Naomi and Nancy
Discovering commonalities in two very different life journeys
Nancy Goff had a childhood many people could only dream of. She went to private Catholic schools, had dancing, acting and singing lessons and lived in beautiful homes where she was always well provided for.
“I don’t like to say I was spoiled, but I had two parents who thought I was a princess,” says Nancy, 87.
But she was also an only child until the age of 15, had a mother who was a perfectionist and a father whose work as a freelance fundraiser meant the family moved every two years.
“Having to move so much and make new friends, it was like being a ship at sea,” she remembers. “We never stayed in one place so I never had any roots. I never felt I had a home.”
Naomi Treece’s childhood was starkly different. Her father died just before she was born, leaving her mother with two little girls, aged 2 and 4, and “me on the way.” By the time she was 3, her mother was forced to put all the children in an orphanage, where Naomi would remain for the next three years, living in a dormitory separate from her older sister and wondering if her mother would ever return.
“I was very attached to my mother and as, a child, I didn’t know how long I would be there,” recalls Naomi, who is now in her ‘70s. “I felt abandoned.”
When Nancy and Naomi were first introduced as “Common Ground” partners, they wondered how they would ever find the commonalities in their vastly different backgrounds. But almost as soon as they began meeting for coffee or lunch, “just to sit and talk,” they realized that while their life experiences were vastly different, the feelings and emotions they had dealt with over time were not so dissimilar.
“One of us would say something and the other would say, ‘Oh I experienced something similar…but different,” says Nancy. “All these little things that were totally different, but still connected somehow.”
As they shared memories, Nancy, a largely self-taught professional artist for most of her life would sketch out ideas for their “Common Ground” artwork. Meanwhile, at home, Naomi continued her “hobby” of creating “diamond art,” a medium that involves gluing tiny, faceted, colored beads onto a background material to create pictures. Eventually — and without a real “plan” — the two artforms meshed to create a piece for the “Common Ground” exhibition that is a blend of both their artistic skills and their life’s challenges.
“We never really said, ‘This is what we’re going to do,’” Nancy admits. “It just evolved.”
The finished piece combines diamond art sunflowers created by Naomi, who has no art training; painting and sketches by Nancy; and poetry written by each woman. At the base of the painting are two little girls, seen from the rear, holding hands and seemingly gazing toward their futures.
A path of sunflowers that runs through the painting from bottom to top winds past images of people and places and memories from their pasts. All the figures — which include both women’s mothers, Amelia Gould and Verna Treece — are penciled sketches in black and white, which gives them an almost ghostly quality. There are also images of a moving truck and stacks of boxes; a well-kept home; and, as seen from behind, a little girl combing a woman’s hair.
“Naomi talked about standing in the back seat, combing her mother’s hair as she was driving,” Nancy says. “I never did that, but my grandkids used to play with my hair. So there were all these little coincidences.”
Since both women like words, one day they decided to incorporate poems into their artwork. They had a conversation about “stormy weather,” but didn’t discuss or suggest subject matter for the poetry. So they were surprised and delighted when they next met to discover they’d each chosen a poem that referenced rain.
Given her emotional history, Naomi at first worried that the painting might be “too dark,” but in fact, the end result is anything but. The calming blues and purples of sky, mountains and clouds Nancy painted as a background — with acrylics, though her usual medium is oil — give the work a peaceful and inviting vibe. And Naomi’s diamond art sunflowers make it pop with color, brightness and cheerfulness.
“I think it’s actually very hopeful,” Naomi says.
Nodding, Nancy adds, “I think that’s the way we both view life.”
The path of sunflowers that winds into the distance indicates the possibilities the future always holds, Naomi says.
“Our path is not over, we’re still on the journey,” she says. “Like the path of sunflowers, it just continues on.”
All participants in “Common Ground,” including the collaborating organizers, are donating their time to the project. If you’d like to help with the expenses involved in art materials, promotion and exhibition costs, we welcome tax-deductible donations to the SPAACES Art Foundation (nonprofit EIN 84-500-4237). You can donate online at the SPAACES website (https://spaaces.art) or you can send a check to SPAACES, at 2087 Princeton St., Sarasota, FL 34237.
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This is absolutely lovely, touching, and beautifully revealing.