Coat of Sheer Empowerment
Coat of Sheer Empowerment
2022
Words of aspiration, affirmation and encouragement are part of this oversized coat. These are words we do not show or share often enough. These are words that should billow out over the world. Layer upon layer of sheer fabric remnants (rescued from the discard bin of my favorite Chicago warehouse) and others left over from earlier projects, represent the way we are all made of multiple layers of feelings, emotions and experiences. Some words are easy to see and others need a bit of encouragement but do eventually emerge forth. An almost graffiti-esque feeling is created by using cursive writing and amorphic shapes to produce different colors and textures on the muslin base.
Except for the top shoulder and arms seams of the jacket portion, all else is entirely hand-stitched. The hat is also hand-stitched with the word “Empower” around the crown portion. This element was needed to visually balance the weight of the coat.
No two words are the same color. No floss colors are repeated. No closure is used allowing the garment to flow wild and free. The under layer is to hide the backside of the stitching, create a finished edge on the front and also help keep the train portion supported and open.
Assure Be Believe Dream
Cherish Care Empower Faith
Forgive Give Grace Hope
Inspire Kind Motivate Nurture
Praise See Service Teach
Wise Value
Seam binding, muslin, sheer fabrics, cotton fabrics, embroidery floss, thread.
My Life: How Enlightening
Curtain sheer, 35mm film negatives, thread, earring, remnant sheers, zipper, tiny beads
2022
This piece when lit from the inside for a completely different effect. The negatives will come alive in all their ancient amber colored glory. Because of the zipper and base garment, it can also be worn as an actual dress on the runway.
This was created as a challenge to myself. I used a window curtain sheer as the base and hand stitched the negatives to it for support and with a design in mind. The cross pieces help to balance the natural pull of the negatives to flatten out and look odd. To use even more negatives, the fringe pieces were added which then created a 1920 flapper feel that I find fun. Remnant sheers from my inventory became sleeves echoing the shape of slides, yet another film reference. The headpiece can be lit as well with tiny faerie lights.
Dance with Dementia
This garment is for display only. The body form has no neck or head area (the emptiness of dementia) and is also on rollers so she can “dance”. The piece is designed as a modified ballet costume (perhaps a bit of Swan Lake for a swan song?) comprised of: the artist’s 1984 wedding rehearsal dress; hoop slip reinforced with hula hoops; overskirt made from a bedsheet that was wrapped around her mother’s bridal gown (to preserve it) circa 1958; and the front panel of a real dance costume. The back sequin panel, feather boa trim, costume jewelry, and netting overlay are materials favored by the artist over time.
The front panel poem was written by the artist. Attached are the original sewing tools of the artist’s grandmother (Annabel Romig Cahill) and her husband’s grandmother (Anna Drotloff).
The 52 miniature dresses pay homage to the full sized wearable and small scale sculptural Hoard Couture series of garments. Each mini-dress represents one to three pieces from the collection by the use of specific materials. For example, the napkin dress represents garments in the Daily Doodle Series. These small pieces are made as memories and more able to be stored once the artist passes away and the full scale series is eventually disposed of.
When fully assembled, this dancer’s dress serves as a retrospective of the artist’s years making Hoard Couture and a lifetime of playing with art materials.
Dance with Dementia
A little girl grows up to make art
She wears it well, they say
Dancing under gallery lights
Accolades
Decades
Pieces of herself left behind, until
An unfinished canvas, an empty hook
A missed deadline
Unsigned
Did anyone notice?
Were there signs?
Decline
The stage grows dark
The theater lies empty
Studio spaces forgotten
A.R.T. entombed in bins
Abandoned
Unavailable
A nice lady gives her some crayons
Oh what a tangled web we weave, when all we want to do is breathe…or die trying
Puff the Magic Dragon and Joe Camel have a new friend, Bronchi the Boa Constrictor, a crafty little serpent that suffocates its prey to death. Smoking related illnesses are a number one killer. It took my mom. This garment uses 696 linear feet of air tubing accumulated over time as my Mom was tethered to it for many years before she finally passed from complications of emphysema 6 months ago. She had smoked since age 14.
My greatest obstacle was how to work with this material as it is very stiff. A hospital lab coat is used for the base garment upon which I added appliques of “lungs” beginning to fill with smoke. The waistband contains the title. The arms are embroidered with the original surgeon general’s warning that was printed on cigarette packs for the first time in 1969. The other arm says “Tethered to O2 was a lifeline 4U”. The lower portion of the piece is my fourth solution to working with the tubing. The lengths, varying from 4’ to 14’ were softened in the sun, then twisted together in groups of two. These pieces were then woven through deer fencing. Only pieces with attached cannulas were used here. The neck piece is Bronchi the Boa-Constrictor made from 5 lengths of 50 foot tubing (250 feet in all), twisted upon itself multiple times. I made his head fun and crafty, a cute critter that softens the evil of reality just like Puff and Joe. The cigarettes in his mouth are the same brand my mom used to smoke. All remaining tubing is allowed to fall and twist at will, like a den of snakes. The lowest hem is embroidered with: Bronchi says “I kill 480,000 Americans each year and cost the U.S. $600 Billion dollars doing it!”
Dress of Success or is it just a Sheer Illusion?
2024
Reclaimed wedding gown, black out curtains, floss, remnant sheers
50 luxury brand logos adorn this reclaimed wedding gown. They form a bold pattern, easily seen and recognized. Overlaying this design, are 60 sheer circles with words of worth stitched on them. The conversation is about what we see versus what we should look for. What do we value versus what we may overlook. Where do you stand? Are designer goods and brands more important than the qualities of bravery or compassion? What did you notice first? A wedding gown was used to imply that these 60 words of worth are perhaps what one should look for in a partner rather than what is owned, driven or worn. The logos and words are all hand cut and stitched. And yes, the words of worth outnumber the worth of goods. The headpiece features a definition, “Worth: The value of something measured by its qualities or by the esteem in which it is held.”
Going in Circles
Have you had a point in your life where it seems as if all you are doing is going in circles? This poncho style cape chronicles just such a period in my life, 160 days from June 18th to November 24th, 2023, when my life felt as if it was spiraling out of my grasp. These are the dates of my mom’s fall to the day of her passing. It was a journey through 3 hospitalizations, skilled nursing, assisted living, injuries, setbacks and finally the choice of hospice to await the inevitable. On my own, I had to navigate this sudden change to my own life while taking on that of another. From finances, household needs, medical institutions, and insurance claims to selling a car, breaking up a house and dealing with death, all while holding on to my own family and “career”. During that span, I did no art work other than this piece, which I could pick up and put down at any point. The 80 circles at the bottom, arranged alphabetically, are words that became my world. Symbolically, her life completed the full circle, birth to death. Mine was spiraling in all different directions but we were connected throughout. She joked that I had to spoon feed her just like she had to for me as a baby. I chose the poncho style as sometimes I just wanted to curl up and cover myself. Red is the color of blood, our fluid for life and the greys and blacks were happenstance by available materials at hand. The layout and direction of the stitching occurred organically as the wandering mind seemed fit. For the record, I am still spinning but not as fast…..
2024
Fleece, felted pieces, embroidery floss, foam,
Seriously! This is great exposure!
2023
This coat is in response to two issues. The first is the arbitrary judgement that is the jury system, when a decision by one, two or three people can make or break a career. Their choices can build one up and inspire, or tear down motivation and send one off in search of answers. The second issue is the flippant attitude displayed by many members of the general public towards the role of an artist as a professional. The text embroidered on the sleeves are questions or comments artists often hear, both hurtful and/or demeaning.
The images on the coat were chosen by me, (as a juror), from years and years of books, featuring the annual juried member exhibition published yearly by the oldest women’s art organization in the United States. I happen to be a member. My work only appeared once in the books. A matter of principle rather than quality of my work. From the thousands of images available, I chose the ones I felt were worthy. The process was therapeutic. I noticed personal prejudices to style, media or content. I enjoyed being a juror!
The images were cut and hand-sewn to small muslin pieces, then assembled onto a full base muslin coat. The four full front and back panels were created individually then machine stitched on the support seams. A center panel attaches separately to positon and drape the coat appropriately as paper does not react like fabric. A black bra was deconstructed and reworked to make a support system for the sleeves and shoulders.
Zip-Tie Couture
My dad LOVED zip-ties. Even if something did not need to be secured, he zip-tied it in place anyway. Breaking up the home, I found hundreds and hundreds of loose zip-ties in tool chests, kitchen drawers and randomly scattered throughout the house. Most were black and white, the colored ones perhaps being stocking stuffers over the years. This flapper-esque styled garment, headpiece and arm bands contain 2902 zip-ties. Yes, there are still more. The base dress is a blackout curtain panel, the straps are from a cochlear implant tote bag (he was deaf) and deer fencing (found in the shed) provides the attachment layer. It is a heavy piece but fully wearable when the excess fabric is zip-tied to the bottom row of fencing in order to walk and a full zipper is in the back. The layout of the zip-ties is purposeful to create patterns and balance, all being figured out mathematically beforehand as one cannot reuse a zip-tie, it must be cut off.
2902 zip-ties, black out curtain panel, plastic deer fencing.
The Kitty Kat Coat
2023
Deconstructed thrift coat, lunch napkins, sharpie, thread, pom
poms, floss.
The Daily Doodle Diary Series continues to grow with the addition of this coat featuring napkins starring my cat on the main body of the garment. The sleeves are napkins about my fight with poison ivy, yard chores and weather issues. What was once the outside of a faux fur is now the inside lining. Most of the images are of Cersie, our rescue cat from a nearby woods. She is a main coon runt, not quite living up to the expectations of a full sized breed. The dog is my grand-dog CeCe who comes to stay periodically. A few images are of the now deceased Sadie (known as “Tades”) and perhaps one of Ringo. CeCe has her own collection of images so only those with Cersie are included here.
The Wonderbread Wedding Gown
2023
Third time is a charm as the saying goes. This gown had been in storage for 10 years since its second reincarnation, subjected to moisture, temperature changes and aging in general. I decided all my Hoard Couture garments should be wearable, not built for display only, so I deconstructed what was salvageable and have reconstructed a third rendition of the original gown. Everything from the waist up, except for the buns in the oven, is completely remade using original pieces when possible. Having learned a lot since this journey began, better attachment methods are now in place (snaps, zippers and ties) so a model (that would be me) can get into and out of it easily. The headpiece is new as well.
All skirting parts are original from both revisions so the damage can still be seen. Perhaps that represents the deterioration of a marriage if neglected over time? Overall, I think she is still “Wonderful!”
Wonder bread bags, bra, assorted other brands of bread, fabric, sequins, maribou
Version 1 – “It was a wonderful wedding until she got a yeast infection.” 2009
Version 2 – “She rises again, it was the yeast I could do.” 2013
Version 3 – “She was kneaded again, dought’cha know!” 2023
08/30/2024