The Artist UnSEWn Series presents Posy by Amy Reber

Crisp mornings in the Pacific Northwest with dew drops kissing the grass, majestic evergreen trees reaching for the sky, the smell of salt in the air when on a ferry in the Puget Sound and rugged, white-capped mountains that seem to hug you from every angle, are the framework for the place I am proud to call home.

Some of my fondest memories growing up in Washington are the times spent in the yard of my childhood home.  Even as a young child I can distinctly remember being aware of its beauty, and I

always felt we had the best yard around! The sheer size of the yard made it an incredible place to play. In addition to size, it had a stream, a bridge and waterfalls which added so much to the hours I played outside with my twin brother and our friends, ah the 1970s!

As an adult, looking back, it was truly a masterpiece of color, design and inspiration.  Willow trees, dogwood trees (my favorite flowering tree to this day), cherry blossoms, purple irises, azaleas, rhododendrons, roses….I could go on and on.

But what makes it so special for me is that this richly-hued landscape was entirely the handiwork of my exceptionally talented mom. Donning her rubber boots, which are a must in WA, and with her basic metal watering can, spade and shears, she’d lovingly tend to the leaves and blooms of her treasured garden nearly every day, rain or shine.  

The pride she took in cultivating such beauty and joy was really inspiring and it has very much influenced the designs I create as an artist. Though none of the designs in Posy are directly taken from the garden of my childhood, they do reflect the vibrancy and joy that mom’s garden evoked.

Color is incredibly important to me and the original palette for Posy are the Rosa colors with the bright red, yellow, green and black. The yellow is a special homage to the yellow rose bush that my mom took with her from her Mom’s garden when she and my father retired to the San Juan Islands where she has created a new garden that my children now enjoy and will  -  I hope - one day remember with fondness just as I remember the garden of my youth.

As I think about quilting and how designs are created and color schemes are formed, I think of how my mom planned her organic quilt of sorts. She took great care in considering color, placement and plant size and much like quilters love to shop for fabric, my mom gets the same joy out of shopping for the perfect flower or shrub to add to her “outdoor quilt.”