Not Yo’ Granny’s Linen

For the past year I have been creating a new series. It’s a complete departure from my other works. The timing of this couldn’t have been better since it has provided me distraction and company while transitioning in and out and in of Covid stay-at-home mandates.

My statement for this series is currently being word-smithed by my lovely editor for the upcoming revamp of this website. However, I hasten to post this now since my work is currently ill represented on my site and Covid delays to get it updated are inevitable.

Here goes it:

At its most fundamental, Not Yo’ Granny’s Linen pays homage to the traditional role of women and textiles. The technical precision of needlework; the uniform stitch work of embroidery. Such complicated and focused handiwork carried out with dedicated patience and skill. I feel humbled by the artistic calibre of these unsung homemakers.

As I sift through my stash of inherited linens, I can’t help but wonder what those women were reflecting on during their endless hours of domestic devotion. Maybe they weren’t happy homemakers. Maybe they weren’t striving to be artists. Maybe these talented women were bored out of their f-ing minds—tired of embroidering flowers, mending holes and stitching biblical proverbs. Just perhaps, the women whose work I admire resented their role. And that is the launch point for this series.

Conceptually, Not Yo’ Granny’s Linen, is an ironic portrayal of the words never embroidered, never stitched and never spoken by our sisters of yesteryear. This series is a contrast of the well-bread, gentile homemaker with an urban smack-down of attitude. These linens are today’s embroidery samplers, rife with stains, tears and honest emotions.