I chose to embroider tea towels to communicate my concern over urban sprawl and its impact on family farms for two reasons. First, I think it appropriate to use a common kitchen item to draw attention to an issue that involves our future food supply. The support for the embroidery is large, white feed sack towels I found at a hardware store in the small, rural community where I teach. They are the same type of towel I remember my mother embroidering when I was a child.
The style of embroidery I used is referred to as red line embroidery or redwork. The use of red embroidery floss is historically significant since it is often seen on towels produced during the mid-twentieth century, the post war era when the housing development building boom began.The use of the color red is also appropriate since it is associated with danger and demanding us to stop.The needle has a long tradition of speaking out against social injustice such as the abolitionist quilts that were made and sold to provide funds for the abolitionist movement. These quilts often featured embroidered messages speaking out against slavery.
On a personal level I wanted to use embroidery to honor the women in my family who taught me needlework skills.In my pursuit of university degrees I’ve never had the opportunity to study fibers, fabric, or needlework as an art form. I continue to be disappointed the handwork traditionally done by women is still not accepted by the art establishment.It is for this reason I chose to take ownership of the skills I learned from the women in my family and make embroidery the process for my graduate exhibition.