of gold country... Richard Bustamante Nevada City, California www.signinthepines.com
-------------------- Richard Bustamante Signs in the Pines www.signsinthepines.com Posts: 781 | From: Nevada City, California | Registered: Nov 1998
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I think that tomstone and grave marker carving is a dead art... Ha ha ha ha ha....
My Father really liked walking through old cemetaries and looking at all the old stones. the art involved was amazing.
Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to see more!
-------------------- Bruce Bowers
DrCAS Custom Lettering and Design Saint Cloud, Minnesota
"Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things work out." - Art Linkletter Posts: 6458 | From: Saint Cloud, Minnesota | Registered: Jun 1999
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Hi- I grew up in front of a cem & I love them. Last week, my mom, my son Justis & I went looking up our ancestors graves. Some were really old. I took tons of pix. For truly morbid grave art, ya gotta go up New England way- it's eerily stark and beautiful, with skulls & other neato stuff. Can't wait to see some of the graveyards in Scotland, England, & Ireland this summer. I like your photos. Thanks! Love- JILL
-------------------- That is like a Mr. Potato Head with all the pieces in the wrong place. -Russ McMullin Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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Jill, you'l love it. There's possibly nothing like the atmosphere of an Irish country cemetery; mossy Celtic crosses amid bare green hills, under a damp grey sky with the wind keening. Sure and its the spirits you're hearin'
-------------------- "A wise man concerns himself with the truth, not with what people believe." - Aristotle
Cam Bortz Finest Kind Signs Pondside Iron works 256 S. Broad St. Pawcatuck, Ct. 06379 "Award winning Signs since 1988" Posts: 3051 | From: Pawcatuck,Connecticut USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Thanks for reminding us of a great source for designs and decorative art. I still get my sandblasting done at the local monument co., and they have an amazing collection of clip art they use, as well as I think a Gerber system with plotter, etc. for cutting rubber. It's very much like a sign shop down there, and I have used some of their clipart on occasion, and they have used my services to when they needed vector art for an image they didn't have. The two businesses could exist very well together if both were in the same location..........I would like to visit a few older cemeteries with the rubbing thing in mind just to see what's there on the stones.........
-------------------- Jeff Ogden 8727 NE 68 Terr. Gainesville FL, 32609 Posts: 2138 | From: 8827 NE 68 Terr Gainesville Fl 32609 | Registered: Aug 2002
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When we visited Sweden, there were headstones right in the floor of the churches. I'm assuming some of the people were actually buried under the church. There were also huge stone "caskets" with the person actually carved in bas relief right on top. And to think someone back in 1200 carved these - they were perfect! Our U.S. really doesn't have the history compared to Europe. It would be interesting to find out how long it took them to carve a stone box, and . . . what were they paid for the work? After all, they probably didn't have the "overhead and taxes" we all pay now!. Interesting thread! Bomba-Dear
-------------------- Bomba-Dear Jackie Vaughn #5115 Volcano, California www.chocoholic.com Posts: 761 | From: Volcano, California, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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lol, I almost did'nt read this post 'cuz of the topic title! Old graves are interesting and tell bits of the most amazing things about the people under 'em! We have a lot of sites here, many from the civil war, and some of our cemeteries are on the historic tours. These old monuments are beautiful, some are as much as 8 ft.tall with carved angels and such. People around here walk and ride bikes thru the New and Old Live oak cemeteries, that are full of azealas and huge old oak trees, for exercize all the time. Thanx for 'preciatin' this lost art!
-------------------- Signs Sweet Home Alabama
oneshot on chat
"Look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man, work like a dog" Posts: 5758 | From: "Sweet Home" Alabama | Registered: Mar 2003
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Some of these monument guys are pretty sharp with an airhose...alot of the 3-D stuff on stones is shaped using the sandblast air...pretty cool...a "new" way to carve!! Maybe you could carve foam if you had a real small gun, like airbrush-sized, and real low pressure.Look at some of the new stones. I saw some black marble that was beveled and polished, that had a whole scene etched into the face by lazer...man did THAT ever have some detail. Pheew !
-------------------- Jeff Ogden 8727 NE 68 Terr. Gainesville FL, 32609 Posts: 2138 | From: 8827 NE 68 Terr Gainesville Fl 32609 | Registered: Aug 2002
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Jeff's right....lot of similarity between signwork and monuments. Same basic skills and tools as making a sandblasted sign.
But....anybody priced monuments lately? Even smaller stones cost an arm and a leg....and I don't think they hear near as much complaining about prices for quality.
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I live just a few blocks from a monument shop in Mpls. When I was going to sign school, I interviewed for a job there, They had just gotten a plotter, and they had these neat dies, kind of like cookie cutters that you would use with a mallet or press or something to punch letters out of the mask. They only wanted to pay about $5/hr, so I thanked them for their time and wished them luck.
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I'm so glad to find that I may be normal after all! I love old cemeteries. My vacation pictures always have lots of headstones in them and I get kidded about it a lot.
Some of the really good ones are located at old churches. It seems it was a practice in the past to also add on the stone the cause of death. Have found some with typhiod, yellow fever, scurvy, droppsy, disentary and things like that. Very interesting and sets your imagination into a spin.
-------------------- Kathy Joiner River Road Graphics 41628 River Road Ponchatoula, La.70454
Old enough to know better...Too young to resist. Posts: 1891 | From: Ponchatoula, LA | Registered: Nov 2000
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Jill, I had the opportunity to visit Ireland the summer before last. Now, I have traveled quite a bit and I have been to lots of graveyards, ghost towns, and old battlefields, But Ireland has some places that you must visit if you dig this stuff. The Boyne Valley, same "You can still hear the ghosts" feeling as Gettysburg, only more so, and way older. On the outskirts of Dublin there is a cemetery with well over a million documented graves The Catholic cemetery on the hill overlooking the Bog side in Derry, sends a message that is sad, simple, subtle and strong, If you have a chance to go see it think about the money and care that goes into the monuments for the volunteers, versus the lifestyle that the people in that community share on a day to day basis. An impressive statement of support. I was over in Ireland for three weeks and, thank goodness for my digital camera, I took over 860 pictures!
Have Fun!!
-------------------- Mike Pulskamp Pulskamp Arts Sacramento, CA mpulskamp@earthlink.net Posts: 165 | From: Sacramento, CA | Registered: Dec 2002
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Hey Cam...love your prose. Are ya goin' to Ireland this summer, too? I remember you telling me that I should imbibe some good old Irish whiskey on the flight, since it will be my first & I'm kinda nervous. I suppose I'll be lucky to get a stale cracker on the plane, though, I've heard a lot about "luxury" cutbacks. Mike- your last post gave me chills- I always get that "You are trodding on your ancestors" feeling at both Gettysburg and Johnstown, PA. Hope to get a few shivers across the pond. Kathy, you're not weird- just curious. I always feel bad when you see a line of tombstones, usually those of children from a single family, who died from some epidemic. Sheila- your cemeteries sound really interesting. I'm big into the War Between the States. Justis has been able to pick out "Silver War" headstones since he was about 2. Here's a dumb question- what the heck is a "consort"? I know it's not when you go to see a rock band. You see the word on women's graves. It will say "Sarah, consort of Sam Jones" etc. Does that mean they just shacked up, lived in sin, etc.? Love- JILL
-------------------- That is like a Mr. Potato Head with all the pieces in the wrong place. -Russ McMullin Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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