Textured Fiber Paintings – Page 15

Any Color’s All Right As Long As It’s Purple (for Neska), Part 1

I’ve mentioned in previous posts for this series that, while working on Any Color’s All Right As Long As It’s Red, in honor of my Grandpa Clark, I realized Red (for Basil) was the first in a series for my grandparents.

I’ve finished two in the series. The second, for my maternal grandmother, Lucille, was Any Color’s All Right As Long As It’s Green.

This third honors my paternal grandmother, Neska, who loved purple. She wore it in dresses and hats, brooches and shoes. I believe she would have had purple carpets, drapes, and even walls if my Grandpa had been willing.

Neska passed away when I was 10 or 11, during a time when our family lost several loved ones. I wish my memories were stronger, but those I do have are of a woman who loved her children and grandchildren. She called each of us Pet and gave the best Grandma kisses. My grandfather adored her, this woman who worked as a nurse before they married in the ‘20s. She was strong and sweet and loving.

While working on this piece of art for her, I realized the memory, of how much she loved us all, is the only one I really need.

Any Color - Neska - Fabric — The palette

Any Color - Neska - Top — The top…the hearts, kisses, and other items have been fused and the quilt sandwich made

Quilting is underway. Check back in a week or two to see how Purple turns out.

Do you agree love is the best memory?

Any Color’s All Right As Long As It’s Green (for Lucille), Part 2 (Finished!)

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I found a great block of time to finish Any Color’s All Right As Long As It’s Green (for Lucille). Pieced, fused, minimally quilted for subtle texture, and embellished with vintage clip on earrings and Nonie’s photo, this reminds me of the green carpets in her home.

Any Color’s All Right As Long As It’s Green (for Lucille) ~ link to poem

Any Color - Lucille - Finished 01

Any Color - Lucille - Finished 03

Any Color - Lucille - Airstream

Any Color - Lucille - Poem

Any Color - Lucille - Photo

Her birthday was May 23rd. I finished this on May 25th. Happy birthday, Nonie.

The next in the series: Purple (for Neska) is underway. Post to follow soon.

Any Color’s All Right As Long As It’s Green (for Lucille)

While I was working on “Any Color’s All Right As Long As It’s Red” in honor of my Grandpa Clark, I realized Red was the first in a series for my grandparents. After a little digging through my parent’s and my own memory banks, favorite colors were recalled so the work could begin.

My maternal grandmother, Lucille, loved green. The carpets in the three houses I remember her living in were always some shade of her favorite color. She was an independent, strong, and stubborn woman — I’ve inherited all of that from her and couldn’t be more pleased. My brother and I were her only grandchildren, so she doted on us, taking us camping in her Airstream trailer to Paraiso Hot Springs. The scent of eucalyptus reminds me of those trips.

I remember her letting herself into our house, a dozen Winchell’s donuts in hand. “I can’t stay; I brought these for the kids,” she’d say as she dropped the box on the kitchen counter, one heel already turned to dart back out the door to run her errands or attend Altar Society meetings or visit with friends.

She also loved music. Or more correctly, loved musical instruments. She owned a baby grand piano, an organ, a violin, an accordion, a flute, and probably a couple more. I faintly recall a guitar. Probably not a Les Paul, though.

Lucille passed away when I was 25. She was the last remaining grandparent and the one most active in our lives. I hope she can see the field of green I’m creating for her.

Green - Top 01 — I can see her playing the piano…

Come back in a couple of weeks to see how the quilting is coming along.

Tell me about your longest living grandparent.

Any Color’s All Right As Long As It’s Red (for Basil), Part 2 (Finished!)

This homage quilt to my paternal Grandfather could have been finished in a week if I didn’t have a day job. 🙂

However, because, like everyone, I have bills to pay and I prefer eating to starving, off to work I go. I’ve mentioned I changed jobs in November; the requirements and obligations of taking on a new role are such that the time to balance my life with creativity has been diminished. I’m working on getting that balance back.

In the meantime, I did finish Any Color’s All Right As Long As It’s Red (for Basil). I think it’s my best art work yet (and that’s saying something because I’m pretty hard on myself). Primarily pieced and fused, it’s the little extras like lettered beads to spell “transmugliforcandanbumshamity” and a scanned copy of the famous Basil that make this art quilt pop. I kept the quilting to a minimum and think I’ve found a style that represents my voice.

Any Color’s All Right As Long As It’s Red (for Basil) ~ link to poem

Any Color - Basil - Finished 3 — The first in four panels honoring my grandparents

Any Color - Basil - Finished 4 — Minimal quilting. This piece didn’t need the density.

Any Color - Basil - Finished 2 — The beads spell “transmugliforcandanbumshamity”, Grandpa’s invented word.

Any Color - Basil - Finished 5 — The whales look 3D to me.

Any Color - Basil - Poem Label — Poem label

Any Color - Basil - Basil's Photo — Grandpa Clark

Any Color’s All Right As Long As It’s Green (for Lucille) is up next.

What inspires you?

Any Color’s All Right As Long As It’s Red (for Basil), Part 1

My paternal grandfather lived to be 91. Born in Mississippi, he and his family moved to California when he was 2. While he spent the 89 intervening years claiming a strong Southern heritage, epitomized by a deep love of fried catfish and hush puppies, he embraced the quirkiness that is California by inventing his own word, making up his own song, and spouting personal bon mots that became fact in our family.

“Any color’s all right as long as it’s red.” This was his response to any inquiry regarding his favorite color. In an era when men’s suits were limited to a few dark colors – black, navy, charcoal grey – Grandpa added a splash of color with his tie. He sometimes wore a bolo tie when he wanted to shake things up a bit, but the cloth tie with those three-piece suits was red more often than not.

Grandpa Clark passed away my 17th Spring. No one in our family ever recorded the words to his song, but bits and piece remain in our memories. His word, “transmugliforcandanbumshamity”, was 29 letters of nonsense and serious fun to say. I’ve always thought of it as an inventive curse word, but please feel free to create your own definition.

When I started making quilts in the 1990s, his saying about the color red popped into my head during a visit to a fabric store. My immediate reaction was to think, “That would make a fantastic name for a quilt!” And so I began to collect red fabrics. Over the years, I built up a rather impressive stash of red. The time to make his quilt is now.

This quilt only uses a small sampling of that stash. Either way, I think Grandpa would like it.