Friday, November 13, 2009

My stepfather, Norman Tate - Artist

Norm worked for Disney as an animator in the 1940's. He worked on many projects including Springtime for Pluto, Fantasia, and Pinocchio. Above is one of Norm's sketches of J. Worthington Foulfellow, aka Honest John, from Pinocchio.


This wood carving was done by Norm based on one of my Janice's life drawings.






A friend gave Norm some wooden boxes that had once held surgical instruments. Norm used them to create wooden dioramas. This one is a model of himself in his dinghy. He had built the actual Nutshell class dinghy himself, by hand, and named it Hazel.
Read more about Norm and see photos of him in Maine taken by Christopher Tate at:
http://webmentor.com/?page_id=17

Below is another example of Norm's carving....a Valentine gift for my mother.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Norm Tate Enters the Picture - Love Blooms

Valentine Day gift from Norm to Janice - 1995
It was intended for Janice to store her wedding ring on the nail when not wearing it.
We added the chain recently so the ring would not get lost.
Janice settled into widowhood, busying herself with painting comissions and gallery shows. My youngest sister, Nancy, had been accepted to Farmingdale, and soon, young Philip would be the only child at home. Our house on Secor Drive was 20 years old, and seemed to need continuous repairs.
Norm Tate, neighbor and widower of my mother's friend, Ada Tate, could be called upon to help out from time to time. Norm was an energetic, intelligent, attractive man, and an art director at the Ted Bates Advertising Agency in Manhattan. He was an avid sailor, owning a vintage Hereshoff sailboat, his pride and joy. He was also a wood worker and artist in his own right. Norm lived just up the hill from us on Summit Terrrace, along wth Ada's mother who had been living with Norm and Ada for some time. His teenage twins, Blair and Jonathan were attending college.
I was living in San Francisco at the time and knew little of what might be developing, until, March of 1972 when I received the following letter:
March 22, 1972 Hello Kids! Old Ma, incredibly enough, had a DATE on Sunday. Old Norm Tate, who has been working up to it gradually. We drove down to the City in old Romney, Ada’s Nash (the potholes down there have had potholes). Saw an exhibit of Recent American painters at the Whitney. It was very good, a lot of it. Funny thing – there was one canvas that turned us both off + I mean OFF. Couldn’t quite put my finger on it, ordinary type hard edge, but the arrangement of forms + colors was just AWFUL. Came in closer + who was it done by, but Budd Hopkins, who once gave me an honorable mention for an abstract at a YAA show. We then took a stroll along Park (Wow, can he walk!!) Romney got stuck in a horrendous traffic jam on the way down to a cute little Italian restaurant near the UN. I forget the name of the main dish, a lovely noodle stuffed with something very good, pasta con brodo, a large antipasto, wine, no room for dessert: Afterward I saw some slides of Blair’s work which she did at Rhode Island. (She’s unbelievably terrific) and met the famous Boat, who is 50 years old and is being repaired in their garage after a major accident. I never realized that Norm used to do animation for Disney. You can see his name at the end of Snow White, Fantasia + others of the era. Also illustrated children’s books + now writes TV commercials. Unfortunately I can’t use this guy. He doesn’t know any more about cars than I do. Too bad, he’s very nice.

Wedding day photo of Janice and Norman taken in the backyard at 11 Secor Drive Norm may not have had the requisite knowlege of cars, but he had lots of other qualities that appealed to Janice. In fact, they were a perfect match! I was thrilled to discover that at 49, my mother was not too old to fall in love, and neither was Norm. Just over a year later they topped off their romance by getting married. One gets a sense of their whirlwind life in the letter my mother sent after the event:

Friday May 26 1972 Hi Kiddies! I’m downright ashamed at not having written to you for so long. It does seem as if I’m living two lives lately with half of the usual time to do it in. I’m hobbling today. Turned my right ankle for a change. Now they’ll match. Everything’s in bloom here. Azaleas, dogwood, etc.etc. Today it’s cold though. Nancy + the Senior class went to Jones Beach. On the eve of our honeymoon, my washing machine chewed up the pants to my favorite pants suit. It was not an ill omen, however. The honeymoon was perfect. We were married at 9:00 AM Friday by Justice Robert S. Roy in Irvington. Thought he’d never get to it – felt obliged to lecture us first on Sunnyside + Scotland at great length, but we finally made it. I couldn’t get his ring on + he had to take over. We then went across the street to the A&P, bought strawberries + cat food, came home, changed our clothes, got his tool box, + and went to DFHS gym to hang the annual Art Show, which I had promised Mrs. E... I’d do long ago + forgot to write on the calendar. We thought this might help our standing with Shirley, but it hasn’t. In + out of her cups - she is spreading far + wide her own opinion of this arrangement of ours, (how she can’t stand Norm, Ada is barely cold, I’ll be sorry, Poor Philip is suffering so). With Nancy standing right there in the Grand Union even. I think she’s gotten to Floyd, too. Yu may even hear waves of it on the West coast. Well, as far as I can see, the only suffering is from Shirley. Back to the honeymoon: We spent the first night in O’Brien’s motel with Inn. Our room had a balcony + a surprising view of the Chemung River valley (the same as Grandma paints). There were 2 O’Neill woodcuts on the wall + we bought one as a momento. Visited the folks Saturday, took them out to lunch and left south down the Susquehanna (new territory to me, below Townada) and arrived in Lancaster County about suppertime. Got tangled up in cloverleaves + bypasses, ending up in Lititz, a lovely restoration type town. Stayed at General Sutter Inn, then in the morning just drove around staring at old barns + things. (Norm, of course, left his camera in E. Athens. I don’t know what is going to become of us. You know I’m that way, too). The people were just like the pictures – there was a strange swinging gate to most of the horses, when viewed from the front. I later decided they were pacers. There were no stores open, it being Sunday, so no souveniers. Left for home around noon, + surprised ourselves by getting home (Manning + TR3 greeted us) in time to take Nancy, Phil, + David sailing (no wind, had to motor). Speaking of beds, Mr. T has acquired for us what must be the hardest bed ever made. The guy at Gimble’s said he wouldn’t dream of selling him a softer one. I guess we’ll get used to it. You feel as if you’re on a convex board. Gotta go paint. love to all + Floyd, ......(our cat) Ma (Norm says he’s getting fond of Iggy) ....Nancy's Hamster

Janice and Norm at Summit Terrace with Blair, seated.

Janice Paints Shirley Armstrong

Oil on Canvas - 24x20


I was thrilled to hear from Shirley Armstrong Huminck, of Sayre, PA, who was painted by my mother in the late 1950's. See below for her account the experience:



Angela Candela,

As I remember the year was 1956 possibly 1957. My husband Jack Armstrong was delivering something to Athens High School when he noticed two oil paintings by Janice Candela on display. The paintings were of a typical young boy and girl. Jack was happy to note that the artist was originally from Athens , Pa. He was really impressed by her artistry and began to inquire as to her whereabouts and found out that she was living in Dobbs Ferry , N.Y. Jack soon contacted the artist and informed her he would like her to paint my portrait. She agreed and said she would contact us over Thanksgiving.

At the time we were renting an old coach house on the Simmons estate on Lockhart Street in Sayre , Pa. I recall my first meeting with Janice that she was a beautiful women and her husband came with her for the sitting. I put on my very best dress, sat down and she looked at me from every angle and proceeded to take reference pictures of me. I put a smear of my make-up on a piece of paper and she also took a snip of my hair for her color references. When she asked me what colors I would like incorporated in the background I said red and she seemed very pleased with that request.

I was so excited. This was going to be my Christmas present. A few days later though I recall having a very bad dream…she had painted the back of my head! Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled with her final result. There was only one drawback, when I would look at that oil portrait first thing in the morning and think “Oh man, I’ve gotta look like that today!”

It was the 1950s and my portrait was the nicest furnishing we had. We were just starting out and I remember our coffee table, a finished birch door from the lumber yard…..no hinges nor knob and the legs were cinder blocks painted white.

Our entertainment was an eight inch black and white television set with only one channel that came on at 5PM with Cowboy Bill followed by Howdy Doody and promptly off the air at 11PM. Somehow it didn’t matter. We were happy, we had a used sofa, coffee table and a lovely oil portrait.

Shirley J Huminik

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Irene Candela and Yvonne

Sketchbook always at hand, my mother often drew friends and family members whom she visited. These sketches, even on lined notebook paper, are family treasures, as these sent to me by my cousin (first cousin once removed actually) Yvonne Candela Cooney. She is the child on the right and the glamourus woman on the right is her mother, Irene Candela, wife of my cousin Jo-jo. These were done ca. 1967-68

More Paintings by Moon

Thanks to Gary Watson, a painter and art instructor from Waverly, NY, for sending me these images of paintings by my grandmother. Gary has done many book illustrations and you can learn more about him at: http://www.jacketflap.com/profile.asp?member=garywatson




John Callear in Blue Suit - I suspect he was gussied up for the occasion of having his portrait painted and would have prefered to have been outside playing.



Herethal Wright in Goat Cart - Moon (aka Maizie or Maisie) had an eye for the offbeat in her choice of subject manner.

Below is a letter from Katherine Burns about the paintings:

Angela Candela,

The oil portrait of the young boy is John Callear and was painted by your grandmother "Maisie" Campbell probably late 1960's as he is about thirteen years old. His father Robert Callear is 88 years old and still resides in East Athens. Mr. Callear remembers your Mother Janice as she was a couple of years behind him in school. He may be able to fill in some gaps concerning your grandparents and your mother.

The goat painting was painted about 1944 and was also done by "Maisie". The goats, Maggie the black one and Mary the white one, were my husband Floyd's when he was a young boy. He had the goats during his elementary school years. Floyd's dad had a wagon and the halter and reigns were made special for the goats. The lady on the wagon is his Aunt Herethal Wright, a sister to Mr. Callear.

My husband and family grew up in East Athens as well as myself and my mother Mary Catlin Sackett. We lived about five houses from your grandparents house which is still as it was when your grandparents lived there. I can remember well your grandparents driving by my parents home in their Model T car. Most people who knew your grandmother knew her as "Maisie". She was the curator of the Spaulding Memorial Museum.

"Maisie" also did a painting of the old East Athens School. It had only about three or four rooms and may have started as a one room school house. She gave that to the East Athens Community Hall where it hung for many years. It now hangs at the Spaulding Memorial Library and Museum in Athens.

Katherine Burns