Vera Valentinovna Nevskaya (1921-1999)

babushka Vera

My grandmother Vera taught me many different skills: to sew, embroider, knit and decorate the house. She could keep my attention for hours being so creative and passionate. Within a day we could sew a whole wardrobe for my new doll or we could put together a handmade present for my parents. This skill was very helpful especially during the times when one could hardly get anything in the shops. She would buy ordinary things and turn them into something special.

Until the age of three, all my clothes were fully embroidered by my grandmother. All my hats, scarves, socks and vests were knitted by her. She would also make sure that they all fit me perfectly. At the age of seven, we started to enjoy the making together.

She was fascinated by Russian folklore and would show it in her own way. When one entered her kitchen, it would feel like entering a gallery. On the walls everywhere, there were wooden boards of different shapes, painted in traditional style and nicely finished with varnish. The paintings would shine and attract attention. One would never say that those were simple cutting boards to be used in the kitchen.

She created different collections, inspired by nature and animals. We would sit together at the table, think of a new theme and start with a pencil sketch on the board. Then we mixed gouache to get the needed colours and started painting. At the end, we would add a 5mm painted frame and finished the whole drawing with a varnish. Vera also taught me to paint wooden spoons. Afterwards, we would use them together to drink soup and enjoyed those beautiful spoons nicely cooling the warm dish.

Recently, I discovered that many of our neighbors still have kitchen boards painted by my grandmother that were given to them as a present.

I still have her sewing machine, paper templates and knitting needles. I still wear her white collars, hand knit with a special hook, which I attach to a simple dress for a fresh flair. I am grateful to say that this belonged to my grandmother and was made by her.

Gulnaz Mamedovna Alieva (85 years old)

babylya Gulya

My grandmother Gulya is a good cook. She is the keeper of family traditions and recipes through the years. A typical menu: yogurt soup with sorrel, flat cake with meat and pomegranate seeds, pilaf with lamb and dried fruits and hot tea with preserves for desert. At the end of a visit, you get a small jar with jam or eggplant paste on the condition that you return the empty jar. It is common that friends bring something from their stock in exchange.

My grandmother is now 85, and I am allowed to help her with making preserves and buying all that is needed at the market, though only under her total control. We make jams from figs, apricots, carnelian or white cherries and from quinces, my favorite. My grandmother stores all these preserves and hands out parts of the collection to family members and friends carefully, so that the stock doesn’t run out before the next summer.

Here is the recipe my grandmother allowed me to share:

Clean five medium quinces and cut them very thinly lengthwise. 1 kg of quince requires 1 kg of sugar and 250ml of cooled boiled water. Start by preparing sugar syrup in a big metal pot by warming 250ml of water until body temperature. Then add sugar and stir until it starts to boil. Switch to a low fire and add the cut quince. Leave the mixture on the fire until it starts to boil (8-10 minutes). Switch the fire off and cook it again in 12 hours until it just starts to boil on a low fire. Repeat 2 times every 12 hours, for a total of 4 repetitions. Store the cooled jam in small jars and keep them in a cold place. The pieces of quince should stay crispy.

Other jams can be made using the same recipe and proportions. Carnelian cherry jam contains a lot of vitamin C and is perfect in combination with hot tea if you have a cold. Apricot preserve will be very unusual if the inner nut is placed back inside each fruit. All the preserves are sweet and work perfectly as lemonade syrup or  as a sugar replacement in tea,but my grandmother simply uses the preserves as a dessert next to hot black tea served with a slice of lemon.

Inara Nevskaya

Inga Källén and Nuria Bach Ylla

My name is Sara Vall and I’m a mix of a Spanish father and a Swedish mother. My grandmothers are two very different characters, separated by 2 500 km, one lives in Spain and the other one lives in Sweden. I was brought up in Sweden, so naturally I’ve spent a lot more time together with my Swedish grandma (mormor Inga), my Spanish grandmother (abuela Nuria) I only met during visits to Spain during the summers. Both grandmothers share a common interest for hand crafts and have a huge talent for making things look exquisite. I spent a lot of time during holidays with my Swedish grandmother and during that time she taught me everything I know about sewing and knitting. While grandmother Inga worked very hard all her life in a factory grandmother Nuria was a housewife. I remember as a child playing with them and the touch of their hands. While my grandmother Inga’s hands felt a bit dry and rough, my grandmother Nuria’s hands were always soft. They are the kind of grandmothers that will tell you to get up and sweep of your legs from dust whenever you’d fall with a “Oh, come on, that wasn’t so bad, was it.” And after pausing for a while you will realise, it really wasn’t that bad.

grandmother Inga and I a hot summers day

my grandfather and grandmother in their apartment in Barcelona

I don’t get the chance to meet them so often, my Spanish grandmother I see once a year, my Swedish grandmother I see a bit more often, but I always carry them with me. When I feel the smell of hot, wet asphalt I think of grandmother Nuria and the hot summers when they shower the streets of Barcelona with water to clean them. And whenever I have to show my driving licence I think of grandmother Inga and the time when she picked me up after the test. She asked me how it went and I answered: I made it! And she just said: Of course you did, I knew you would pass it. For me, my grandmothers meant having to people in my life that would always think that I could manage anything, they would support everything I do, with the attitude that there is nothing that I couldn’t do!

Eftichía Katsiana and Effrosyni Petala

My name is Effrosyni Petala and as you can see I have my grandmother's name, very typical for Greek families. I was born and raised in Western Greece, very close to the village (Skoupa, Arta region) where both my parents grew up. My grandmother Eftichía (94) is still living there, my grandmother Effrosyni died in 2003. The short distance between my home-town (Filippiada, Preveza region) and Skoupa helped me being in close contact with my grandmothers. We had many family visits during weekends and spent many Christmas, Easter and summer holidays there. Food of course has always been an important parameter, since both my grandmothers have been great cooks; often taste competitions between them resulted in great fun!

My grandmother Eftichía, spent most of her life in front of a shewing machine. Her occupation was tailoring and knitting; up until recently, when starting dealing with sight problems, she has created amazing pieces that have a great place in both mine and my mother's closets. The most valuable lesson i gained from her is being patient and insist on pursuing dreams and ambitions.

3 generations: grandmother, mother, daughter

My grandmother Effrosyni occupied herself mainly with agricultural and farming activities. Being the mother of 3 sons she had a strong character, which was also shaped during the second world war. Her resistance actions have been honored by the Greek government and i can only remember her with pride and admiration. Strength and independence are the most valuable lessons i got from her.

I am looking forward to this project in order to refresh all my memories about my beloved grandmothers, showing as well my gratitude for all their accomplishments.

Chen Lin and Pu Rouluen

To give you and introduction to myself, my name is Shauna; I am Chinese-American, born and raised in the United States. During my childhood growing up in California, I had a lot of interaction with my grandma's known to me as Nai Nai (dad's mom) and Wai Po (mom's mom), who are both still alive today.

My grandmother and artist, Chen Lin, taught me how to paint in the Chinese Guo Hua style and with acrylics: shrimp, bamboo, roses, landscapes, etc. I even got I got a comprehensive VHS tape of Bob Ross videos as a recent Christmas present.

Chen Lin (pre 1970s) before she was my grandmother

My grandmother Rouluen is a very quiet and dedicated grandma. Despite always being in the shadow of my grandfather and of my rather large family, she expresses her love and care for us through her wondrous cooking and through little, everyday actions.

Pu Rouluen (2000) in the kitchen making some goodies at my home in Cary, NC

This winter I went to Taipei to visit Nai Nai, now 85 years old. She is still sharp as a knife and acting as matriarch to the Jins'. I'm looking forward to using this project as a chance to get in touch with Wai Po who still lives in California.

An introduction

I had my first lessons when I was a little girl. My first teachers were my grandmothers.

My two grandmothers are two different worlds, they are two parts of me. One is patient and strong, the other is emotional. One is ready to listen, the other is ready to argue. One is a good cook, the other is a good knitter. One has a calm love, the other has the love of a fighter. They both gave me the feeling of a unique connection and experience. They offered their unique skills, I was ready to listen to and repeat.

My memories are very personal and warm. I wanted to find a way to share the most exciting advice given to me by my grandmothers.

I decided to ask twelwe girls to do the same. Girls with different cultures, different backgrounds, different grandmothers.

My Russian grandmother died in 1999, my Azerbaijanian grandmother is now 85. I am happy I can remember and think about the one, talk and listen to the other one, one more time. I want to tell you about my grandmothers. And I want to hear about yours.

I want to combine these shared memories into a project devoted to our grandmothers. I want us to learn again and feel gratitude, and to make them smile, wherever they are now.

Babushka Vera (1921-1999) and me in the summer house (dacha), 55km from Moscow

Babyshka Gulya (1924) seeing me for the first time

Inara Nevskaya