Ever since I can remember, I’ve had a fascination with glass, china and beautiful silverware. I think it stems from when I was a young child admiring my maternal grandmother’s beautifully-set dining room table. Oddly, I don’t ever remember sitting down at these artfully-arranged tables. The elegant table would have been prepared for grown folk. My grandmother was a member of garden clubs and active in our church. Back in the day, children always ate together on fancy occasions, away from the dining room. There were so many of us cousins that it would have been impossible to seat all of us with the adults.

My grandmother, Emma Lois, also had a set of china which one of her sons had given to her while he had been stationed in Korea. The china was displayed on shelves in an enclave in the dining room for all to see. I particularly liked the gravy boats and covered vegetable bowls. There was also a mural which spanned a wall which my Uncle H.J. had painted. I’ve since seen these kinds of murals as an adult in grand homes and castles.

You can’t have a beautifully-set table without having delicious looking food. I remember the colorful congealed salads which were popular during that time, as well as the golden baked chicken and the potatoes wrapped in foil. To this day, I love baked potatoes and I could eat chicken every day.

And so, when I go to art museums and gravitate towards the glass pieces, china, and furniture, I know that my love for these things, which are oftentimes fancy and always beautiful, stems from being in awe as a child of the lovely surroundings at GrandMa’s house.