Can you believe it is November? It has been a long, weary year and I, for one, am glad it is nearly over. I am starting out praying that 2022 is going to be a better a year.

When I arrived home this evening I had an idea how my blog was going to go and yet when I sat down to edit my photo’s, my mind went in a completely different direction.

In my mind I could hear Barbara Streisand’s voice. She has the most dramatic and engaging voice and I have always loved how she carries me along in harmony within a beautiful song.

Tonight as I was editing, I could hear the words “Send in the clowns”

Isn’t it rich?
Are we a pair?
Me here at last on the ground
You in mid-air
Send in the clowns

Isn’t it bliss?
Don’t you approve?
One who keeps tearing around
One who can’t move
Where are the clowns?
Send in the clowns

~ Frank Sinatra

If you want to hear Barbara Streisand singing this beautiful song, click here.

While the story behind the song really doesn’t have anything to do with my blog, the clowns do.

Clowns {transform} from a normal human being to someone so incredibly engaging when their faces are painted, their garments are draped across their bodies, the big shoes go on, a breath is taken and the curtain is raised.

I love clowns. I loved them as a child and I love them now. At the circus, the clowns were my favorite. I remember Tickey. He was a tiny little clown and you can see a wee bit of him here as he performs in his tiny tartan kilt. Oh we were so young, and the circus was a favorite place to go. Even today clowns transform for me. They change me from sad to happy. I loved to see their smiling faces looking backing me back then, and I still do today.   I still have have about 30 of them. Mainly small and packed in a box. I had one large clown with a ceramic face that I still have out today. He sits on the cabinet in my office and I am happy to have him in my space.

In fact I was looking for photo’s of my son and came across a photo of his room and a child and it was filled with clowns. Probably a nightmare for any child when I think about it, but clearly my obsession. I wanted bright primary colors. But looking at these photos today I was a little overboard. Polystyrene clowns, fabric clowns, porcelain clowns, hanging clowns, bookend clowns. Okay the nightlight clown was a little creepy at night when it’s red nose shone brightly. If I look closely there was even a clown calendar. Seriously, a lot of clowns. Poor kid, I said “no wonder he is such a comedian today”. Below are my 32 year old photo’s of my clown obsession and Cameron’s bedroom. I noticed my bag was packed and ready to head off to the hospital.

I had a mother in law that was an incredibly talented at sewing toys. If it was sewn, it was by her. My kids had so many stuffed toys. If a glue gun or polystyrene cutter was used, it was me. I also sewed the duvet and curtains. My how times have changed. Luka has a very sedate bedroom compared to the riot of color that Cameron had.

Two weekends ago we happened to go and visit Cameron in a little town in the middle of nowhere Florida, called Lake Placid. And yes it does have gators. This little town is another example of transformation. They took this “I just passed through a town” town with some lakes, and made it into a destination place to visit. The catch, for the tourist, is all the murals you will find on the walls around town. I have shared them in the past, but I never got to see the clown museum. I just took photo’s on the outside of the building this time but perhaps next time I will actually go in. The colors on the outside of the building certainly transform the building and this small portion of the town.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica clowns date back to the times of ancient Greece typically as a secondary character. They were also found in Roman times typically wearing a patchwork robe and a pointy hat. In the latter half of the 16th centaury the Harlequin became famous. He was often found in a black domino and in general his behavior featured slapstick comedy. Clowns were found in the English plays by Shakespeare, and in Germay, traveling English actors introduced clowns to the German society.

In the 17th Centaury, the white faced clown, made his appearance. However, the earliest true clown was Joseph Grimaldi, also affectionately known as “Joey”. He as known for slapstick beatings, tumbling and physical tricks.

Why do clowns wear red noses? According to the web it could be traced back to 3 brothers who became a trio in 1909. Each had their own character and designed face. One of the brothers had a white face and represented a elegant but self-important clown, another took the middle of the road between the two brothers, and the last brother took on dark eyebrows and an overstated face with a red nose. Known as the Auguste clown, this clown is typically a joker and who has overstated features and wearing ill fitting clothes.

I did not know that there are actually master clowns and the 4 well known master clowns are Otto Griebling, Bobby Kaye, and Lou Jacobs and Glen Little. Finally a bit of information I was not aware of – I did wonder if clowns could patent their face but apparently it is very hard to stop another clown from copying their faces, but it is not encouraged. To keep track of all the different clown faces, an artist was hired to paint the faces as a record onto eggs.

For me Cirque Du Soleil is a wonderful big tent adventure. While the acrobatics are out of this world, and I have to say I am super impressed, it’s the clowns that garner the laughter with their antics. I have seen the Beatles Cirque, and last year we saw Alegria. Even in that dramatic show, they had clowns. Apparently Corteo is about the life of clowns – I may need to watch out for that one but right now it is in Norway.

Clowns have the most amazing way of engaging young and old, taking a sad face to one of joy and laughter.

“I think I will be a clown when I get grown” said Dill. “Yes sir, a clown…. there ain’t one thing this world that I can do about folks except laugh, so I’m gonna join the circus and laugh my head off”

“You got it backwards, Dill” said Jem. “Clowns are sad, it’s folks that laugh them.”

“Well, I’m gonna be a new kind of clown. I’m gonna stand in the middle of the ring and laugh at the folks”

~ Harper Lee

This is a circle blog and as I mentioned, we have some very talented ladies in the group. The sneak peaks are stunning and I cannot wait to see the rest. Take some time to follow the links and see what they have for you this month. My incredibly artistic friend Elizabeth of It’s Still life Photography by Elizabeth Willson is up next is up next. I can’t wait to see what she has to share. You can see more of her work by clicking on her Facebook page or Instagram page. Definitely check out her incredible art.

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