Artsy Genes

Yesterday's post made me think about my heritage.  My mom's side of the family was very creative.  Her father was a master carpenter who built churches and when he couldn't do that anymore, built houses, and when he couldn't do that anymore, made furniture, and when he couldn't do that anymore, talk himself to paint.  He left a legacy of perhaps 100 paintings in what I would call a primitive or Grandma Moses style.  He loved to depict farmland and oceans. 

My mom's mother was an incredible cook and talented gardener.  Everything she touched turned to either something yummy to eat or beautiful to look at.

My mom's sister was a seamstress who also liked to knit.  As a kid I loved sitting on the big, pink, cabbage-rose printed slip covers she made for her couch.  She sewed many of my dresses when I was a little girl, which in retrospect,  is probably why Mom and I wore a lot of mother-daughter outfits when I was young.  

Mom never felt she had much artistic talent but to this day I maintain that she should have been an interior designer.  She has a keen eye for spacial relationships, coordinating colors and fabrics, and just the right accessories.  She, too, knew her way around a sewing machine and made some beautiful clothes.

So I guess you could say creativity is in my genes.  I love to write, to paint, to garden, to decorate, to make jewelry.  It's a dream of mine to have a tiny, one-room, back-yard cottage to escape to and just create.  Given the size and nature of my yard, I don't see that happening but I continue to dream.