Artistic Inspiration

Grammie Huff (Alice Weston Huff) was an artist and former art teacher. When we grandchildren came to visit, she often had an art project ready and waiting for us on our arrival.  Her house was filled with her own work: paintings, wooden sculpture, woodcut prints, and textiles. My grandmother made her own rugs, bedcovers, pillow covers, and curtains using using among other things an enormous loom for weaving. She also wove cloth for clothing for herself and my grandfather. Her grandchildren and great-granddaughter received her meticulously hand-knit sweaters, socks, and mittens. 

My grandmother made me aware of color, and it was often a topic of conversation. She frequently asked me what my favorite color was, knowing it would likely change as I grew. I eventually settled on red, which just happened to be her favorite color, too. She told me how years ago, art students were taught that you should only put contrasting colors together in artwork, but that later on, artists pushed against this rule and decided that is was fine to use colors that are side-by-side on the color wheel. One of Grammie Huff's favorite color combinations was red and purple.