Not Bad
2018
Needlepoint on vintage Hiawatha canvas
Amy and I discovered we both had odd comments in our respective guest books from 20 years ago. We decided we’d collaborate, sharing some of our phrases, while both using floral imagery.
Work presented in collaboration with Amy Ahlstrom, exhibited October 2018 at Ampersand International Arts. Amy and I discovered we both had odd comments in our respective guest books from twenty years ago, so we decided to collaborate, sharing some of the phrases while both using floral imagery.
This comes from traditional craft themes of floral imagery, but also from the happy/sad combination you find in the Smiths' music: happy imagery paired with sometimes brutal words.
I collect vintage Hiawatha canvas, a very traditional British painted needlepoint brand, and needlepoint the flowers and phrases while leaving the background empty — an atypical treatment, but the raw fiber is beautiful. Pairing a traditional flower theme with unkind and often unsolicited feedback mirrors how women move through a world where it is culturally acceptable for strangers to comment on a woman's appearance.
Interested in a piece from this series or a commission? info@margarettimbrell.com