I am a social worker and teacher by profession and artist the rest of the time.
I identify as queer.
I predominately make quilts that I hand stitch from recycled materials from my closet and thrift stores. Each one takes weeks or months as I incorporate its making into my daily schedule of work and family obligations. I prefer hand stitching because of its contemplative qualities. At times it can be a form of meditation while at other times it is a way of being in community with others. The final products are full of stitches, textures, thoughts, memories, and emotions. They have the potential for a human body to wrap itself inside some and to put others on its lap and in so doing, have a tactile and somatic connection with all that went into the quilts’ making.
My father passed away last November. Some of the quilts in this show were made before he passed and some were made after. I have been grieving the loss of both my parents and have decided to fully embrace this grief. As C. G. Jung wrote, “Embrace your grief. For there your soul will grow.”
I am adding BD (Before Death) and AD (After Death) to the titles of the work in this show. The AD works are the processings of some of the many emotions I have been feeling including sorrow, anger, loneliness, as well as a heightened connection to the spiritual. Imagination, adaptation, transformation, interdependence, wonder, and resilience are the themes of the BD works. These works have acquired new meanings as I navigate the currents of grief and the present realities of our world.
May this work encourage you to feel and live deeply in loving and sustainable community with all beings. May this work also help you, in some small way, navigate the currents that you may be facing.