art
Family-themed art is a look into one's living room; it depicts celebration, crises, and the quiet moments of familial interactions.
STRONG STURDY HANDS
Recently my grand daughter Eliana asked me to teach her to sew. You see, I take sewing very seriously and this eight-year-old knew she could not find a better teacher than her grandmother. I have a state of the art sewing room filled with all the latest gadgets. In fact, my sewing room is like a museum. Proudly displayed is my mother’s Singer sewing machine (which is older than me). I also have my Godmothers old Singer sewing machine which was probably her mothers’ machine because it has the large metal foot base. This was one of the first machines used in sewing however you did have to pump the foot base back and forth to get the machine to sew a stitch. On my walls I have framed old original sewing patterns that date back to the 1930’s. I also have proudly displayed on the wall an Artist Proof picture by Alonzo Adams. This picture has a woman quilting who has a spot-on resemblance to my Aunt Tina. Ironically, the Artist named the picture, “Strong Steady hands” because back in those days all quilts were made by hand.
By Linda Chandler-Jacobs3 years ago in Families
I only received one gift at graduation: a pair of scissors.
My brothers and I were raised in Appalachia, a region that was once the western border of the United States, satirized as “red neck,” and anthropologically documented in the FoxFire chronicles. In 1964, it became the site for President Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty. We grew up in Montgomery County, home to one of the state's land grant universities, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, known more commonly and simply as Virginia Tech. The local community was a strange blend of the highly-educated and backwoods moonshiners.
By Bobby Zokaites3 years ago in Families
Finding Happiness
I do not begin to know where the creative spirit comes from, or why some people are so gifted with it. But I do know that sometimes creativity sprouts in the darkest of times, and can haul one’s spirit back into the light of day. This is how it was for me.
By Anne Krinock3 years ago in Families
Quilting My Family Tree
My passion is quilting and I use my scissors to cut up fabric and then I sew it back up in a myriad of patterns. As a young girl I thought that quilting was something that only grownups could do. I would thumb through the worn pages of my Mom’s quilting books to admire the beautiful patterns and I relished the quiet moments sitting with my Grandma Nancy at her kitchen table watching her hand sew. The needle making graceful dives into the fabric between her nimble fingers. Fabric pieces joining together was magic to me and It wasn’t until I was much older that Grandma Nancy offered to give me small sewing lessons during our holiday visits to Pennsylvania.
By Sara Stephen3 years ago in Families
Finding Happiness
I do not begin to know where the creative spirit comes from, or why some people are so gifted with it. But I do know that sometimes creativity sprouts in the darkest of times, and can haul one’s spirit back into the light of day. This is how it was for me.
By Anne Krinock3 years ago in Families
The Fabric Scissors
Scissor mastery was achieved early in my family. In fact, I learned so young that my only real memory of children's round-tipped scissors is seeing the shiny new pair that appeared in my box at the beginning of each school year. If they were on the list of school supplies displayed at the local variety store, they were purchased exactly as specified. My mom wasn't exactly a rule follower, but she was properly respectful of my teachers and their wishes. But we both knew those scissors were just a polite gesture.
By Janet Lewis3 years ago in Families
Spaghetti Al Dente in the Window
I would kill to look through that window again – to see my nonna and nonno waving back at us as our old red Honda Chevrolet pulled out from their driveway. To look back at their home, that to ten-year-old me stood as tall as the empire state building and as disheveled as the leaning tower. I feel shaken at the thought of a new family pulling down the discolored kitchen wallpaper, repointing the brick fence that outlined their vegetable garden, or replacing the gas stoves that boiled an inconceivable number of pasta dinners.
By Daniel Bosco3 years ago in Families
Mother Lucia’s Last Pair of Scissors
I was almost 10 years old when my mom decided that I was ready for a significant honor. Like many of the milestones that gradually separate us as adults from the carefree days of childhood, that particular moment remains clear in my mind.
By Suzanna Fitzgerald3 years ago in Families
Creativity and Craft
In my view anyone can be creative, but when you combine creativity with craft you can produce fine art! I create my artwork with paper. I've learned that creating with paper requires the skillful use of an array of tools such as scissors, knives and rulers. The first piece I can ever remember making was a paper daisy chain surrounding the title of the Beatle's song, 'Come Together'. I remember with pride because my 5th Grade teacher, Ms. Carmola, put it up on our classroom's wall!
By Aaron Needle3 years ago in Families
My Bohemian Upbringing
People often ask me how I came about my painting method. And it’s just not one easy answer. First I feel a need to explain; I didn’t want to be an artist when I was a kid growing up. My parents were both artists, when I was a young child they curated an art gallery and would have openings. People would come up to me and ask-do you want to be an artist when you grow up? I didn’t know. In 1969 my family went to Europe for a year, it was something a lot of people did at that time did; the American dollar had a high value there. According to my dad, when we lived in Malaga, Spain, I would sit in front of paintings on the floor of museums and draw, people would watch. I don’t remember this, I was 5 years old. One thing I DO remember about Europe was lying on the benches of the Louvre bored, as my young artist parents looked at Monet paintings from every angle, step back, move forward, and squint. My biggest disappointment that year was that the “Piccadilly Circus” was not a circus, but a square in London! My grandmother had come over when we were in Italy, and journeyed with us to London, where we caught a giant sea going ship back to the states. She kept saying all the way through the Netherlands we were going to Piccadilly Circus. I thought it was a real circus. My mom spent her inheritance, living, traveling, and doing art; then she went back to college in the 70s. Just like Donna’s mom, from the 70s show, she set out to “find herself.” My parents got divorced when we came back from Europe.
By Melissa Brown3 years ago in Families
Bold Joy
My mom, who is a hairdresser in Puerto Rico, lost her job after the devastation of Hurricane Maria. The hair salon where she was working for the last 6 years never recovered from the damages. This hurricane left thousands of families without homes and destroyed some communities entirely. We lost an estimated 2,975 American citizens. My mom proved her resilience by bringing clients to her home. Her business was starting to pick up, until COVID-19 lock down, leaving her without a job again.
By Christian Marrero 3 years ago in Families