[grassroots guitar]
[old-time piano music]
After teaching at
the Art Institute
for years,
I wanted a change.
So, I chose California.
When I retired, I thought
I was going to die 'cause
I couldn't get my
mind turned around.
And I couldn't do anything.
I didn't want to do anything.
So I bought a blasted ol' TV
and sat there and looked at
all the old pictures,
marvelous old silent films,
every time they had them.
Lord help me.
I thought I could never,
ever....
It took me one year
to settle down.
I just left Chicago
and came out here.
When you're away from
everyone you know,
there's nothing else
to do then, you see,
and you concentrate
on what you love to do.
I decided then I would
finally make a quilt.
I always made things
'cause mother made things.
"Get up, girls.
The sun's in the heavens.
What we gonna do today?"
You don't know the possibilities
of creation 'til you
go dive in and challenge
yourself and guide yourself.
It's like love.
It's love.
I arrange my fabrics
according to colors.
It's like a palette.
You must know what you have.
And by cutting the
squares or the triangles,
I can see my complete,
available palette.
The point is to have
meaningful colors.
Some fabrics are uglier than
sin, which I wouldn't have.
I would throw 'em away if
they happened to appear
in my closet,
because they're ugly.
They're distracting.
All these years of teaching,
I was happy,
and I tried to make
all my students happy.
One of my students sent
me a letter and said art
wouldn't be the same without me!
Can you imagine?
In order to arrange these,
I have to have a board
of some sort.
You use felt.
Felt's the best thing
because these squares
and shapes you're using
will stick to the felt.
It adheres.
There's enough friction.
And I can move it.
And you have to learn in
your creation to use form.
Form and movement and rhythm.
You have to make a unit, however
little and unimportant it is.
You get close values
and contrasting values.
Then you'll get an all-over
effect in which there's
sort of a blurred
center in here,
somethin' like a painting.
But I like to have
all kinds of fun.
And I like a little vibration,
tintillation, and shimmering.
And after a while,
I'm just all shimmers.
[laughs]
Which is ridiculous,
because everything falls
apart if you just shimmer
and do nothing else
in this world.
Then, you pick up a fabric
that's a little more quiet
and use it.
The thing is, ever so often,
in order to have a restful
area in this world, you
have to be quiet, right?
Sit down and shut up.
[grassroots theme music]
