Becoming Iron: Josephine and Betty
(Sold.) Best of Show Award, South Carolina Palmetto Hands Fine Craft Annual Juried Exhibition, 2024.
Wool, 1920s linen embroidery pattern (for Betty), 100 year old plain linen (for Josephine), 1920s hair iron, jewelry wire, watercolor, wood frame, needle felted.
Story behind the piece:
When discovering the printed linen I used as the base for this piece, I considered that the drawing was created just as women were beginning to vote in the US after years of suffrage, and likely by a woman trying to earn a living. It was made at the same time flappers challenged society’s image of the independence of women by going to clubs on their own, wearing what they wanted, and dancing and dating as they wanted. And between the world wars, women of all colors were striving to earn a place in society where they could use their minds and earn wages to support themselves or their families, despite the push-and-pull of the societal emphasis on beauty and tradition. Josephine and Betty are women-in-progress, in a sense, steeling themselves to overcome some of the societal norms that still marginalize women in some places today.
Wool, 1920s linen embroidery pattern (for Betty), 100 year old plain linen (for Josephine), 1920s hair iron, jewelry wire, watercolor, wood frame, needle felted.
Story behind the piece:
When discovering the printed linen I used as the base for this piece, I considered that the drawing was created just as women were beginning to vote in the US after years of suffrage, and likely by a woman trying to earn a living. It was made at the same time flappers challenged society’s image of the independence of women by going to clubs on their own, wearing what they wanted, and dancing and dating as they wanted. And between the world wars, women of all colors were striving to earn a place in society where they could use their minds and earn wages to support themselves or their families, despite the push-and-pull of the societal emphasis on beauty and tradition. Josephine and Betty are women-in-progress, in a sense, steeling themselves to overcome some of the societal norms that still marginalize women in some places today.