I "officially" stopped collecting boxes of mystery for the Inheritance Project a long time ago. Like, September-30th-2016-long-time ago. But in the way I always accepted old cloth before the Project became a thing, I still accept it now. At the end of this post is a sneak peek at one of the pieces from the Inheritance Project body of work, and when I send out the next newsletter, I'll give another peek there. I just finished a large piece yesterday and I'm on the home stretch for a May exhibition at the Anchorage Museum. Meanwhile, a deep and belated thank you to the next two Vintage Linen Contributors to the Inheritance Project. These items were delivered this fall. Life Essence.Many Contributors to this project are artists, and Anchorage-based Carol Lambert is no exception. I met Carol two years ago, when we were both curated into a small group show at Alaska Pacific University called Fragments of Time. She is a fine artist -- draws, paints, and is someone whose eye seeks the details that flesh out the darker undercurrents of life: a severed bird wing, a bit of bone. Around Christmas, she opened her studio and offered years-worth of still life props to other artists and makers who could find them useful. Alas, I didn't make it to her open studio prop give away, but I'd already visited with her in my own studio this fall when she delivered culled fabrics and accoutrements. Of course, these items blended easily into my life, despite how long it's taken me to share them here. So long, in fact, that I've already used several yards of it (although the Canadian in me really still likes to think in meters). Thank you, Carol, for contributing to the Inheritance Project and for attending one of the Needle & Myth workshops at the Anchorage Museum this fall. It's been a delight to follow your work all this time. You, too, can see Carol's paintings and drawings here, and/or follow Carol on Instagram: @carollambertarts. Arizona Hardscrabble.Thank you to Dennis Anderson, one of two men who have contributed to the Inheritance Project. Dennis and I were put in contact through the International Quilt Study Center & Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska last fall. The quilt he contributed was made by his Great Grandmother, Hettie, on a Singer treadle sewing machine. I love this photo of her and have it on the wall in my studio. It's a source of great joy and defiant power. Do not mess with this lady. Do not. "Please use the photograph to the fullest. I love that picture. My mother said that Hettie always dressed that way. The ranch house had a wind mill with a 100 gallon tank about 50 feet from the home. When I spent a week end there about 1949 they had running water in the kitchen. I don't know about a bathroom. They had an outhouse about 100 feet from the house. It was a one seater with the quarter moon cut out in the door. And HONEST To GOSH a Sears and Roebuck catalog toilet paper." Hettie collected Bull Durham tobacco pouches from her husband and the cowboys at neighboring ranches, using the cloth to make this quilt. It is sun faded and water stained, but I've already incorporated a baby quilt and another piece -- an unfinished embroidery from Olga Norris in England, with its own story of strength and defiance -- to complete "War Room," for exhibition this May. Below is a sneak peek. For those of you who follow me on Instagram, here's where those 2,000 tapestry needles landed. One year ago on this site:Two years ago on this site:Three years ago on this site:
7 Comments
2/2/2018 05:27:09 am
Those are some amazing buttons. You are thriving in the cold and dark of winter, producing some amazing artwork, working through some complex concepts and pulling it all together for a museum premier. Well done. I especially enjoy the sculptural aspects of some of the new photos you have posted. The War Room is a piece I look forward to seeing full view.
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2/2/2018 06:12:20 am
Thank you, Helen. I've thought of you many times throughout this long process and most recently when I submitted my application for the Barbara Deming Feminist Art Fund you sent my way a long time ago (I didn't forget!). It's so good to have your friendship and kind words this dark, cold morning.
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2/2/2018 06:54:34 am
Amy,
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2/2/2018 04:13:11 pm
This post brings me such happiness, thank you for taking on those materials. I cherished them for as long as I could, then I saw you would have the vision to allow them to become what they wanted to be. It’s so gratifying to know I took them to exactly the right person, the extraordinary Amy!
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2/8/2018 11:48:32 am
Thank you for the latest newsletter. I really enjoyed the links to the other artists (the bed installation was quite haunting and the crochet portraits amazing). Keep up the good work.
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Holly Hudson
2/8/2018 01:56:12 pm
still so happy to be receiving your updates....loved the story about the Anderson family. I have a wounded quilt that I am plan to share the blocks in an embroidery/mixed media class this summer. It will be in the countryside, France. I also plan to share your blog with the teachers (3) & class.....thank you for keeping me on your update list! spring is coming...
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Amy MeissnerArtist in Anchorage, Alaska, sometimes blogging about the collision of history, family & art, with the understanding that none exists without the other. Categories
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February 2019
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