W is for...

W is for..., watercolor on mixed media paper, December 29, 2011

Folk art and Shaker-style decorating have always held an attraction for me. It's the simplicity and the assumption that ordinary people can create the art that adorns their own homes. That inspires me. Farmers in our county grow vast fields of wheat, and the undulating carpet of ready-to-harvest wheat "flapping" in the wind is an annual delight for the eyes. A single "thread" from that carpet, viewed up close, is no less fascinating. One of my earliest memories (under age 4) is of two elderly neighbor ladies who allowed my sister and I to help water their garden. They had the most amazing, large metal watering can. I remember finding a frog inside it once. Watering cans and frogs seem friendly to me still. Williamsburg, VA, is our family's home away from home. We've been going there once or twice a year for the past decade. I always wish I could bring their decorating and gentility home with me. It's hard to remember life before Microsoft Windows. No wonder Bill Gates is so wealthy! Whenever I see a growth of water lilies, it seems like something rare and foreign. They look synthetic, which is the opposite phenomenon of so many man-made products that are sold to us as life-like and natural-looking. Winter white is an odd color, created for a particular era of garment history. I never really understood how it differed from cream or ivory. I remember when the first Wendy's moved into the neighborhood. I was around 12. It was a bit of a rage, but it died down quickly. Good thing to remember. W is for wreath, wheat, watering can, Williamsburg, Windows, water lilies, winter white, and Wendy's.