Montana Part Eight: Good Housekeeping

Montana Part Eight:
Good Housekeeping

I've made many references in the descriptions of my work to the influence that my mother has had on my artmaking -- her obsession with decorating our home while I was growing up and her love and making of craft-based work. She was actually the first person to introduce me to murals! When I was three, she painted a huge flower mural on my bedroom wall (it's true -- the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree). I've just recently asked her to look for pictures of this -- she said that she does still have the fabric from the duvet and curtains that she made for the room, a floral design in olive green, turquoise, and white -- can't wait to see that again!

These are two small paintings that my mom did when I was about two. The one on the left is supposed to be her twin sister (I think I know now where I developed my obsession for getting a turtle); and the one the right is me. very cute!

So now I present to you -- the home I grew up (from 5 - 16) in it's current decor.

When I was growing up, the house was an olive green (as was our jeep) ... and that's just the start.

We used to have a huge pine tree (where the lamp near the car is) and a cluster of giant silver oaks on the far right corner. -- it had a much woodsier feel to it.

View from our house looking down the block (Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando lived down the street in 1975 while they were filming The Missouri Breaks)

Starting with the kitchen. This is how it looks today.

When I was growing up it was apple green and white. All of the cupboards were painted apple green and where the blue and white wall paper on the stove top island is was an apple green and white gingham -- as was the fabric on the window shades (though a larger pattern). The floor was white tile.

The very seventies stone wall divider between kitchen and living room.

The living room today (though it's the classic misnomer since very little time is actually spent in the room). The textiles and pillow coverings are pieces that I've brought back from Indonesia and India over the years.

When I was growing up, the carpet was a green/gold shag; the curtains were olive green velvet; the couches were upholstered with a blue and gold/green plaid; the table cloth on the dining table had the same plaid as the couches; and the far wall near the dining area table was filled with a large collection of owl paintings in all different styles (my brother now owns the collection).

And now for my favorite room, which hasn't been redecorated over all these years. When I was nine my parents added an addition to our house that included this large room, with a spiral wood staircase that leads up to a skylit balcony and a smaller bedroom (it was my room for several years -- and now is my mother's office). To this day, we still call the room "the new room."