ARTIST STATEMENT
This paper collage represents my artist block or finding it hard to create art in a time of stress caused by current politics. The grayed out portion of the collage shows the current upheaval in the United States and how it affects people both physically and mentally. Although there are still bright points, it leaves me unable to focus on being creative. I usually work in embroidery which takes a long time. I often feel that by the time I have a piece finished related to a current event it has already been forgotten due to the constant barrage of horror coming from the current administration.
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.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
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