Connecting the Threads

The fiber artist in my life, Ann, has recently been getting to know my niece B.J. This relationship has been building in a crazy round about way. I stay in contact with my niece via texting, and Ann has never met her in person.

A few weeks before the Women’s March in DC I asked B.J. if she had heard of the “pink pussy hats” the knitters of America were making for women to wear to the march. Enthralled, she wanted to know more! I sent her the link and she replied quickly, “I want one!” Ann was sitting in the living room across from me knitting a pink hat and said, “I’ll send her one.” My artsy niece, a ceramist, offered to send Ann a pot from her prized stash for the hat. Deal!

Ann finished and sent the promised hat just before the march. B.J. loved it! She posted a picture of herself on social media modeling her gift with the caption, “Made by the wild and wonderful Ann!”

A few weeks passed and a large box landed on our doorstep. It was heavy. We hauled it in the house like kids at recess! Enclosed was not a pot, but two gin and tonic cups, two noodle bowls (chop sticks included) and a coffee mug—all hand crafted by B.J. We clutched the beautiful pieces like golden treasures and ran our hands over the smooth sides and edges. After discussing their beauty, we texted our thanks to her with a photo of us enjoying gin and tonics.

Soon thereafter, Ann expressed her concern over the inequity of the gifts, as she

often does, and felt something should be done about it. She began to search for a specific skein of yarn she had purchased at the Greenville, SC farmer’s market. It was hand spun, hand dyed and perfect for B.J. Ann worked diligently to knit the yarn into a scarf and finished and blocked it. It was ready to be sent, but I pleaded, “Wait…you can’t send it!”

I had been studying the colors mingled through the yarn and loved how they came together to form the garment. It was truly a work of art from the spinning to the dyeing to the knitting. I thought of all the artists involved in this exchange and wanted to be a part of it as well. Ann was anxious to get the gift to B.J. but agreed to a short delay while it hung in my studio and I painted. I was able to deconstruct and mix the colors on my palette and produce a 40x40 painting with the colors that inspired me. I titled this work “Viridian Dream.”