Paula Kovarik and a drawing of Jeremy's

I mentioned several weeks ago that I had sent a number of Jeremy's drawings to Paula Kovarik, who was planning to develop further the work she had been doing with children's drawings.  She recently completed a quilt incorporating one of Jeremy's drawings, a quilt she has titled, "Don't Go In the Basement." You can read her post about it here.

Paula Kovarik, "Don't Go in the Basement"

And here's the drawing of Jeremy's that makes an appearance in the lower right corner of the quilt:

Jeremy's drawing, 1991 (age 5-1/2)

It is very difficult to express what this means to me--to see something from Jeremy's hand enter a new life in a beautiful creation by another person.  I think Paula has pulled off an amazing combination:  being true to Jeremy's drawing--capturing the child-like drift and energy of the lines--and yet also making something entirely new and wonderful by putting it in an abstract setting and with other figures.  

Kudos to Paula!  May you go from strength to strength.  You can see more of Paula's work on her website.

N.B. To those of you who read Paula's post.  Paula knows that Jeremy died ten years ago, but chose to address him directly in her post.  Her choice moves me--that she speaks to him herself, not reducing him to a lost voice. . .

Jeremy's drawings

I have long admired the work of Paula Kovarik, which features extraordinary, imaginative stitching on a variety of surfaces--sometimes abstract blocks of color, sometimes re-purposed linens.  A few months ago, Paula put out a request for people to send her children's drawings of robots, monsters, and beasts.  She had been using drawings from her own family in some of her quilting, and was looking for more images to work from.  I sent in a number of my son Jeremy's drawings, made when he was between four and six years old.  To my delight, Paula has posted one of Jeremy's drawings in the left side-bar of her blog, and another in a recent post about the project; you can see both drawings here.  It is lovely to have these glimpses of Jeremy out in the world.

Here are some of the other drawings I found as I went through the big envelopes of things I'd saved from Jeremy's childhood.  It was striking to see what a narrow window there is for drawings like this. Before age three or four, drawings were more scribbles, without recognizable figures.  After age six (first grade), the whimsical freedom was gone; Paula tells me this is typical.  

a butterfly

 I didn't make a note of the subject; I think it may have been a spider.

 a caterpillar

a grasshopper

This is perhaps my favorite.  I think it was done the first time we did drawings to make plates, something we continued for a number of years.  Such treasures. . .