The "Freedom Bedcover Series" and Sampler series are based on traditions where textiles are used to educate or commemorate men and women learning their roles in the culture of the time. The Freedom Bedcover is based on quilts given to a young man as he attains adulthood and social and economic independence from his father. This twin bed sized bedcover marks my own independence by depicting the male role models that may have provided preparations for this transition. It is both protective and commemorative, and neither at the same time.
The Sampler series; including Sampler: The Two Gun Kid #114, combines the domestic needlework tradition of embroidery samplers with superhero comic book imagery. This makes reference to male and female gender roles and the different ways we are educated about those roles while transforming the image of the hero with French knots and bullion stitches. This new image playfully references floral embroidery and pop art paintings that employed references to dot printing while questioning our ideas about gender, pop culture, and domestic life.
Batgirl: A Road Home. Embroidery on comic book cover. 2012.
Batman 8. Embroidery on comic book cover. 2013.
Batman 7. Embroidery on comic book cover. 2012.
Freedom Bedcover: Zachary
Embroidery and ribbon on comic book pages, 2006. 85" x 65"
Freedom Bedcover: Zachary (detail)
Freedom Bedcover: Zachary (detail)
Embroidery and ribbon on comic book pages, 2006. 85" x 65"