The Long Journey

The Long Journey

Oct 3, 2023 | Creative Space, Process

Holly B with Celeste in her Sausalito, CA studio

The Long Journey

My mother passed away July 15th at the age of 97. She hadn’t been to her studio since December but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t working. She was still engaged with her art practice till about a month or two before she just couldn’t anymore. Those are big shoes to fill. You can check out her website and see for yourselves: ebaart.com.

My care of her started in 2020. It was our first look into her mortality and it was sobering. She went to the hospital and after her “spa” treatment there, went home now taking pills. She’d only taken vitamins before that. Covid was upon us and life was looking different. I started out coming to her 2 days a week. Then after a bit, hired one companion, then another and then a third. We became her “Team Elaine”.

In those ensuing years, she made a bronze sculpture of a kneeling man in honor of George Floyd, a 7′ x 9’ diptych of the siege of the White House and, mostly completed a large painting of a cello player playing in front of bombed out buildings in Ukraine. She was very political in her later years.

Marj City by Holly Badgley, Size: 36”x24”

Mom’s unfinished painting of Ukranian cellist in front of bombed-out buildings in Kviv. This was her last painting that she worked on.

Marj City by Holly Badgley, Size: 36”x24”

Mom with London Breed at City Hall in San Francisco, posing with her last mayoral painting.

Diptych of the January, 6th. seige on the US capital in Washington D.C.

Header image: Kristina, mom’s main helper, taking a selfie at Artworks Foundry in Berkeley, CA.

Marj City by Holly Badgley, Size: 36”x24”

Mom with Andre Hines, her muse for the Kneeling Man sculpture.

Marj City by Holly Badgley, Size: 36”x24”

Sketch of Andre Hines posing for the kneeling man, which was later turned into a bronze sculpture.

Group photo at Artworks Foundry with helpers and family. November 2021.

I’m telling this story to illustrate the process of a very prolific artist coming to grips with the inevitable from a daughter’s perspective. Everyone’s journey is different according to who they are. I had the privilege to assist mom with her projects and daily needs. It wasn’t easy, but it was such a valuable experience for me. I am still weighing the need to finish everything you have wanted to do, (did I mention she also published a memoire!), or to be quietly introspective and real about what is going on. My mom was very driven, and I think at the end she accomplished all the things that she wanted to say with her work. And we had sweet times of connection: watching our PBS Masterpiece shows, eating yummy food and looking out her window and telling stories.

I miss her very much.

ebaart.com

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Sebastopol Center for the Arts: Art Quilt Show

Sebastopol Center for the Arts: Art Quilt Show

Jul 4, 2020 | Creative Space, Process

Holly Badgley discussing her art at the Sebastopol Center for The Arts

Sebastopol Center for the Arts: Art Quilt Show

It was a long time that I didn’t submit any of my work into various shows. Life got in the way and maybe I didn’t resonate with the themes. My friend and fellow “quilter”, Karen Balos, suggested I join SAQA, Studio Art Quilt Association. She told me that the definition of “quilt” had been revised and loosened to include a more freeform style of working.

Marj City by Holly Badgley, Size: 36”x24”

As a result I entered three pieces into the Art Quilt Show, a collaboration between Sebastopol Center for the Arts and SAQA. One piece was accepted. I was thrilled. The piece was one I made from couture scraps belonging to my, many years deceased, mother-in-law Marjorie Stern.  Collected from her trips to Paris couture houses (mainly Dior), ranging from the ‘30s to the ‘60s, the rolled up bits of cloth fell into two categories: city clothes and country clothes.

I made two wall pieces as a result. The one selected for the show was called “Marj City”, a collage of beautiful greys with some black and white mixed in, as well as a splash of coral. In her closet were the finished garments lending inspiration to my process. One gown, (how often do we see gowns these days?), was a strapless Lanvin in a large brushy, painterly print, topped with coral soutache. The soutache gave dimension and a strong graphic pattern to the gown. It has an honored place at the De Young as part of their textile collection. And the scraps have a place on my wall hanging!

Holly Badgley discussing her textile art at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts
Holly Badgley discussing her textile art at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts
It has an honored place at the De Young as part of their textile collection. And the scraps have a place on my wall hanging!

I wasn’t available to attend the opening of the show, but offered to come up for the SAQA members talk a couple of weeks into the show. It was wonderful to see the variety of work present and I was happy to be in such an appreciative crowd.  The talks went well and my friend Marla recorded mine. I am grateful to the Center for the Arts for the opportunity to show my work.  Now that I have gone through the application process, I know there will be more chances to show my work.

Looking back to January and February, it seems like a lifetime ago we could go to art galleries and openings, many prayers that we will again. In the meantime- Let’s make Art!

 

Resources Mentioned in this Blog Post

Sebastopol Center for the Arts

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Studio Art Quilt Associates

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Karen Balos

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Marla Brillart

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Re-Sorting

Re-Sorting

Jan 16, 2017 | Creative Space

Re-Sorting

It is fitting that in the new year we review what nurtures us and what blocks us. It is a great time for looking within.

 

And so my studio lays fallow while I turn my attention to my home space. A three car garage that has never seen a car inside. I share this with my husband’s workout equipment. But that equipment was encroaching on my space. The Feng Sui was off and the piles of photos, dad’s old shirts were mounting on top of my cutting table.

To clear this space I started with projects I’ve had on the list for years. One after the next. Then, my mom’s trunk. She’s not gone yet but here it sits in MY space! Then my son’s old baseball stuff. He’s out of college now. You get the picture. This collection of tasks and things weigh on me as sure as day. Sometimes, I feel I must fight for my time. Well, I must also fight with my stuff. And I’m only fighting myself it turns out.

Little by little. It’s a good motto. One to get through this life, maybe a bit more accepting of ourselves and our beloved collections. May you all be kind to yourselves with your letting go!

3 Cruzianas: Winter Painting

3 Cruzianas: Winter Painting

Jan 22, 2016 | Classes, Creative Space, Creativity, Process

3 Cruzianas: Winter Painting

The group is getting distilled. From eleven to five to three. And the three are passionate painters. Because they have already been en studio, there was an idea of what was possible. Sharon brought a packet of images to be made into silk screens she had designed. Each had brought pre-washed fabrics to sample. I had mixed 3 large jars of “chem”,  the thickened mixture we add the dyes to for flat painting. And I had extra mesh for making the silk screens. Set to go.

The 1st day was getting our priorities established.  Silk screening first so it can “batch” and soak up the black dye. Then getting started on painting yardage of different fabrics. They had purchased some natural wool flannel at my source, and had bought the striped cotton/linen they had fallen in love with at the last workshop. Plus bits and pieces of other interesting cottons and velvet. Lisa brought a dynamite shantung organza. I’m going to go right out and get me some! Such body and texture. Love it!

The time seemed to tear by at a rapid clip. Every available rack and ladder was covered with drying fabrics. We ran out of painting tables. I mixed more dye. There was still more to work on. So much so that we added on a day  in order to let the pieces dry, make the silk screens  and possibly paint one more hunk of fabric.

All the while I was fighting a cold, and what I noticed was as the days progressed and  the excitement of sharing in the creative process, by the last day I felt healed. It was amazing. There was such a flow and sympatico between us, these women who have spent time together in a creative container. I was very honored to be part of their history and provide new horizons for their work.

Summer Cleaning:

Summer Cleaning:

Jul 22, 2015 | Creative Space, Process, Productivity

Summer Cleaning:

You know when you can’t get anything done, can’t find parts for your projects, that it’s time to take matters in hand. Stashes start to multiply like loaves. When first you had one solid wall of snap-on boxes, now the fabric is spilling out making another wall and a half. Too much.

Can I rid myself of these “babies”? No. They just get encapsulated, the little inner voice reassuring you this project will get done soon-ish. Mending, reconstructing, repurposing. Fodder for fun or mass to weigh you down? These are the universal questions of the sewer/creator of textilian wonders.

And no, I haven’t read the Japanese woman’s book about decluttering. Nice concept. Can do maybe 40% reduction, on a good day. I’m open to feedback. Let me know your philosophy on the matter of stash vs. less stash. I don’t agree, by the way, about the person having the largest one when we die wins. I’m committed to working it out: reduce recycle, reuse…

 

Before & After