Daily Table

In 2014 I wrote a post here about about my love of tablecloths. (Here is a link to Tablecloths: Fabric of Life). This is chapter 2 – a further installment of daily still lives and a noting of the pleasures of the table: tablecloths, dishes, flowers, sunlight, candlelight, food and friends about to arrive.  

Last week I painted a poem on a wooden table for the upcoming Coyote Central auction. Here is the poem Te Deum by Charles Reznikoff.

Homespun

Last month I shared Deborah Mersky’s tex-tiles with you. Today I’m welcoming you into my house.

Joe and I have lived here for many years. Fabric is woven into our home and life. Each piece of cloth tells a story.

It reminds me of the place where it came from, and of particular meals or celebrations.

Some of the fabric on the windows and doors is from around the world.

I made some of the curtains.

The quilt is by Sarah Mary Taylor, a gift from Ella King Torrey. Our friend Kay gave us the indigo-resist Hungarian deer. The cat pillow is from my sister-in-law Julia. Sigrid upholstered the bird and cherry couch with fabric that Roberta found. Almost every piece of fabric reminds me of friends and family.

 

And then there are tablecloths!

And more tablecloths…

All of this fabric makes daily life richer, and it feeds my work. Here are a few new still life paintings.

I’d like to take a textile tour-de-friends. Please snap a picture of fabric from your home or life that means something to you and send it to me at  jpaschkis@comcast.net. I will post the pictures on this blog. Thank you!

Tablecloths: Fabric of Life

It’s easy to put a beautiful cloth on a table.

It’s a way to see and enjoy and touch fabric.

It’s a way to make a small and fleeting still life in the kitchen or dining room.

…This owl and the wooden dove above were made by Mike Zitka…

Tablecloths are a way to weave beauty into everyday life.

My mother gave me my love of tablecloths. She always did and always will have beautiful fabric on the table – sometimes several cloths at once. A table without a cloth would be naked.  Here is a table at my parent’s home, between meals.

Tablecloths remind me of the people who gave them to me, such as this favorite one from my sister Karla.

They also remind me of places where I have traveled.

They are a way to celebrate the colors of the seasons.

Tablecloths look beautiful before and during meals.

a

and after…

I love to set the table. And of course the best part is sitting around, enjoying life with friends and family.