crystal blue persuasion tribute series.  2022.

This was my first attempt at ‘tribute art.’ Since my Dad, Bill, passed in 2020, I wanted to create a unique visual reminder in his memory.

Using the actual fabric from my Dad’s wedding suit and tie, along with other materials that related to specific memories or experiences, I’ve created pieces that are visually appealing and can be appreciated as both art and a personal memory.

I’ve created four pieces, one for each of Bill’s children (me + three siblings) in the series ‘Crystal Blue Persuasion.’ This was one of his favorite ‘favorite’ songs and it became my mantra during this project.

The first piece is the best one ‘technically’ in terms of using all of the original materials in the correct way so I felt it was appropriate to designate that for Dave, the first child.

Dad was and Jim is a firefighter and I paired the idea of an old-school hard, protective, leather helmet with modern reflective safety materials. I used soft leather in its place.

The piece for Kathy was inspired by some shared memories. I introduced white and cream felt as a reminder of memorable winter sleigh rides with Dad. Light-colored wood alludes to the time we got horribly lost for hours on a woodland hike. It made for a great story that Bill enjoyed telling.

The final piece was for me. Less measured, less technical, less perfect, less expected and embracing that freedom of self that I sometimes saw in my Dad. Letting loose and just being happy. I approached the piece from opposite ends… one side light, the other dark. I used to wear his vintage, gray overcoat in college. I don’t know if he ever held me while wearing that coat but I feel that he did. I used some wool felt in this piece as a nod to that.

I hope that my siblings look at these pieces and smile. Nothing complicated… just something lovely that brings you a brief moment of joy. We are four distinctly different individuals but I believe we share a common thread that Bill had. It’s a spark of amazingly pure unadulterated joy. Life is not always easy but we all share the same ability to make it awesome.

contact Tom to create your own tribute piece.