This is my fourth piece done for the international art quilt group Cloth in Common. Our inspirationthis round was “Kitchen.” Come to think of it, kitchen is home base for me, second only to my studio.
My aged and infirm mother in law lives with us, and I must cook every meal at home for her and us. (Hubby cooks breakfast, so I get a break there.)
My earliest memories, aside from my crib, were in the kitchen, where my Mom set up a play station. I could open a bottom cupboard, take out an empty milk bottle, and drop clothes pins in. I got pretty good at it!
The reference picture I chose for my quilt, however, is a different one. It was taken before I was 2 years old. I know that because we only lived in that house until I was two.
It is likely that my artistic photographer of a mother added some extra chocolate to my face, for effect. Of course it is equally likely that I did it myself, in sampling my cake.
I used a photo of my mom in the background, grafted onto a commercial fabric 1950’s woman.
The escaping cat represents Butterscotch, our only, and failed, attempt to keep a cat in the house when I was a child. We were told he “ran away” after he got fleas and went to sleep in the clean laundry basket.
Aside from poor Butterscotch, all my childhood memories are good ones!
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Martha Ressler
Momma’s Little Helper
16 x 20”
Fabrics, beads, buttons
Raw Edge Applique