I did the suggested "Sitting Bull autograph card" and learned some interesting things about Sitting Bull. I had no idea that he was a shaman. I always mentally associate Sitting Bull with Little Big Horn, but didn't really know how everything came to an end. I didn't realize that he traveled with Buffalo Bill after being captured. It was surprising to me that the government allowed Sitting Bull to travel. I would have thought they might consider him a huge threat to national security.
I tried a number of searches using the ArchiveGrid. I may not have had the patience that was warranted to find the best results or I just may have been looking for obscure items. I love doing genealogy research (yea lesson 9!) and thought I'd try looking for some resources that I know exist, but am not sure are in any formal collection. I have received copies and translations from other genealogy buffs, but have never directly requested information from a library. I was looking from some German reference materials called orsippenbuch, but didn't find much of anything.
CAMIO
I knew Paul Revere was a silversmith, but it's really an amazing thing to be able to look at images of his work. His craftsmanship is something else. I also found it interesting that there was a Paul Revere, Jr. who excelled in art, but in a different way than his father.
The search term "Sioux" brought up some great Native American artifacts. I could see this being used in social studies, art, humanities, etc. Again, the craftsmanship is something to behold. I find one of the most interesting details is that the materials are included. I looked a pouch that listed mallard duck scalp as one of the materials. Really ingenious!
I don't really have a favorite artist, but I did a search for quilts. I LOVE quilts, but I am not patient or talented enough to produce one. The first result was a beautiful friendship quilt from about 1840. The woman who started the quilt thought that in this nation so focused on business, it would be a great way for extended families and friends to spend time together. Funny what hasn't changed!
I would personally use CAMIO as a way to tie fine arts into other content areas - especially social studies and literature. I could see using an image as a writing prompt and then learning more about the actual inspiration behind it.
I really like the idea of being able to personalize the CAMIO search. I could definitely see its use if one were studying art and wanted to compare an artist's works through different time periods or compare/contrast different artists. It could also be used in the social studies realm if one looked at art from different cultures that dealt with a single event. I could also see a use in composition if one was looking at the concepts of comparison versus contrast and using different images to reinforce the concepts.
Great post, Jenny. Sorry you had few good results in ArchiveGrid. Keep in mind that this database is an index to collections that have been donated to research institutes, so it involves famous people and events more than ordinary folks. You can find out who has Laura Ingalls Wilder's papers, for example, and arrange a trip to that place. With CAMIO, the museums and institutes come to you! You have good ideas for how to use it. Thanks for your comments.
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