Wednesday, April 2, 2008

. . . painted a memory


Tentatively entitled "The Edge. . .of Night", 16 x 16 mixed media on canvas

I had an idea to keep this painting kind of light and clean -- but it sure didn't end up that way. When it was done, it reminded me of was the old television soap opera, "The Edge of Night", and the very dramatic intro to the show.

In the 50s, during the summer my mom would set up two ironing boards and put my sister and me to work doing the tons of ironing required for a family of six kids and three adults. We had no air conditioning, and my mother closed the curtains in the living room to keep the house cool, but it didn't really help much. Of course, my sister and I protested long and loud, especially since our brothers were probably at the swimming pool. Those were the days that crisp white cotton sleeveless blouses were de rigeur for the pre-teen set, and we ironed millions of them, as well as sheets, pillowcases, my father's handkerchiefs, all of our play shorts, my brothers' and dad's shirts, even sometimes my mom's bras. We had a mangle (aptly named) but we didn't get to use it, because it was too dangerous. The only benefit to this task was that it was one of the few occasions we got to watch the afternoon soaps on TV, and since we received only one station with any clarity, we watched CBS: As the World Turns, The Guiding Light, and The Edge of Night. Oh, the mysteries of unrequited love -- and how could somehow who was not married have a baby?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Mary - stumbled upon your blog from a link at The Altered Page.

I really like the texture, color and depth of your painting. And I really relate to your ironing memories....

Catherine in NW Illinois

Mary Buek said...

Catherine, thanks for dropping by the blogspot, and for the compliment. Yeah, that ironing was a definite drag.

Hildegard said...

Loved the memories, did we learn anything, how to iron and how to be tolerent of the heat. We could have been sitting at the Bakery in the heat, waiting for customers to walk in.
Loved your art, keep going girl, you are doing great

Anonymous said...

Beautiful work Mary - saw your work on Seth's blog -
Trudi

http://www.twodressesstudio.blogspot.com

Mary Buek said...

Hi, twodresses: I love your blog -- the tress and the does: what a great shot. We are inundated with deer at my house. My neighbor told me yesterday that when he goes to pick up his paper at about 6:00 a.m. every morning, there are three or four of them in the front yard, chomping on the perennials. And they hang out in the neighborhood salad bar, also known as my backyard garden. My granddaughter has learned to identify "deer poop". They ruin a lot of stuff, but they are so beautiful.

Seth said...

This is a stellar painting. The textures, layers and scratches are so intriguing and the combination of colors is right on!

Gina said...

Hi Mary,
Found your blog when you recently commented Bridgette's blog. I’ve been reading and looking all over your site, including Flickr, and really love this painting! Stunning--can't stop looking at it. I really like your other abstracts, too.
Did you ever figure out gelatin printmaking? I've done it twice now and have some posts on my blog. I've left the gelatin in a thin jelly roll pan and not removed it.
I'll be back to visit often!
Gina