On December 16, 2007 Patricia Pilie’, my mother, left this earth and it was then that I began to really know who Patricia was. This idea is a complicated thing to explain. The best way to explain this is that she was still discovering who she was until the day she died. After that, I really began to discover who Patricia was. Until the day of her passing, she was my mother. After that she became Patricia Pilie’ to me or otherwise known most affectionately by her friends and family. – Patti.

This doesn’t mean that I do not still consider her as my mother. It means I began to see her as two different people. There was the mother who took care of me and was imperfect. We had a contentious relationship at times but there is no doubt she was the best mother a young boy could have. Then there was the person that people told me she was after she passed. She seemed perfect in her own often humorously clumsy but grace-filled personality. It is interesting how in many aspects that this person seems different from the mother I knew. This is really what has made her special. I think that people that have lost a loved one experience a similar thing.  

The intention of this forum is to document, share, and celebrate the person Patricia Pilie – Patti - while trying to make the connection between her and my mother. Join me in sharing stories and expressing your thoughts on Patti while I introduce you to my mother.

She lived the life of an artist.

While my mother was a great cook and kept our home in order, my mother was an artist to the core of her being. What does that mean? She saw everything she did as a creative endeavor. When she cooked, she kept things exciting with trying new blends of tastes from different cultures. She experimented with how to decorate rooms throughout our home. She encouraged others to be creative and experiment with different experiences within life.

When she did sit down to paint, she worked to show the beauty in ordinary things. Her favorite items to paint were things that you may see in local store or shop. You may see these items in nature. Sometimes there was a message that came together in her compositions with the collection of items that otherwise would not be related. Ultimately the message that was underlying in each painting was elegance.

I was lucky enough to learn first-hand from her brilliance as an artist. I was always amazed by her composition and how she arranged things. She could take a broken vase or a weed and make it elegant. She could also take simple items and communicate complicated ideas or invoke with color and composition emotion filled memories. This is event in her 9-11 series or Katrina series.

There will be more to share in the coming future. Hopefully you can share your experiences in the comments.