"Aunt Opal"
Aunt
Opal is an assemblage...an assemblage of my great Aunt Opal's
life and heart. She was an educated woman, who traveled and taught,
acted and created. She lived a life full of opportunities. She
graduated from Swarthmore in 1916. She was one of the first women
to study at Harvard. She traveled by train and ship. She taught
high school math and was very strict. This is the Aunt Opal mom
knew. Who knew she had lived such a colorful life?
To me she was my Aunt Opal. I never thought she was stern...I
always joked with her. I guess that was one of the things she
loved about Ansel, her husband. He joked with her all the time.
Of course, I didn't know I even had a great uncle until one day
he just showed up at Quaker Meeting. Ansel Solenberger had been
in the slam for embezzlement for years.
Mary Opal Robinson Solenberger. She received large flower
arrangements for major holidays until her death. I remember wondering
which guy in which bank had those flowers sent. Ansel always
said he kept waiting for one of his partners in crime to come
to his rescue.
The swag curtains act as a frame for the piece. The abstract
shapes containing many artifacts become energy/focus points.
They tell you bits and snippets of her life. The old fans, postcards,
handkerchiefs and letters belonged to her. Now they are part
of a bigger picture.
"Aunt
Opal's Class Reunion"
Aunt Opal's Swarthmore Reunion, Class of 1916. I always loved
that photos....her little hawk- like eyes and grin. The gray
haired ladies in their blue beauty pageant ribbons and white
pith helmets....there was just no question. I had to paint it.
(Click on image for enlargement and more detail)
