Big Ma's Smile

Big Ma usually appeared somber in pictures. Can't you see how pleased she was with this quilt? I don't really remember this one. Sadly, I also have no idea where it might be today. Some family members think that Big Ma's quilts were stored in a closet in a front hallway of her home; others think that Big Ma made many quilts for other people. If so, this quilt and others may still exist as a part of some other family's heirlooms. I would be happier with that possibility than with the probability that many of her quilts were lost forever when my grandparents' home was torn down about ten years ago.

I always thought of Big Ma as a homemaker, and she was, but through resurrecting her arts I'm beginning to see that she also had a source of income. I knew that she took in sewing, yet I'm convinced at this point that she probably also made money from quilting and from her other arts--embroidery, fine crocheting. I'm not aware that any of Big Ma's three sisters had these talents and skills. Where is the answer to how Big Ma learned these arts, or why she was interested in doing so? My hypothesis, just a partial answer, at this point, is that Big Ma was the prized sister in the Thompson family. That's my gut feeling though I do not mean to say that the others--six I think--were not equally loved by their parents. What I know for sure is that Big Ma and her sister Eunice (whom I talk about in an earlier post) attended Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi. To my knowledge, a young woman could take, during the time they would have attended Rust--around1914 to 1916--either the teaching curriculum or the industrial curriculum. Some would call the industrial curriculum for women Victorian. My sense is that what this education was really about was preparing women for marriage to a man who would be a good provider. At Rust, a woman could learn how to create a beautiful home. My grandfather definitely was a good provider. As a prized son, Big Daddy was Big Ma's match! So, their union was blessed by both of their families, and my grandmother was able to make such beautiful art because her talents were supported in her marriage. I can't help but to admire that.

I have attempted only one quilt in my life. I started it almost eighteen years ago when I was pregnant with my first children, and that quilt remains unfinished. It's stored away in a trunk in my daughter's bedroom. Sometimes, when I go into her room, I find the quilt out. Even unfinished, the quilt, my art, is as important to her as my grandmother's is to me. Not long ago, my brother and I were discussing Big Ma's quilts. He said to me in no uncertain terms, "You are always doing art. You are just like her." The funny thing is, I never attributed my own artistic talent to Big Ma. How could I not have? I do regret not appreciating her talent more deeply earlier. I'm glad however that it is not too late to do so now.