Each of my maternal grandparents had fairly creative streaks. The were a time when my grandfather considered going to school to become an opera singer. He was encouraged by the teachers but dissuaded by the family. He truly did have a lovely voice though. My grandmother had a knack for detail and streaks for ingenuity when it came to sewing and creating fashions for the body and home.
I remember the story of the two of them sitting at home one day, each working on an oil painting. I have each of their paintings hanging up in my living room. My grandmother’s was a Cleopatra-like profile and my grandfather’s was based on a newspaper clipping of a photographed relief. It kind of reminds me of Arachne.
Recently, my mother found another one of my grandfather’s paintings. It doesn’t necessarily look like something he would have created, as I find it reminiscent of hex signs and I don’t think he would have even known what those were, but I was intrigued and uplifted to see his work hanging up in the house:
And of course he finished it off with his classic signature:
Finding little snippets of family history always appeal to my senses and the emotional pull towards nostalgia. It’s always a fun moment for me to find a family member’s creations!
Painting by Mario V. LaRocca, also known as Morris Rocco, also known as Rocco Morris.