Collections reveal aesthetic. These sixteen cups have been in Mom's hutch for years. None has a history that I am aware of, they just caught her eye and demanded her purchase. Mom wasn't a tea drinker and she wasn't particularly girlie. Yet, she chose these delicate cups as something to gaze on each day. I think they are telling me a story of her aesthetic and her yearning for beautiful things.
Paula Kovarik, 2013. Hands
This is a work-in-progress shot of a piece I started while mom was sick. It is done on a simple linen dress my friend Leigh Ann found for me (she is my best treasure hunter).
Coming back to it now after mom has passed brings up memories of sitting by her bed. After she fell asleep, I sat in front of the numbing TV set to disappear into a new mindset by stitching compulsively on this dress. I wasn't sure where it was going, I just knew I had to have something to keep me busy. I think I will put the dress back together and hang it from a hanger, maybe with a lining made from one of her garments.
Wish I could bring her back as simply as that.
Here are a couple of detail shots of the Round and Round It Goes quilt. The closer you look the more you see. This one has war, patriotism and overpopulation.
Round and Round It Goes, Paula Kovarik, 2012and this one has a tsunami, oil spills, and parades of polluting cars and trucks
Round and Round It Goes, Paula Kovarik, 2012and here is a little detail of the economy, mixed up weather patterns, gas fracking, nuclear power companies and the canary in the coalmine.
Round and Round It Goes, Paula Kovarik, 2012
Round and Round It Goes, Paula Kovarik, 2012
My quilt, Round and Round It Goes, has been chosen for the Award of Excellence at Quilt National 2013. I am overwhelmed with the honor and surrounded by amazing artists this weekend in Athens Ohio. Such an extreme high after so many lows these past months. Be still my beating heart.
For as long as I can remember my mother placed this statue in a prominent position in her home. For the past year he has been standing in her hutch overlooking her room. For the past two weeks he stood happily over her bed as she left us. He is Hotei, sometimes called the laughing Buddha. According to Wikipedia, he is admired for his happiness, plenitude, and wisdom of contentment. One belief popular in folklore maintains that rubbing his belly brings wealth, good luck, and prosperity.
Mom passed away on Friday of last week. She believed she would win the lottery, she soldiered on in optimism during calamaties, she laughed deeply and loudly when the spirit moved her. She never stopped learning and always looked toward the horizon, itching to travel.
She will be missed. And Hotei will always remind us to smile with joy and contentment as we move forward.
