working in fabric

The women I knew growing up in post-war Britain all sewed. It was part of being a capable woman (essay, 36k PDF). Over the years, I’ve sewed clothes, shortened skirts, replaced zips, patched worn knees and elbows, changed ugly buttons for prettier ones, and taken out dozens of shoulder pads. I’ve made baby quilts, coordinated group quilts, pieced patchwork footballs for toddlers and juggling balls for adults.

The immediate military response to the attacks of September-11 made me scared and angry. I longed to do something creative to express the core of what matters. Years before, I’d made rough sketches for four fabric hangings representing the elements–-earth, air, fire, and water—the foundations of life. Their time had come.

water

fire

air

earth

To view a larger version of the full image, click on a thumbnail above.

This project re-awakened my love of fabrics – the rich colors and sheen of silk and velvet, nubbly textured linen, sweet-smelling tweed, and the crispness of cotton. It prompted me to undertake commissions. Fabric works bring everyday beauty into our lives. They affirm and honor members of a family or community. They help to celebrate the birth of a baby, a marriage, anniversary, or retirement, and comfort someone who is ill. They enhance the atmosphere for meditation, worship, and prayer.

I’m working on two new hangings entitled “Life Force,” and have plans for a series on oppression and healing. I am also seeking opportunities to show my work. My outfit, “The People’s Budget,” was featured in Fashioning Resistance to Militarism, organized by Women of Color Resource Center in May 2005.

I’m inspired by fabric projects that bring people together such as the AIDS Memorial Quilt, the Boise Peace Quilt Project, the Cambridge Oral History Project, the CODEPINK Peace Ribbon Project, and the Ribbon International where women encircled the Pentagon with decorated fabric pieces. Women in Chile have made arpilleras from scraps of cloth and yarn to raise international awareness of the plight of their loved ones – “disappeared”, tortured and murdered during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. Feminist artists like Judy Chicago and Faith Reingold, and untold numbers of quiltershave demonstrated how fabric work bridges art and craft, the personal and the public, creating beauty and making a point.

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