The Only Blue House in the Neighborhood
Last month I went off to Mexico for a late winter break from the rain and gloom of Oregon. February had been very busy and I had not even begun to plan how I was going to respond to our “Neighborhood” challenge, but tucked it into the back of my
Terry Grant
Terry Grant Oregon, USA I have been sewing, drawing, and painting forever. I earned a degree in art and focused on painting and printmaking. It wasn’t until I saw a group of beautiful quilts that it occurred to me that my love of art and of textiles and sewing could
Other places, other neighborhoods
When I saw that our new prompt was “neighborhood” the first thing I thought of was the neighborhood where I grew up in Idaho, USA. It was truly the epitome of the 1950s television sitcom neighborhood, except that the houses were smaller, post-war bungalows that all looked the same. It
Aspens
Aspen trees grow throughout the US West, usually at altitudes of 5000 feet or more. I grew up among the aspens that grew all around our family cabin near the Idaho/Wyoming border.They always seemed special to me for their distinctive, beautiful form and color and for the sense of peace
Mi Consuegra
Her name is Graciela, a beautiful name, but everyone calls her Chela. When my daughter married her son she became my “consuegra” and I became hers. It is lovely that the Spanish language has a word for our relationship. It is beautiful that our families — hers in Ecuador, and
A virtual, international community – finding my tribe!
In 1993 we moved to Portland, Oregon. I left behind my business, my friends, all my connections. In Portland it was dark, it was raining constantly and I got very sick–complications from a ruptured appendix. It was a very low point and aside from my immediate family, I was
Sunshine and Shadow, Darkness and Light
When we look at a reflection we are seeing, not a replica, but a mirror image. In our lives, in our families, in our communities we live with the up and the down, the dark and the light, joy and sorrow, loss and gain. I see those opposites as
I am a Tree
Over my lifetime I have embraced many identities–only child, big sister, student, artist, teacher, wife, mother, grandmother, friend. As I said before, identity is fluid, ever changing and each of us is, perhaps, the person least able to describe ourselves. It has always been, for me, that the
”Tell them who you are…”
I made this piece a couple of years ago. It is called “You don’t really know me until you look beneath the surface.” As older women, my friends and I often feel that out in the world people see us, with our white hair, or our knitting, as “Grandma” or “Old
The Mask of Confidence
I have always supposed that some folks are just born with confidence and some of us have to earn it. Maybe we all do.I still don’t know, because most of us have learned to put on the mask of confidence when we are feeling unsure of ourselves. Walk into
I found some masks and I wasn’t even looking…
I have to confess—I haven’t started on my “mask” piece. I haven’t even thought about it much. I’ve been distracted. I’ve been in Italy on vacation and, oh yes, it was wonderful and filled with good food and marvelous art and architecture and wine and sunshine and piazzas and
Something is Broken
Disunity. There’s something to ponder! When the theme was announced my internal response went directly to the current state of things here in the U.S. Our president, his policies, his actions and words and the resulting changes in our lives has me in constant horror, anger, grief and disgust. “Disunity”