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Life Lines & Bio Bits | |
My attraction to color started with a twirlpop at the deli in my Saunders Town, Rhode Island, neighborhood. Not exactly in my neighborhood—across US Route 1, a very busy highway, which I crossed by myself at age 3. Once inside I spied the lollipops in a jar high on the counter top above the cheeses and salamis. I wanted the biggest white one with multicolor swirls. Deli Man said NO. Next thing I know, I'm smashing raw eggs on the floor. Suddenly my mother is handing me paper towels for the gooey clean up. I never did get that lollipop. When I arrived home my mother marched me to the bathroom and coated my tongue with a bar of soap. My brother Stew, pictured with me above, told me to blot my mouth with a towel, not to add water. Good advice from somebody who obviously knew. Fast Forward, Age 7. I’m shopping at Wanamaker's Department Store in Wilmington, Delaware, with my mom. I need a skirt to take to summer camp. And there it is: Lifesaver candies on a black background. Mom thinks the very thing I crave is tacky. She says NO. I sulk and lobby hard from the store to the parking lot, from the parking lot to the highway. My rebellion pays off this time because she turns back, accompanies me into the store and buys me the tacky skirt with the colorful candies. I'm over the moon. 
Purple Mountains, Majestry Trees Watercolor Fiber Paper Collage Color excites me--a fist full of M and Ms, a sunset sky, my flower garden. The mystery of watercolor inspires me. I love allowing forms to emerge on paper with the negative painting technique. I love watching how it turns out. Like life. For me, art is like riding a wave. The current knows where it’s taking me. All I have to do is risk entering the water, trust, and allow the energy to take me where it was headed all along. PS: After hearing the twirlpop story, my granddaughter Jane told me where to find them. At the grocery check out with her, I bought two. She ate hers. I keep mine in my studio. | ||
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