October 4, 2010

Central Park: Back Story

I was born in New York City. My parents lived on the Upper West Side at the time. My Mom planted a tree in front of the brownstone we lived in, and actually just a few years ago, we went back together and saw that the tree was still there — so it's older than i am, but not by much! We moved out of the city before either my sister or i started school. After moving around for a few years we settled in a suburb of New York, close enough that we could easily take a train to the city and be in mid-town in a half-hour. One of my favorite places was the Museum of Natural History with its spectacular life-sized model of a Blue Whale hanging from the ceiling of the Hall of Ocean Life. The Museum is on Central Park West, and we'd often head over to the Park to play, or for a picnic lunch, or sometimes a visit to the Zoo. It was always such fun.

Much later, when i lived and worked in New York after college, Central Park became an oasis where i could escape from the non-stop hustle and bustle and enjoy some peace and quiet. Hard to believe it could be quiet there, but it is. I'd walk, and walk, and walk through the park every weekend and hardly take the same route twice — after all, there are 843 acres to explore!

Fast forward to last January: i was killing some time around Columbus Circle and decided to hop into the park for a brisk walk. It was cold and all the leaves were gone from the trees. The afternoon light was low and bright and gave a rich contrast to the shadows everywhere. As i walked along...
...i started to notice the beautiful motifs on the lamp posts, sidewalks, sculptures, statues, fountains and carved relief stonework. It amazed me to know that i had been in this same place a thousand times and probably walked by the very details i was finally noticing. Ding! Inspiration. Tomorrow i can't wait to show you some of the things i spotted and their transformation to prints on fabric (in a much warmer and brighter season)! To be continued...

7 comments:

  1. Thanks for the pictures! I have never been to New York... been close a time or two but never to the city.

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  2. can't wait to see! thinking about going in today- will look for inspirations (in the garment district!)

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  3. Some day I would love to visit New York City...for now I am just really enjoying the informative posts on the history and the beauty...thanks so much for sharing!

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  4. I'm another who hasn't ever been to New York City--hope to get there someday!
    I find it really interesting to read about how the inspiration and ideas evolve for artists.

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  5. One of these days, I will have to explore Central Park more. I've been there a couple of times but just briefly.

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  6. Kate: Thank you for sharing the inspiration for your Central Park collection. I already loved the fabrics, but now more!

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  7. Hi Kate,

    Thank you for your wonderful fabric line Fandango. I ordered the entire line of fabric for my store and within one week I had to re-order more. It has been one of my consistent best-sellers. My cousin made a quilt for herself with most of the fabrics and her daughter came home from college and wanted one just like it. She's making another one. I Love Love Love every single piece of this line. Thank you! I can't wait for Central Park to be released. Say hi to my Moda rep, Laurie at Quilt Market!

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