Dear Grandmother-Loving Kids of All Ages,
I'm an audiophile from way back when I was a kid and my Mamaw sometimes let me borrow her very state-of-the-art cassette recorder before many people owned such technology. She was organized and forward-thinking about using audio for self-documentation, and she saved and labeled numerous cassettes of her original music as well as some recordings of me as a child. I've written previously about some of the ways that I use and engage with sound as an anthropology graduate student, but I also enjoy producing creative audio projects as a media artist. This year my partner and I received an Artist Enrichment Grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women to produce short audio pieces about each of our paternal grandmothers and their influence on our lives. Thus, I am proud to premiere my new audio production, "Being a 'Kidd': Lessons from Ruby May" about my Mamaw as my primary creative inspiration and benefactor.
[If experiencing playback problems, you can listen directly on SoundCloud.]
My project originated as a response to one of the essay questions for a "Future is Female" (#thefutureisfemale) scholarship application, which asked, "Who is your most important female role model?" I did not win the scholarship, but I was inspired to share further the winning role that my Mamaw Ruby May Kidd Clemons has played in my life.
The complete audio credits for this production are detailed on the SoundCloud track description, but it includes several excerpts from existing sound recordings in addition to the narrative voiceover. I digitized a couple of cassette tapes for this production, including a recording of me playing Beethoven's Für Elise on the piano in the 1980s and a "Practicing Tape" of my Mamaw's songs that she recorded in 1995. Other audio includes a brief sample of an original song that I wrote (not yet released in its entirety); excerpts from a 2007 oral history interview with my Mamaw for the "Appalachian Quilting Heritage in Montgomery County" project (Call # 2008OH03.4); audio excerpts from video footage of the 2009 Clemons family reunion; and a 2013 voicemail message from my Mamaw. (Special thanks to the Kentucky Historical Society for permission to include snippets from the oral history recording.)
Producing this piece has already ignited sparks/ideas for additional audio projects in memory of my Mamaw Ruby Clemons, who passed away in 2015 but will remain "forever young." She continues to inspire me to live the same way, and I hope her example is an also inspiration to others to always be a kid.
Be Kind, Be Kin,
*AnthroBone
p.s. As a Bonus Track, this is a video I produced documenting the 2009 Clemons Family Reunion, which features my Mamaw (being both a homemaker and a kid) as well as my Papaw, Howard Clemons, who passed away this year and was an equally important role model in my life.
I'm an audiophile from way back when I was a kid and my Mamaw sometimes let me borrow her very state-of-the-art cassette recorder before many people owned such technology. She was organized and forward-thinking about using audio for self-documentation, and she saved and labeled numerous cassettes of her original music as well as some recordings of me as a child. I've written previously about some of the ways that I use and engage with sound as an anthropology graduate student, but I also enjoy producing creative audio projects as a media artist. This year my partner and I received an Artist Enrichment Grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women to produce short audio pieces about each of our paternal grandmothers and their influence on our lives. Thus, I am proud to premiere my new audio production, "Being a 'Kidd': Lessons from Ruby May" about my Mamaw as my primary creative inspiration and benefactor.
[If experiencing playback problems, you can listen directly on SoundCloud.]
My project originated as a response to one of the essay questions for a "Future is Female" (#thefutureisfemale) scholarship application, which asked, "Who is your most important female role model?" I did not win the scholarship, but I was inspired to share further the winning role that my Mamaw Ruby May Kidd Clemons has played in my life.
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| "Practicing Tape '95'" recorded by Ruby Clemons |
Producing this piece has already ignited sparks/ideas for additional audio projects in memory of my Mamaw Ruby Clemons, who passed away in 2015 but will remain "forever young." She continues to inspire me to live the same way, and I hope her example is an also inspiration to others to always be a kid.
Be Kind, Be Kin,
*AnthroBone
p.s. As a Bonus Track, this is a video I produced documenting the 2009 Clemons Family Reunion, which features my Mamaw (being both a homemaker and a kid) as well as my Papaw, Howard Clemons, who passed away this year and was an equally important role model in my life.
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