Photo by Jeff Dixon

 

It is with great love and admiration that I recognize the life of Polly Harrison, my mom.  She was my very best friend, and a beloved friend to so many people all over the world.  She was married to Douglas Jensen for 26 years, and she had one grandchild, Chandler, that loved her more than anything.

 

Her artwork is so unique - I've never seen anything similar to it.  She took "trash" as she called it, and made the most beautiful pieces of art I've ever seen.  She certainly left her fingerprint here for everyone to enjoy.  But she never did it for personal acknowledgement or fame.  It was her curiosity, her creativity, and her ability to see something differently than its intended purpose.   She would try different things with found material to "see what it wanted to do."  And what it did was to create artwork that could be seen as one of the most comprehensive collections of weaving techniques and materials by a single artist.  She could weave anything - rope, wire, metal, photos, string, stamps, film, and video tape, just to name a few.

 

But her greatest weaving of all was her life.  She started with determination and curiosity as a child, and then she added her family and friendship to it.  She wove in lots of patience, and reinforced it with awareness of the environment, knowledge of the Earth's resources, and Native American, Japanese and Mayan history, art and culture.  Once it took form, she covered it with unconditional love.  And then, instead of keeping it to herself, she shared everything she knew.  And so many people found joy in sharing her artwork and also sharing a piece of this world with her.  I know I feel so grateful to have been a part of her life.

 

She fought so hard against the cancer, but sometimes a body just isn't strong enough.  Sometimes all the prayers in the world just aren't enough to keep someone here if it's time for them to start another journey.  And Polly sure wouldn't want anyone to be sad, so she requested a "party" one lunar month later.  So we had it at her studio with all of her artwork, food and drinks, people smiling, and some even laughing as they remembered special moments.  The weather was perfect, and there was so much love there that night!  Polly's grandson was playing her favorite albums on the record player, and it was just a beautiful party for her!

 

The most wonderful thing I learned from my mom was unconditional love.  Her husband, Doug, said she treated everything and everyone like gold.  And she really did.  What a truly lovely and peaceful world this would be if everyone did that.

 

Polly ended a lot of emails and letters with "love & light" in her signature.  And I think that's what she brought to so many people - love and light.  So when I look at the moon, I smile now, and I hope you do as well.  Polly may not be here physically, but her spirit sure does shine brightly in all of our hearts.