ARTIST STATEMENT
I chose Itinerary Shorts for the “Girlfriends” topic because a large part of friendship amongst women is trying to keep each other safe. It may be always going out in a group or watching each other’s drinks. A common practice is to share your itinerary with a friend. Women take these steps to try to get through daily life safely. Hoping they can do something simple, like go for a jog, without getting murdered. I chose Rose Garden for the “Girlfriends” topic as it features a photograph from 1944 of two women visiting the Garden of Roses in Exposition Park in Los Angeles. 80 years ago two friends stopped to smell the roses. I added the colored cross stitch to the piece to try to hint at what the scene may have looked like in full color whilst not covering up the focus of the picture.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Laura O’Connor of Blue Bottom Art is an Illinois based fiber artist who specializes in embroidered art. Her work uses a symbol of domesticity and femininity to challenge those same notions. She likes the balance of custom and modernity that can be found in fiber arts and the long history of women who have turned needlecraft into a vehicle for political expression and commentary on society. 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. She is also an affiliate artist of the Blue Moon Gallery in Grayslake, Illinois.
© Laura O’Connor