The Fabric of Our Lives

-

I started to clean out the hall linen closet near my bathroom. It houses my sheets, towels, personal care items and more - sometimes a sneaky cat.

The closet is deep, and things often go missing for a L O N G time in the inkiness of the back.

As I was cleaning I found a PILE of old fabrics that I had bought at auction about 10 years ago.They were from a lot of partially assembled quilt blocks, and the fabrics were from the 1930-50's.

As I carefully and lovingly unfolded each piece, trimmed, ironed and folded it to sell on Etsy, (I have decided that I must not get diverted by other things so that I can really delve deeply into my art) I took a trip back in my past.

This fabric reminds me of my mother's apron collection, and this one of the pot holder set in the white metal cabinet in our kitchen in Long Island. This pile over here reminds me of my Scottish great aunts, who wore cotton shirt dresses with thick black shoes. I loved them very much, rutabagas, boiled eggs and all -- I hope I see them on the other side. Ah, here's some 70's looking pieces, and I remember the peasant blouses and skirts I painstakingly made on the same Sears machine that I use today in my artwork. Wait - these two pieces I bought in the 80's when I was a young single mother, sewing every curtain and extra we needed. I closed my eyes and tried to count the number of places I left things behind that I made, knowing they would never fit anywhere else, nor wanting the often difficult memories they harbored deep within their fibers.

One last whiff (I smell everything....) and I carefully place these ancient squares into packages, hoping they will find a person who will give them a new life in a quilt, a pillow, a doll.

So much is woven into our memories..but the dong of the clock reminds me to stay in the present, so I tuck it all away for a little while until once again it is unleashed by the sight of a stray sock, a lone glove, a pile of fabric or a photo.

Patti O Memories

PS fabric found in my Etsy store - Catskillpaper

Comments

Unknown said…
how amazing to find those things there.. like buried treasure after all those years! the story im working on now is based on things that really happened, its just amazing what old memories are being dredged up!
9:45 PM
Melissa Harris said…
I can SO RELATE. I used to collect fabric but made myself stop. I love fabric. If only I didn't have to work for a living I would sit around and create in every medium including sew. ?Ah..... I have an ancient sewing machine I still use as well.
9:40 AM
Elizabeth said…
hi patti! happy new years. sorry i missed you yesterday- i was way hung over and stuck on my couch. We will talk soon. By the way- your posts have been really insightful and nice to read. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
9:33 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

La Cucina

-
Image
Tonight my house had the aroma of olive oil, garlic, tomatoes and candles. Keith Jarret was playing in the background, and I had just opened a nice bottle of reasonable red wine. (Osborne Solaz, 2004 Temranillo/Cab- 7.00) I needed it for the sauce, so why not have some while cooking! I took good care of myself all weekend, and felt like cooking for the first time in what seems forever. I am an excellent cook. A collage cook one might say, or better yet, a bricollage cook. I take what is in the house and make a dinner out of it. I think about flavor, texture, color and variety. Most of the time I would rather put this creative energy into visual arts, but on occasion I will push my fine art aside, and the art of the evening is cooking. Candles, music, wine, and a lovely table. I must think more like Monet, and not only make the meal art, but somehow make it my visual art too. The best I could do was a photo of the beginning of the sauce. It looks rather bizarre if you ask me,
Read more

Cape Painting

-
Image
My framing blogs will continue when I’m back in the studio next week. In the mean time, I am enjoying adventures on the Cape. Again I opted to not bring oils as the place I am staying is not conducive to oil painting, so I bought watercolors and my acrylics, although I have not used the acrylics yet. I have a small messenger type bag, that I can put in a few palettes of my Kramer watercolors, several water brushes, a few paper towels, a 6x6 watercolor pad, and a watercolor postcards. This time I bought watercolor greeting cards to paint on too. I can wear this light bag across my body, and hike for miles, plopping myself down on a bench, rock, or table, and paint the scene at hand in an instant. I got to experience the tail end of hurricane Dorian too, the roiling ocean and wind captured on camera and paper, etched in my dna now. I will be bringing home new ideas, new small pieces, hundreds of photographs, ready to settle in for a fall of painting and design work for m
Read more

Framing: Sources for Frames

-
Image
When I was primarily showing fine art collages, and framing antique prints, I collected a wide variety of frames for my work- rarely were two frames were ever the same. But over the years, I have whittled down that collection, as I find myself  using either white (for abstract work) or black floater frames for my paintings. It is more professional to have a "even" look in framing one's work, especially if you are showing several works, or having a solo show. On occasion you can find frames in places like Ikea, or the Christmas Tree Shop, or other such venues. If I find good ones, I will buy them up and keep them for future work. But most of the times I either buy them at Michael's , or American Frame .  On occasion if I am flush, or need a specialty frame, or it needs special care, I will gladly go to the local art supply or framing store. But I usually don't have the money to do that...so I order and frame myself. Michael's has their sales and 40%
Read more