My mother's hands were magic

My mother was born in 1918 and grew up on a farm outside Sao Paulo, Brasil where she worked with her hands since a very early age learning to improvise, solve problems, contending with difficulties, and caring for several younger siblings.

She learned patience, strength, survival and became the necessary rock to later in life ground each of her 3 daughters and husband. She was eccentric in her ways, fragile but strong, intelligent, beautiful and royal like proud.

Most of all she was self-taught in everything she did. She loved life, she had great expectations, she had will and determination and with courage and pride she migrated to the United States in her 70’s after my father’s passing to reinvent herself and start anew despite the huge language barrier she carried to the end of her life . She never gave up!

She worked for herself making, and designing wedding dresses and other types of clothing for as long as I can remember. As a child I recall the amazing magical sight of beautiful, long white wedding gowns hanging in hangers throughout the house where I was born and grew up.

My mother’s creativity could not be stopped, without a doubt she would have been an amazing artist if not for having lived in the wrong time and place. Her hands were magic, she was my biggest inspiration.