Tags
30 Day Challenge, emily dickenson, etegami, germany, highlights magazine, japan, Japanese painting, margarete steiff, steiff
Our kids were little when we lived in Germany. In those short three years, we acquired many Steiff stuffed animals. The elephant I painted, long tossed from the teenagers rooms, sits in my studio today. As a matter of fact, all but one are in my studio.
There is an inspiring story behind the creator of these cute animals, too. Margarete Steiff had polio as an infant and was confined to a wheelchair her entire life. She began making stuffed animals as a hobby and then, when she realized she would never be cured, she and her sisters turned her hobby into a business. The very first stuffed animal she created was an elephant 🙂
When I was a little girl, I used to enjoy reading Highlights Magazine at the doctors office. One of my favorite sections (aside from the picture search on the back cover) was the poetry and artwork that accompanied it. Emily Dickinson’s poem “I Shall Not Live In Vain,” must have meant a great deal to me because I still have the clipping to this day. It seems appropriate with the Steiff elephant, given the history and story behind it. And, since I lived in Germany with Susan, the recipient of all these etegami post cards, even more relevent.
Running Wild in Tokyo 