Mom's Turn
Last December, you may remember, I wrote about my Dad because it was
100 years since he had been born. It just popped into my head at the
time that it would be fun to tell you a little about him. And I
thought, at the time, that I'd do the same when it came to be 100 years
since my Mom's birth. And that is today.
My Mom, Mary Champion Huntington, was born in WuHu China to American
missionary parents. She had two sisters and a brother. She spent the
first sixteen years of her life in China. In those days, her family had
Chinese servants and it was mostly the servants who raised my mom and
her siblings until they were old enough to go to boarding school in
Kuling. It was common for missionaries in foreign countries to send
their children to boarding schools back then. The family left China
when it was deemed not safe for them to stay any longer.
I have photos of my Mom riding a camel in Egypt, having lunch
overlooking the Swiss Alps, another where she was curled up in a chair,
reading, in a lovely English cottage, and one of my favorites of her
opening a beer in her tiny Boston apartment kitchen. And of course many
pictures of my two brothers and I with her when we were growing up. She
loved Blues, Janis Joplin and taught me to drive a stick shift, which
is still my preference.
I remember my Mom as a very laid back, hard to ruffle, kind of woman,
although my Dad could sure get her in a huff. She was an artist and
taught me a lot about figure drawing. After returning to the US, in her
late teens, she purposefully flunked out of Smith College in order to
be allowed to go to the Boston School of Fine Art. Her family wanted
her to go to Smith College, which she did, as she set out to prove to
them that she belonged in art school, not college. She was pretty
stubborn in a quiet way. She didn't say much, but did what she wanted
regardless of other peoples' opinions. If my Dad was colorful and
gregarious, my Mom was the perfect balancer of that. She quietly kept
our lives together and was quite possibly the most accepting person I
have ever known.
After art school, she had a small business of constructing and painting
stage sets for plays in Boston. That's where she met my Dad. And I
think I told you about them being married in three different states,
because, according to my Dad, if she ever wanted a divorce it would
have to be from all those places and that might discourage her.
Before she met my Dad, she was a "hot roller" in a steel mill in
Pittsburgh during WWII. One of the things I remember about her most was
her love for working people. If there was a black sheep in her family,
she was it. She loved the Chinese servants that cared for her as a
child. She loved the friends she made in Pittsburgh working in the
steel mill. She loved my Dad, who was the son of Italian immigrants,
and worked with his hands all his life.
I have a few of her sketch books which are filled with working men,
building things. I'm thankful for her influence on me, including art,
not to mention my love for Wyoming and wide open spaces. She's the one
who advised me, at 25, to stay in Wyoming for a year before I decided
if I would make it my home. I've been here ever since.
workmen2
A couple of my favorites from her sketch book. She captured so much
with only a few well placed lines!
workment
I love the wrench poking out of the back pocket and the way the left
side of the overalls that is stick out.
So now you know a little bit about my parents. They were interesting
people. I'm pretty sure everyone is interesting when we know their
stories.
How about you? What are the people, events or things that influenced
you to be interested in art?
Ready to Go
Ready to Go
My version of a "working man".
And as for my art, I've been painting like crazy again, thanks to you!
I was a little hesitant to share my discouragement last month, but I'm
glad I did because you sent such a kind response. You made me feel
that, after all, I'm just part of the human race and we all have our
times. I was so wonderfully and totally revived.
With our weather improving slowly, I think it won't be long till I'm
outside painting the landscape and seeing things like the scene above.
I hope you get out and enjoy some warmer, gentler weather too.
Till next time,
Ginny
PS - I can't wait to hear about the influences in your life and art!
Don't forget to tell me!
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