domestic affairs, or my work at the artist residency: part 2
Note: read part 1 of this series for an overview of my time at the residency
Where I got the idea for my project, and why I chose embroidery art as my medium
I started reading about the “Wages for Housework” movement and resonated strongly with many other essays written by Silvia Federici. In my understanding, capitalism is only able to thrive when it can exploit the labor of people: we saw that through slavery and later through the creation of the “housewife” whose duties to maintain the home and raise children are supposed to come “naturally”, and therefore do not deserve compensation. Wages for Housework demands that it be recognized as work and that those who perform it make a livable wage. It rejects the notion of a “career woman” who ends up taking on *two* jobs, one in the home and one outside of it. It expands on the possibilities of liberation and freedom and a way out of exploitation and oppression.
I wanted to create a piece that played with this idea of something that takes place within the home, but has consequences that seep through the walls and travel outside of it. I wanted to explore the difference of what happens inside versus what happens outside, what we consider domestic and what we consider foreign.
I decided to stitch on a queen size duvet cover to signify the bedroom: a place where dreams, sleep, sex, and death occur. It’s erotic and imaginative, but also shows signs of mortality. It is the place within the home where we aim to feel most safe, comfortable, and protected.
Where I started before travelling to Mexico
I had nothing before I went to Mexico except the ideas in my head, a very large blanket in tow, and the memories of conversations with my friends and mentors. By the time I arrived, I had a handful of notes and themes I knew I wanted to touch on with my piece, but I had no idea how to visually tell my story. Sketching something that is supposed to look real has always been a challenge of mine, which is why I usually draw more abstract or organic looking subjects. I had no sketches and no idea how I was going to incorporate all of the varying issues I wanted to tie in.
I bounced between having story panels on the blanket to resemble a kind of comic strip, or abstract areas of containment where each shape would hold a different theme or subject matter. I even briefly considered asking other people to sketch something based on a prompt to embroider on my blanket, creating more of a collaborative piece. I then decided that this piece should be 100% my own, and that my drawings will be intentionally messy. I’m embracing the imperfect, wabi-sabi kind of drawing that many folk artists practice in ways that feel exciting and open to many possibilities.
Boarding the plane, I felt anxious to get anything sketched so I could start on my stitching quickly upon my arrival. I had already taken the time to theorize, now was the time to actualize.
What happened to my project during my time there
Despite my impatience, sketching the concept took the longest amount of time.
Once we got our room assignments, I looked out the window and it hit me: this is the centerpiece. Windows are a bridge between the outside and inside: you can see through them, but it still stands as a barrier between your home and the outer world. I started looking at different window shapes and views beyond it, determining how this window would both add to and distract from the interior and exterior world I would create.
Conversations with my peers while there, and with Francisco, our mentor, were inspiring. I knew I had the images in me, and I knew I could extract them on the patio while enjoying the sunlight, or during the night time while everyone worked in their own private spheres. I knew I had a lot of internal work to do as well to grapple with expressions of separation and difference. Francisco encouraged me to dig deep to find the shadows within my work, since once illuminated they would no longer hold power in it.
From my readings and participation in the residency, I learned a lot more about the history of Spaniard colonization and how that affected families in what we now call Mexico, a country the US considers foreign despite its close proximity and shared cultures. I learned how household relationships shifted over generations and exploited women. Now, especially in the US, housework is exploited by rich families who pay for live-in nannies or caretakers, who have to give up their own homes and families to take care of others, and often without fair compensation. I learned about the ways that post-industrialism framed women’s work and how that contributed to nation building and manifest destiny. This creation of the “other” is one of the shadows I want to illuminate in my work.
I spent three weeks in the house in San Pablo Etla. It was a luxury of time I never thought I would be able to manage financially. I felt grateful and hyper-present, trying to soak in our readings with deep intention and determine how my blanket will tell a story in an accessible and interesting way. I wanted to honor the present moment of our political situation, honor domestic work, and honor different messages that incorporate the lived experiences of many.
selected work from “Bordado Otros Males” by Miguel Hernandez at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca
Where this project is at now
Now that my sketch is done, I have many hours of stitching still to go on this piece. I knew this would be a larger project going into it, and I’m indulging in the prolonged amount of time this will take me. In the past, I would create little embroidered pieces and try to churn out new products monthly. With this piece I will have over 8 months and 100 hours of actual stitching done before I present it in June.
I got lucky and found other artists to participate in a show with me at the Downtown Artist Collective on 258 E 100 S. (PS: Save the date for June 19th for the premiere.) To be perfectly honest… I’m not even sure I’ll have it complete in time for this gallery show, but I’m still planning on displaying it wherever it’s at in the process.
If this project intrigues you and you want to support my work, I started a patreon to document more details and to show sneak previews of different parts of the blanket. I accept any monthly amount, but $10 a month gets you a hand-written note, and once I reach my goal I’ll start offering free community yoga classes.
I’m exhilarated and taking my time simultaneously.
early stage of the blanket, but this is as far as I got to stitch during my residency!