ARTIST STATEMENT
This work, “No Right Answer” addresses the confusion of being a woman today and that any choice she makes is met with criticism. Any decision on children, career, marriage, clothing, etc will have someone telling you that you have made the wrong decision. This leaves women in a constant state of flux as no answer is correct. The viewing experience changes depending on your distance from the piece. Up close the piece may seem like a jumble of different colored Xs but standing back you can see the real picture. The purpose is to add some new life to the photograph but not cover up the focus of the picture.
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