My parents have had a hard year. Those of you who I have shared the details with know that is quite an understatement.
For Father’s Day this year, I wanted to make something that showed my dad how much I loved him. So much of who I am creatively and intellectually I can trace back to him. He has always had a desire to experiment – and I feel I live that today. I want to paint, screenprint, sew, draw – there just isn’t enough time to do it all.
This piece started in the Discover Fiber course I took at KCAI. The first two sessions were dyeing fabric. I made lots of greens, not knowing what I was going to do with the fabric. Once I put them next to each other, I remember a phrase my father has said many times during our humid Missouri summers… “I love all the greens!” We do have all the greens in a Missouri summer. The chaotic tangle of trees and vines and bushes.
This is abstract, far from successful, but it really comes from the heart.
The tone on tone in the middle says “All the green”. I put in some purple and blue for balance. The purple to represent the redbuds my dad loves.
I mastered french knots and made a bazillion of them. While I was making this, I learned about “all-overness” from the abstract expressionism movement and so kept adding and adding and adding knots to get that effect.
Just so many french knots! Maybe I am ready for this?
Speaking of green and abstract expressionism, the fam and I went to this wonderful exhibit at the Denver Art Museum of women artists of the movement. It was very inspiring, in many ways. And there was this painting by Mary Abbott called “All Green”
I love this quote from Mary Abbott about the color green:
“Green is more complex — there’s very little green in nature; you think you see it, but you don’t, it’s variations of light.”
weeknight quilting 