I decided to start with embroidery. Why?? Well, it is portable, inexpensive and breathtaking to look at when a project is complete. I was introduced to embroidery as a little girl. My mother gave me a Snoopy embroidery kit when a was around nine or ten years old. Embroidering that little Snoopy, with his long stocking cap hanging down over the side of his classic dog house, kept me entertained for hours. I was surprised that it was fairly easy after my mom showed me the first few skills. The funny thing is that I never saw my mom embroider. And, although she didn't carry a hoop around, stitching the hours away, she was good at it. Actually, my mom was good at everything.
When I was small and we moved into my first real house, my dad built her a studio in the basement. She spent hours, burning wood, and creating gifts for family and friends. The smell of scorched wood brings me back to that room. She had a wooden box that she kept her oil paints and linseed oil and precious paint brushes in, that I gazed at like they were jewels. My Nana Mary had an oil painting, that my mother did in high school, hanging in her dining room that I marveled at. If my mom could do that she really could do anything. That old paint box was in my possession for a number of years and it now lives with my daughter, Mary, in Toronto. I saw it the other day while organizing Mary's studio, and it made me so happy to see it still in use. Creativity nurtured and practiced over three generations.
My mother is one of my greatest inspirations. She has gifted me with more things than I can list and supported me through every phase of my life. She is an example of the highest form of unconditional love and acceptance and demonstrates generosity of spirit in every act. She also is one fine artist, worthy of imitation.
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