Homage+to+Sources

Whatever the craft, from knitting to playwrighting, we get our ideas from somewhere. My mother Debbie Sclan (1925-2005,) a master knitter, rising weaver, gardener and talker would say about going to the theater and hanging out at intermission,"I want to see what they're wearing." I always teased her asking, "Who are //they//?" but now I do it too, and I realize that watching people on the street or other gatherings is indeed a great way to get ideas for projects. I recently had a drink with my niece Shana Cooper on a broiling hot New York City summer day in an air conditioned restaurant and she put on a grey shrug when the air conditioning got too much. And so...my next project will be a cotton shrug (but very colorful) for summer.

But enough about knitting. Here is a link to my collection at the Art Institute of Chicago with some paintings that inspired Stephen Sondheim and another Willa Cather. Enjoy! http://www.artic.edu/aic/ collections/forward/emailref? path=node/9565.