These flowers are dedicated to the moms in my family, and they represent how their influences entwine into what I understand motherhood to be. Each flower is created from a mix of materials from clothes from two or more women from my family:
- My grandma Elsie
- My mom, Diana
- My daughter, Lena
- My mother-in-law, Patti
- My grandmother-in-law, Shelby, AKA Moochie
- My suegra, Armida
- My bonus daughter, Tatianna
- My granddaughter, Lilyanna
- Me
“Irises for Mom”
- Lena’s Anna costume, dresses, and shirts
- My shirt and dress
- Mom’s skirts
- Moochie’s pants and skirt
- Grandma’s robe
All on fabric I used for 10+ years on my classroom bulletin boards, along with scraps from family Christmas stockings I made
“Tulips for Grandma”
- Lena’s dresses and shirts (including some inherited from her brother)
- My shirt and nightgowns (1 from the hospital when Lena was born)
- Patti’s dress and shirt
- Moochie’s skirt (and apparently upholstery scraps?)
- Grandma’s robe
All on a background of a Lena hand-me-down and Moochie skirt–and with stocking scrap stems and leaves.
“Daisies for Patti” (my mother-in-law)
- Lena shirts, dresses, nightgown, skirt, and toddler shorts+1 sock
- My nightgown
- Pattie shirt and dress
- Moochie skirt
- Grandma robe
All on a background of Mom’s skirt with a few stocking, bulletin board, and Lily shirt embellishments
“Magnolias for Moochie” (my grandmother-in-law)
- Moochie skirt and pants
- Lots of Lily shirts and dresses
- Lena shirt and dresses
- Armida wrap
- Tatianna shirt
- Grandma robe
- Mom skirt
All on a background of my dress
“Hibiscus para Armida” (mi suegra)
- Lena costume,dresses, and shirts
- Mom skirt
- Patti dress and shirt
- Lily shirts and shorts
- My shirt
- Armida wrap
- Tatianna pajamas
- Moochie skirt (& upholstery scraps)
- Grandma robe
All on a background of the underlayer from Moochie’s skirt
“Lilies for Tatianna” (my bonus daughter)
- Lena shirts and dresses
- Moochie skirt
- Tatianna shirt
- My dress
- Lily shirts, dresses, skirts, and shorts
All on a background of Grandma’s robe that I kept after she died because it smelled like her.
I thought her smell was gone years ago, but it came back when I ironed pieces of her robe for this project.
PS I added borders quilt style to each piece before stretching, though sizes were variable due to fabric swaths available in each garment.
Laura Sexton Art 