ARTIST STATEMENT
“Repaired” is an example of embroidery on vintage postcards. My goal with this technique is to add to the postcard image without totally covering it. To show how these old images can used to create something new. For “Repaired” I used a traditional sashiko pattern. Sashiko is a type of decorative or visible mending used to repair fabric. It highlights rather than hides the repair. “Over the Shoulder (denim)” is part of a series I have been creating of portraits of women. For this piece I used floss the same color as the denim fabric so that it would be low contrast and thus more affected by the angle it was viewed and the lighting.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Needle and thread are always in my hands; and using them I join the long history of women who have turned needlecraft into a vehicle for political expression and commentary on society. I work primarily in the needlecrafts of embroidery and cross-stitch. I like the balance that they can provide. They have a long history but also the ability to change to fit modern times. They take time and thought to create a tangible product rather than the quickness of writing a comment on social media. Embroidery was how I worked through my frustration and grief with politics and the pandemic. It was how I learned more about craftivism and feminism. It was how I documented the funny, little things. My work uses a symbol of domesticity and femininity to challenge those same notions. Laura O’Connor of Blue Bottom Art is a Grayslake based fiber artist who specializes in embroidered hoop art. Her work covers a wide range from feminism to fashion. She likes the balance of custom and modernity that can be found in fiber arts. Fiber arts have a rich history of beauty but also subversion. Since 2020 she has used her unique embroidery designs to continue this tradition. Many of her embroideries are in the craftivism genre and are part of the following projects: Tiny Pricks Project, Interwoven Stories, I am Woman Project, and Badass HERstory.
© Laura O’Connor