Sunrise in Truro, 48 x 36 x 2 inches. Cotton and abaca pulp, pigment, pearlescent pigment. Private collection.
A family affair: a birthday gift is a paper making workshop.
I love this photo: Mom cannot put the turkey baster down-the tool we use for pulp painting. Can you tell how wonderful a day this was, and how happy she is to spend it with her family?
Years ago, a woman purchased a painting of mine from a gallery on Cape Cod. She did it again the following year, and the year after that, and so on. Eventually, she became one of my most loyal collectors.
Last year, I got an email from one of her now grown children: would I consider hosting a papermaking workshop for her birthday? The entire family would come all the way from the midwest to help her celebrate. It’s an experience she would cherish forever.
And, while we’re at it, “can we commission a painting for her based on our memories of spending our summers on Cape Cod?” We can give it to her during the workshop.
And so, last week, the whole family spent the day making paper in my studio. After lunch we presented mom with her painting-she was literally speechless.
And I got to spend the day with a family whose love for one another radiated from their every move.
Here’s to the family who drove all the way from the midwest to wish mom a happy birthday, and to the power of art that made the experience so memorable.
