Getting To Know

Senior Capstone Project ‘24

Project Statement

Getting To Know is a series I’ve imagined and worked on since COVID-19 began. In 2020 my time was spent at my Grandmother’s home in rural New Hampshire, a house that has been in our family for multiple generations, and truly functions as a family museum. This can be seen in the meticulously handcrafted family albums my Great Grandmother Mamo created, the embroidered tablecloths my Grandmother Iya stitched, and in the letters and objects that were saved by various family members over the years. Since familiarizing myself with these collections, my thoughts haven’t left the many stories and artifacts that exist in the house and in the memories of my family members. As time went on, and I learned more stories that were not yet documented, I felt an urgent desire to record and commemorate archives of my own. Archives that reference the craft of those I grew up with, but that also express a different experience, style, and familial relationship. One that is not as traditional, integrating my blood family as well as my chosen, and even further, those I am newly familiar with from these stories, who are now shared with you, and so on.

Getting To Know is a series of abstracted textile portraits, each one built from an interview with someone close in my life. Following the interviews, I sat with the transcribed stories, then sketched, designed, carved, printed, and eventually, sewed everything together. The materials and techniques for this project were greatly inspired by the many forms of archives and assemblages from my family members, as well as many works from incredibly impactful quilters I have admired. Protest quilts specifically have been a major inspiration due to their heavy incorporation of text and storytelling, their visual similarities with the compilations of photo albums, and their experimental styles that differ greatly from traditional quilting techniques. 

My intention when designing these portraits is to embody the essence of the people, care, and stories that were shared with me during these conversations. I hope they can serve as both a record of these histories, as well as an honoring of the relationships and individuals who shared and were shared.

Materials:

linoleum block printing, fabric, cyanotype, fabric glue, embroidery thread, needle, clothing

Abstracted portraits are pictured below. Click images for interview text

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mango '20