Loving Color - with an Appreciation for Kaffe Fassett

Color settles me. It has done that since my mother gave me my first box of crayons and a coloring book.

Color motivates the focus of my work as a visual artist. Colors calm me and they give me the courage to take risks.... like wearing red shoes so I can walk up in front of an audience as a storyteller performer.

When I was online recently I was reminded that the artist Kaffe Fassett is on YouTube. He is an American who lives in Great Britain and is admired worldwide. I was first introduced to his work in the early1980s when I worked in Washington, DC, for the League of Women Voters as ERA Project Director.

One afternoon I was walking back to my office from a meeting at the White House. Along the way, I saw a beautifully decorated window at a small shop. A spread of vibrant colors stopped me. 

I was wrapped in and fascinated by the colors. I wanted more views of the examples of the brilliant colors I was seeing in the display of small and larger needlework. So I went in.

What I discovered was the world of Kaffe Fassett. I learned we were the same age. His work in knitting and needlepoint looked like modern paintings made with vibrant blocks of color.

l went close and carefully examined the way he had put the colors together. As a visual artist, I have always worked with color. 

Just looking at the arrangement of the Fassett's colors made me feel stronger that day-  and still does. 

As a teenager, I had learned to knit, and as a young mother in the late 1950's, I knitted for my family.

I thought to myself, "I can do this needlepoint, too.”

That afternoon I returned to the small shop and bought a Fassett design kit and a small pair of scissors.

That was in the 1980s.….. I loved it - and still do! 

You see I was about to go on the first of many trips for my job. I would travel by car, train, and plane across the country trying very hard to convince people to support the ERA.

I needed to find a way to settle myself while away from home. And it worked.

Seeing Kaffe Fassett's work again and listening to him on YouTube I was touched by his view that we need to surround ourselves with wonderful, vibrant colors to give us energy and make us come alive. And - I also heard his plea to young women not to wear beige clothing – they are too dull - - a good laugh!

For the past two years during the Covid pandemic threat, I have been slowly resurrecting my artwork from my studio and hanging it on any bare wall space I can find in my house. 

I love it. 

In writing this, I realize now I have been wrapping myself in colors and they keep me settled in today's unsettled times.

Color is what gives me...my 86-year-young self..... the energy, motivation, and focus to be calm and keep going.

It really works for me! How about for you?