For my Kin(d)

Below is the proposal which started this body of work. I tend to romanticize the masculine and deem objects associated with the feminine as frivolous. But recently I’ve decided to put an effort into understanding my own femininity instead of believing that part of me is just where tears come from.

Through my proposed body of work I will look into the ways women give (to grant and to bend). Asking myself, how does a woman give within a family and how does she negotiate giving vs over-giving, within herself. I will make art objects to act as literal depictions of the ideas I explore. The project works to spark conversation about each example of giving. I’ve noticed that some of the women in my life have a hard time giving while others lean towards over-giving. Each of these women have gifts which they contribute to their families and communities, I would like to pay an homage to these women, but also discuss the potential harm they cause themselves without a healthy balance i.e. the light and shadow sides of giving.

It is important that I do not take shortcuts when making these art objects. I would like to do as much of the labour as I can manage (i.e. weaving handkerchiefs and hemming them by hand instead of buying cloth handkerchiefs and adding to them) and (creating each bead of the necklace in project 2 out of thread by wrapping it tightly). By doing the work with my own hands I think I might be able to feel a connection to the women in my family from before my time, the great grandmothers and aunts who spent hours sewing clothes and tablecloths and mending what needed mending. These projects will also be a test. I will get to see how much of my time and energy I am happy to give to this project and how I start feeling if I disrupt my “giving balance”.

Project 1: Wood dentures

practicality, bravely stepping into the roll of wife vs sacrifice, not wanting to be a burden

Wedding Teeth

Wedding Teeth

Project 3:Necklace and earrings of thread beads (hand wound)

adornment, creating beauty from very little vs vanity and impracticality


176 Wound Pearls

176 Wound Pearls

Project 3: seven 10” x 10” handkerchiefs . Woven from cotton.

listening ear, nurturing vs neglecting oneself, silent suffering


Project 4: Illustrated round table cloth printed place for each item

community, creating a home vs frivolous chatter/gossip

Materials: Fibre I have spun myself, simple cloth, printed shapes where each object will lie. Everything with a place and everything in its place.