Carolyn Shores Wright, 1929-2023

I've done several posts on this blog about my mother Carolyn Shores Wright and her activities. One item covered her high school modeling stint for Avondale Mills. Her career as a professional artist, mostly in watercolor, lasted almost fifty years. I've written about the time she heard George Washington Carver speak in Camp Hill when she was seven years old. I've also covered the 1950 Auburn football game my parents attended soon after their wedding, and a bit about the Jefferson County town where she was born, Powhatan. 

Mom died on January 17, so I wanted to do a tribute to her on this blog. I've included the text of her obituary, since it covers the highlights. Also in this post are some photos of her and family and some images of her art to give an idea of the variety of subjects she painted. 

More comments are below some of the photos and images. 

Carolyn Shores Wright December 28, 1929-January 17, 2023 

Carolyn Shores Wright, 93, of Huntsville, AL passed away peacefully at home Tuesday, January 17. She was born in Powhatan, a west Jefferson County coal mining town that no longer exists. Carolyn and her siblings were the children of  long-time Methodist minister John Miller Shores, and they lived in various towns including Camp Hill, Florence, Sylacauga, Alex City, and Montevallo. One of her vivid memories from childhood was hearing George Washington Carver speak in Camp Hill when she was about 7 years old. During high school, Carolyn was a model for Avondale Mills. She attended college at Montevallo and Auburn, where she met her husband  of 52 years, A.J. The passions of her adult life were family, her church and her painting. She and A.J. were founding members of Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Huntsville. For about fifty years Carolyn was a very prolific artist, first in oils, then acrylics, and finally “her medium” as she described it, watercolors. During those years she created hundreds of works that featured hummingbirds and many other birds, flowers, still lifes, landscapes, people and a series of humorous and whimsical bird paintings she called “Bird Life.” Carolyn was preceded in death by husband Amos Jasper Wright, Jr.; her mother Tempe Flowers Shores and father John Miller Shores; step-mother Edith Shores; sister Hethie Shores Kuehlthau; sister Marjorie Shores Pike; and brother John Miller Shores, Jr. She is survived by her sons Amos Jasper Wright III [Dianne] and Richard Ashley Wright [Lucy]; brother Max Shores [Cindy]; grandchildren Amos Jasper Wright IV [Kim], Ashley T. Wright [Jessica], Becca Wright; and Miller S. Wright [Kathyrn]; and great-grandchildren Ann Collins Wright, Ashley McDonald Wright, and Ezra Jasper Leon. Also surviving are two special nieces Charlotte Shores Ryder [Curtis] and Cindi Shores Sherrill, as well as many other nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held Saturday, February 4, at 11 A.M. at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Huntsville, with service to follow at noon. Internment will be in Maple Hill Cemetery in a private family service. In lieu of flowers memorials to Aldersgate United Methodist Church (Honduran Mission) or the Alabama Sheriffs Youth Ranches would be appreciated.

Mom is between sisters Marjorie and Hethie and with brother John.

Mom again in the middle between Marjorie and Hethie many years earlier. 

My grandmother Tempe Flowers Shores and her children. Hethie is standing, then Marjorie, mom and John. 

Mom and dad are flanking my paternal grandparents at their house on Chandler Street in Gadsden. Richard and I are on the floor. I'm really excited over the white socks I'm wearing. The occasion was the fiftieth wedding anniversary of Rosa Mae and Amos Wright; they were married on Halloween 1915. 

Dad and mom on a Christmas trip to Gatlinburg. 

Mom's parents and siblings are in this photo; mom wasn't around yet. Her father John Miller Shores was a minister in the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church for several decades. 

Dad and mom and the wedding cake at the First Methodist Church in Haleyville, 10 September 1950. 

Mom and my children, Becca and Amos

Mom with my younger brother Richard and his sons Ashley and Miller. Mom was in her red hair phase; the red hat phase came later. 

A formal family portrait in the late 1950's. Mom always wanted me to digitize this photo and take her out; she was not fond of the hairdo. 

Yours truly, mom and brother Richard on the steps of our house on Cloverdale Drive in Huntsville in the mid-1950s. The three of us revisited the house in July 2018. 

Richard and mom walking toward dad's grave in Maple Hill Cemetery. That spring 2022 visit was the last time we took her there. 

"Spring Fantasy"

"Fancy Flight"

"A Brother's Trick"
Mom said this painting was suggested by her brother John--he would roller skate really fast up to his sisters and turn away just in time...

"Holiday Cruise"

Mom did a number of paintings in what she called her "Bird Life" series that featured birds in human situations. You can see more of them here.

You can see many more of her paintings at her Etsy and Fine Art America shops. 

Mom's Art & AMIA Stained Glass

In January 2018 I posted an item on this blog entitled "My Mother the Artist." I discussed her career as a watercolor artist that has continued for more than five decades. Carolyn Shores Wright turned 89 this past December and continues to paint.

Over the years mom's art has been licensed for many items, ranging from prints and greeting cards to coasters and trivets. One of the companies licensing her work is AMIA, which has manufactured hand-painted glass gifts since 1995. The products are made in Hong Kong; mom's samples have been shipped to her directly from there. 

The Collector's Addition is a distributor that carries new and many retired AMIA products. Amazon and WalMart also offer many of them. Unfortunately, none of these sites seem to easily identify the artist for each piece. For Amazon and Wal-Mart, use the search string "amia stained glass carolyn shores wright" and you will find many of them. 

You can find mom's art on ArtFire, Etsy, Fine Art America and Pinterest. You can follow her on Twitter @CShoresInc and Facebook as CShoresInc.

Below are photographs of some of the AMIA items created from mom's work. Most of these were included in a recent shipment.

In April 2017 we made a trip to Colorado Springs. One day we visited the nearby town of Manitou Springs, which has lots of interesting restaurants and gift shops. In one of the latter we found this AMIA item of mom's for sale. I've written about that trip in a blog post here.

This piece and the one below are the two largest AMIA items. They are both VERY large compared to all the others!

My Mother the Artist

My mother Carolyn Shores Wright turned 88 this past December, so time for a blog post. 

Actually, she has come up before in this space. I've written about her memory of seeing George Washington Carver speak in Camp Hill when she was a child. Another post discussed her modelling days and appearance on the front page of the Avondale Sun in 1949. That one also mentions the time she slept in Harper Lee's bed in Monroeville. I've also written about a football game my parents attended at Auburn soon after their 1950 wedding.

Now its time to discuss her painting career, which has lasted for more than four decades. Here's what we've put on the web page for her art business, CShoresInc:

Carolyn Shores Wright is an artist currently living in Huntsville, Alabama. When Carolyn had two teenage sons, she began her art career. Her early works were done in oils and acrylics, but for a vacation trip her husband gave her a set of watercolor paints. She soon realized she had found her medium.

The artist has developed a style which is sensitive, delicate and uniquely her own. Her whimsical paintings, which have long been favorites of the public, express her own personality with that of the subject. Her more realistic paintings show highly developed textures and patterns.

Her work has been licensed for such products as collector plates, greeting cards, porcelain mugs, stationary products, books, fabrics, wallpaper, dining products, window decorations, t-shirts, tabletop figurines and many other items. Licensing partners include: AMIA,  Art Brands, Bradford Exchange, Burton & Burton, Cherison, Creative Converting, Crown Point Graphics, Current, Danbury Mint, Dimensions, Harvest House Publishers, JQ Greetings, Leanin’ Tree, Marian Heath, Raz Imports, Toland Home & Garden,  etc.

Her work has also been used for promotional greeting cards by Audubon Society, the Christian Children’s Fund, Colorful Images, Military Officers Association of America, National Geographic, Retired Officers Association, Smithsonian, and Yankee Magazine.

CShoresInc can also be found on Facebook, Pinterest, Wanelo and Twitter: @CShoresInc.  Original watercolor paintings and prints are available for sale in my shops at ArtFire and Etsy.

Original art, prints and licensed items are available at Encore Resales in Pelham, Alabama, USA.

Since that description was written, we've added mom's art at Fine Art America. There you can find prints of various sizes, as well her art on products ranging from coffee mugs and iPhone cases to pillows and beach towels.  

During the 1980's and 1990's mom often spent weekends throughout the year at art shows, many at large malls in Greenville, South Carolina, Atlanta, Birmingham and Huntsville. She also had to devote large amounts of time related to the licensing of her work for various products. We would visit on a weekend, and mom would spend much of the time signing prints that had to be returned quickly to the licensing company. 

I remember her telling the story of the time a big delivery truck parked at the end of her street to deliver a 1000 prints she would have to sign. Her current licensing company is Artworks!. Over the years we have found her work on prints and other products around Birmingham in such places as J.C. Penny's and during travels to Disney World, a glass shop in Manitou Springs, Colorado, on greeting cards in Cracker Barrels, etc. 

The images below are a small sample of mom's work. She has painted hundreds and hundreds of mostly watercolors. She started an inventory once upon a time but soon gave up; she's very prolific. And still painting! Go mom!

One of her most popular series has been "Bird Life" featuring birds in humorous human situations. Here's "Yard Work."

This one is "Hot Tub". Many more in this series can be found on Pinterest here. 

She has also painted other humorous animals, such as "Bunny Band."

Small songbirds have always been a favorite subject, although she's done some owls as well. 

People, often based on memories of real people from her childhood, are another favorite subject.

She's done a number of bird houses, with and without birds! Franklin Mint did a series of plates from some of them.

Fruits or vegetables, anyone?

Herbs or shells, anyone?

She has painted a wide variety of still lifes. 

Several books published in the 1980's and 1990's by Harvest House featured mom's art on the covers and inside. 

Humorous and serious paintings with Christmas imagery have been another subject of hers. 

Mom has painted a series of different original china patterns, each with a musical name. This one features the cream and sugar bowl from "Impromptu".

"Magnolia Memory" was used on a greeting card from Leanin' Tree. The company still has  some of her greeting cards in print, but not this one unfortunately.

A favorite bird subject has been hummingbirds; these two are "Humming Along I" and "Humming Along II."

"Blue Bouquet II"

Flowers have been a favorite subject over the years. 

"Pansy Morning"

"Dear Diary"

Mom has painted a number of mostly humorous pieces featuring cherubs.

"Future Farmer"

She's also painted a cherub alphabet and several other alphabets as well. 

She's done several paintings based on antique quilt patterns.

Landscapes have been a popular subject, too.

And then there are the products featured her licensed art work, several hundred of them over the years. Miniature plaques, stationary and cross stitch patterns are only three of many. 

Here's the CShoreInc booth at Encore Resales on US 31 in Pelham. We feature original art, prints and other licensed items by mom, jewelry by Dianne Vargo Wright and other items.