Ed and Gramma

I love this photograph, taken for, I think, based on the long sleeves, Thanksgiving Dinner way back in the 90s. Gramma loved Ed so much! I did, too... and still do! I wish Gramma knew that Ed and I are back together. I wonder what she'd say?

Come to think of it, the window is open and there are tomatoes on the window sill, which makes me think it might just be a family dinner of some sort. I can't imagine what kind of dinner it might be, if it's not Thanksgiving. Mom doesn't use the good china for just any ole thing. Oh well. This one gets to remain a mystery!! I'm thinking the year was 1998, because of the high chair. Pre-then, there weren't babies to put in a high chair, as Matthew was born in September 1997. I should allow the photo to speak for itself, but sometimes, I can't hold back!! LOL

Zetti Betti

I'd been seeing the phrase Zetti Art in magazines and in my swap groups, and it was driving me crazy! I had to know more about this style of art.

A little research, and I learned more about Zetti style, and decided to give it a shot. Of course, everything I make has a touch of me in it, and this is no exception!

Betti is wild, posable and I love her shoes!

A Girl and Her Pony

It's really neat to see my poetry made into a rubber stamp! I just love the fact that there are people out there using it to embellish their artwork... as I have done with mine. So, I'm a little cheeky, but, what the heck? I loved the painting I did with the horses (a rubber stamp I have from heartsintouch.com) but it doesn't show up in the scan. Oh well!

Lute Lady

This is my favorite of all the cards I have made. The woman was painted, but, the scanner didn't pick up any color from it. It was subtle! I love her eyes, and I really love the background stamp I used. It's one of my favorites! I think Gramma had wallpaper like that!! LOL

Tag Art

This tag is one of my favorites! I'm not even sure why, but I just love the natural look of it, coupled with the sparkly jewels.

Emily ATC

I bought this little girl rubber stamp a year or so ago, because she reminds me of my friend, Emily. I've always loved this ATC.

Angel Page

This artwork is a page I did for an altered book. I really like the quote, as I think it fits many situations.

Nothing

Nothing


Kitty sits on my bed
as I write this.
My typing annoys her.

Half drunk bottles of Mountain Dew
sheer pink polish and Obsession
seize my space,
with unopened packages of pens,
a mug of pennies and a bottle of
Spice Islands whole cloves.

Lucy Maud Montgomery
stole my bookshelf,
along with Gertrude Stein,
a few cookbooks
and my Precious Moments Bible.
48 dolphins swim in the
dust of my dresser.

This room is not mine.
I was never meant to be here.

Kenny said I could stay
until I was on my feet
again, so
he’s shacking in the basement,
and I’m here
writing about nothing.

Kenny

Kenny


He comes home from work
and heads straight for the basement
where his bed rests next to
empty beer cans, dirty clothes
and big boxes of my books and stuff.

We never talk
because he’s never home.
I’m never home.
Never’s a weird word,
I want to say neever.

Tuesday night,
he and Jolene and Mom
and I played Jeopardy
and he kicked our asses.
Funny how a kid who
got kicked out of Kent State twice
could be so damned smart.
I like that in a brother.

People say he’s
really funny,
nice and polite,
that he looks like
Adam Sandler
or Ben Affleck
or David Schwimmer.
I think that’s all true.

It’s too bad we
don’t know
each other.

Never the Norm

Never the norm


Some of the girls in the neighborhood
held Kool-Aid stands to support their Barbie habits,
but Beth and I painted rocks.

We gathered them from the driveway,
washed them with the hose
and used watercolors to spruce them up.

Little ones were a penny a piece
while big ones sold for a nickel.

We never had leftovers.

One Big Happy Family!

This was taken about ten years ago, but it's the most recent family photo we have.

Let's see... I think Dad and Mom are obvious, as is Kenny. I'm the one in the middle... Sarah's on the left and Beth is on the right.

I can't believe I wore that necklace, too! What a dork!!! It was a pewter necklace... heart shaped peace sign... and it was made out of tiny little roses... and on a black rattail necklace. UGH!

Matching Scholastic Funk-a-Delic

I can't believe how much Beth and I loved those outfits! The hats were funked out, too! My mother made them, and Beth and I generally matched, even though we're a year apart. I'm the one in the blue. Nice blink!! Apparently, I wasn't very photogenic when I was four-years-old!! But... I was hip!! LOL

Backstage Mindset

Backstage mind set
By Amy Kalvig

The curtain closes
and my words flow,
articulating each syllable.
I’ve created a scene of intellect and academia
during our back stage intermission,
but the sad testosterone truth is
you’re talking to my chest.
The x-ray coming from your eyes
feels creepy and gross
and I’ve felt that way before.
If I hadn’t agreed to be a wench in this production,
you might have found me poignant.

A poem I wrote

Taken

Your eyes -- flitting.

Golden and flitting.

Not giving me

a chance

to see them

for any amount of time.

There in the gut

lies recycled adrenaline

which nauseates and irritates.

Nothing is sacred

when you end

my sentences with

I don't care.

Goosebumps reach

each nook of flesh

and cause the pit

to squirm ill.

You wanted a pickle

I don't care.

(Something's awry

when the pickles

you purchase are

wrapped in plastic

and kept in a shoebox

in the closet

down the hall).

Apathy is a sardonic book

allowing you to speak

but showing your age

and lack of maturity

and lack of responsibility

and lack of respect.

A token of your love

reads apathetic indignity

indigent apathetic

and the words I write will go

unread

because you will glance

or even read

but you

will never understand

I want

the adrenaline

to die

or diminish

but it rests

within

flowing

more boldly

than blood.

~~~Amy Kalvig

Lucky Smith

This is Ed's dog, Lucky. She is a beautiful Golden Retriever, and she's ever so friendly and sweet. Her coat is always so shiny, and she smiles when she's happy! As you can see, she is missing a paw. She was born without it, and she manages quite well. Lucky is incredibly camera shy, and even without using a flash, she cringes at the sight of the small machine! We adore her!!

Me

This is me. It was a picture taken at my sister's wedding a few years ago. I like the fact that I'm wearing earrings and that my hair is in a curly up-do. The rest, I could give or take.

Suave!

Here are my grandparents (far right) and my two great-aunts. This is definitely a 1940s era pic if ever there was one!! The photo was taken in Chicago at a place called Joker Joes.

So Long Ago

This is my paternal grandmother (Marie Trudeau) and my great-aunt (Barbara). When my great-uncle saw this photo of the pair, he thought my aunt looked like a little waif! I can't get over how much my daughter resembles my grandmother ~ especially the face shape!

Grandma Perkins

My grandmother and her First Holy Communion dress. I absolutely love the chair on which she is sitting.

Moonlight Savings Time

Last night
When the moon was full,
I looked for Gramma’s sign.
It never came
We’d made a pact that when she went,
She’d come back to me as a shooting star
Across the full moon.
But she never came
Maybe she won’t.
Maybe, when you die,
You’re just dead.
I sometimes think
She chooses not to come
Because she’s angry.
Gramma was always
Very wise and patient
But I read in one of her journals
She was upset with me once before
When she thought I was pregnant.
I wasn’t,
But I don’t think it’s ironic
She died right after she learned
I was pregnant last year.
I think it rendered
Our star/moon agreement
Null and void.

By Amy Kalvig

Who am I?

I am an artist who cannot paint, but who has not given up the hobby. I am a writer who struggles for the perfect metaphor. I am a student who believes education never ends. I am a daughter who will never be good enough and a granddaughter in mourning. I am the mother of the child who grows within my womb. I am scared and hurt, strong and sincere. I am one who dwells on the past because it was comfortable then, and one who lives for the future because that’s the only way in which to find hope. I am a teacher and a mentor, a lover and a companion. I am defined by people who look at me and do not know me, as much as by people who love me and do not know me. I am Amy Elizabeth Anne Kalvig and that’s good enough for me.

A poem

Invasive desire

The chilly flame trembles
Wishing hearsay of something exact
Skyrockets make holes in the walls
As water melts sugar
Who builds walls with honey?
Her colorless coat was sprayed with soil guard
She dropped it on the mirror.
Not everything means something, she said.
Songs cooperate and walls crystallize
Don’t?
Start it exactly but slow
And hurry!
There are regulations that must be obeyed
When the story is pink
But there’s journey that’s gray
And a tot
For petrified harmony
And maybe Paul was right
And we are amazed

This maple tree is one of the biggest, if not the biggest hybrid maple in the state of Ohio. It's on Ed's Dad's farm, where we spend lots of time in the summer.

Spoiled Girl

This is my beloved daughter. She's wearing a shirt that says "Spoiled Rotten by Papa," which makes sense, since she is.

My daughter and I are very tight, and sometimes, we act more like sisters than mother and daughter, which is scary, since she's a pre-schooler!

Nonetheless, we have a great relationship and I hope that never changes!