Hello there, my friends! I am so happy to have you here today with me on the blog as we revive the Tasha Tuesday feature here at Audrey Eclectic and also celebrate Tasha’s birthday! Tasha was born on this day in 1915 and led an extraordinary and rich life.
Lately you often hear that Thoreaux quote: “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.”
That was Tasha’s motto in life, and I believe it’s through her use that the quote has regained notice. Because she truly did live a life of her dreams– created out of hard work and determination— but clearly of her own vision.
Over the decades we’ve come to know this elusive and often reclusive artist through her many illustrated children’s books, cards and calenders, as well as through books on her lifestyle, garden and crafts. Tasha was an interesting and complex woman. She was complicated, sometimes difficult, and set in her ways. But she was also extremely talented, focused, driven to succeed and made her own path in the world.
As the days grow colder and evening comes quicker, i think we naturally become homebodies. At least for me, autumn is when I really get back into knitting, make simmering soups and stews, curl up with a quilt and a good book, and things start to slow down into a gentle rhythm of homey things. It’s often the time when I’ll bring out my Tasha books to get ideas for holiday gifts and decor, or crafts to work on, or simply just something pretty to enjoy (I love pretty, what can I say.)
The first book I ever owned about Tasha was “The Private World of Tasha Tudor”, which I found in the bargain bin at my beloved Borders. The cover sleeve had been ripped, and I remember fishing the book out of the box and flipping through it and feeling an odd sensation of joy and familiarity.
“This is me! This is me when I’m 80,” I told my husband with excitement and had to buy the book. I’ve decided now as an old couple we will look like Tasha Tudor and Walt Whitman. We will be adorable.
But I digress….
What was so thrilling to me that evening many years ago in a bookstore and what still thrills me about Tasha is the immediate sense of a kindred spirit that I felt in her. When you find someone who likes what you like, even if it’s a bit kooky and to some maybe ridiculous or juvenile (I like dolls! I like old dresses! I treat my animals like they are very furry children!) you immediately feel a kinship. You get them, they get you. You want to grab their hand and talk about all the stuff you have in common and jump up and down with excitement– which you rarely do now because you are a grown up person who must only like grown up things. Until you meet that special friend.
And although I certainly never really met Tasha, and I haven’t met many of you who read and chat with me here, many of us share this same connection and affinity for similar things. It’s nice to find that. And it’s nice to be embraced for being authentically you.
I think Tasha is wonderful because she was so unabashedly authentic. I am sure she got her share of snickers and comments. I’m sure there was some awkward moment when she was raising teenagers and wearing a calico dress at teacher conferences or school plays. But she was herself. And since we’ve only got this one life to live, you might as well live it being wholly yourself. And Tasha is a wonderful example of that.
And so, on this special Tasha Tuesday, take moment (or two, or all day!) and celebrate Tasha and celebrate you. Take a moment to enjoy some tea or coffee or a decadent desert. Take time to let yourself read a bit of that favorite book, or work on that art project you keep putting aside. Take some of your day and devote it to bringing a little happiness and light into the world. Take JOY.
~H
-Images in this post are by photographer Richard Brown.
– For more information on Tasha Tudor, visit her family website
– For more celebrating of Tasha Tudor on this day, visit Clarice’s blog and see other posts about Tasha
Sleightholm Folk Art 
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