"Buttons" was chosen as the February subject for a little creative group I'm working with this year. What a pleasure it was to spend time considering what buttons mean to me.
My painting came together quickly. I picked out some fabric, buttons, needle & thread. I set up a tiny still life, snapped some reference photos, and painted it.
The companion piece, however, consumed my thoughts for a few days.
I found a photo of Grandma Powell (wearing a dress with buttons down the front).
I found a photo of Grandma Tallent (wearing a dress with buttons down the front).
I found the photo of Great Granny MacReynolds (wearing a dress with buttons down the front.)
I found photos of Mom at different ages (wearing buttons).
I found a photo of Mom with her sisters (all wearing buttons).
My grandmothers were quilters.
My mother sewed everything we wore. I think she probably sewed nearly every day of her life (...Except Sundays. She didn't sew on Sundays.) She was a Home Ec teacher for many years and taught many other girls (and boys once Title IX came to be) how to sew.
I kept most of the things in her sewing room, and I enjoy using them.
But the buttons... oh... I played with them as a little kid, sorting them, arranging them. I loved them and "knew" them. Once they were mine, I cleaned the cases, cleaned the buttons, organized them, and put them where I could enjoy seeing them every day.
Original Oil Painting on 5"x 7" Wrapped Canvas
Click Buttons if you'd like to purchase this little painting.
What a sweet painting and a great story to go with it!
ReplyDeleteThanks. It made me smile to work on this project.
DeleteI have buttons from my grandmother, hubs' grandmother, and my mother. I love to look at them. I remember seeing my mom and grandmother cutting buttons from clothing when it was worn out. The buttons and the clothing would be used again, in different ways. What a fun walk down memory lane for you!
ReplyDeleteFunny how something so simple, even mundane, can bring so many cherished memories to mind.
DeleteI love buttons also. I have fond memories of playing with my Mom's buttons. I must get mine out for my granddaughter to play with.
ReplyDeleteYou are right! I haven't thought to let my granddaughters play with them. (Mine are just past the put-it-in-the-mouth stage.) I'll do that the next time I have them over.
DeleteA friend is a button collector and recently invited me to join her button group on facebook. I have a lot of old buttons from my mother and great grandmother, but I wouldn't call myself a collector, at least not an intentional collector. But like you, I did enjoy playing with Mom's buttons when I was young.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea people were intentionally button collectors! I need to pull them out for my granddaughters to play with.
DeleteWow, that's a lot of buttons! I have a non-assorted, assortment of random buttons in a small basket. I just love the way they feel when I reach in and run them through my fingers.
ReplyDeleteLove, love your sweet painting!
Yes! There is something comforting about feeling the little plastic circles that someone probably paid pennies for decades ago.
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