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| Back View - I like to close my bezels to prevent wear. |
When I set out to create my piece, I thought it would be a representation of my home, Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes. I imagined a work with many bezeled Bermuda Blue rivolis, representing lakes, and lush greenery swirling around those lakes in elegant twists like naturally occuring fibonacci spirals. I had looked at many examples of fractals in nature and mathematics, and I had a sketch that gave a rough impression of what I was hoping to accomplish. I hoped to suggest a waterfall, like Minnehaha Falls near my home, as the focal component.
About half way through my project, my mother passed away. My parents were both very supportive of my artistry, encouraged me to pursure a degree in theater, (when many might have suggested learning to type) and my mother gave me my love of handcrafts, teaching me to knit, crochet, embroider and sew. For Christmas of my Senior year of High School, they gave me a sewing machine. It was an astonishingly expensive thing, and competely out of line with what Christmas gifts usually were, but it was also a confirmation of their support for my chosen career, and it meant the world to me.
Suddenly, my work was not about Minnesota any more. It was about my mother, or more important, the absence of my mother.
The lively, curling greenery idea disappeared. The beautiful blue components rearranged themselves into a soft circle of life, with a smaller supporting outer ring for me, and a larger inner ring for her, which merged into one single line at the base of the focal, as I realized I am now the family matriarch. The negative space in the center of the focal created a soft heart impression. Then the waterfall became a curtain of tears, falling from the circle.
The blue was just the perfect color. My mom's kitchen was always blue. And I associate her with that room. She loved to cook and bake, and so many photos of her were taken in that room. She owned a set of beautiful, cobalt blue dishes. Let me show you! These were in the kitchen, but I moved them to the dining room while I prepared the house for sale over the the last month, because I thought they were so beautiful in the china cabinet she was so very proud of. For Mom, preparing and sharing food was an act of love!
And the dining room chandelier? Gold, of course. And there have always been golden yellow accents in the kitchen too. Mom had beautiful blue eyes as well, but she was legally blind when she began to fall, and the third fracture of her pelvis was just too much to recover from at 89.
