Saturday, August 11, 2012

Hot Artful Runway Artventure

This Runway Tag is brought to you by the color HOT.

The colors I used on this tag where largely influenced by the current heat wave we have been experiencing in the Los Angeles area.  Actually there is another influence.
During the summer months of my youth it was not unusual to find me at my grandmother's home.  She was a working grandma and my aunt who is nine years older than me would have the "pleasure" of making sure I was safe and tried hard to keep me clear of mischief.  Once my grandma was home she and I would spend what they refer to these days as "quality" time.  She showed me how to make sherbet using Kool Aid, sugar and evaporated milk (honest, I recently looked up the recipe cause the only ingredients I could remember were Kool Aid and evaporated milk).  We'd make super simple but super delicious cakes from small boxes of Jiffy cake mix (do they still make those?) adding hefty doses of freshly squeezed lemon juice in the Jiffy icing (which also came in a small box). 
One hot summer night we took off to Kmart for a little girly shopping spree via the bus because my grandma didn't drive.  We headed over to the dress dept and there hanging on a T-rack for all to see was the latest-coolest-psychedelic-looking dress I ever saw.  I was drooling and my grandma sensed it.  We found my size, purchased it and zipped back to her home.  Once there I tried it on.  Don't ask why I didn't try it on at the store.  Well, the dress didn't quite look right.  In fact, it looked funny.  OK, the dress made my head look BIG and it hung sort of strange on me.  It was also a little tight around my chest area and I didn't have much there to begin with.  Needless to say as soon as my grandma saw me in it she began to laugh uncontrollably.  So did my aunt.  And so did I.  LOL!  We quickly discovered that we purchased a Girl's size 7, not a Junior's!  We took it back and I can't remember what I got but I'm sure it was cool cause my grandma was cool and she would never buy me anything that screamed HIDEOUS.  
I miss my Grandma Della but I have a lot of great memories about our times together.  The dress that I put together on the above art doll was influenced by that ill-fitting dress from that late run to Kmart one hot summer night long ago.  Funny how it seems like yesterday.  

3 comments:

Lynn Cohen said...

Love the story, love the stamp. My grandma was Ella. She sewed her own clothes in elegant style.

artgirl said...

Awesome tag, love the intense colors!!

soulbrush said...

I love the story about your grandma and aunt, and I love the hot orange one the most! I HAVE RETIRED- yahoooo, am so excited and relieved!