Better Late than Never…

Well, It has been a while since I posted on the blog.  So, what has been happening?

I reworked a piece I did in 2015 to meet the requirements of Sacred Threads

Oppressed To Oppressor: My Family Story

I needed to have a hanging sleeve. I had originally had it on stretcher strips.  I wanted the background to look like a cotton bale.  I added 4 layers of cotton batting and the black banding straps. I also slit the background to let the cotton show through.  I finished it in November, 2016.

This was a very personal piece for me.  I struggled with the symbology and shed a few tears while working on it.

My artist statement: 

“Five hundred thousand French Huguenots (Protestants) left France by the early 18th century following persecution and murder by the Catholic Church.  They dispersed to England, Holland, other European countries, and colonies in Africa, the Dutch East Indies, and North America.  Many settled in South Carolina, becoming farmers and businessmen, prospering as slave owners and traders.  Both my parents are descended from the Huguenot ministers who served the Huguenot Church in Charleston, SC.  The sister of one of my later ancestors married a slave trader.  Why are lessons of oppression unlearned?  The oppressed becomes the oppressor with little memory of their own, or their ancestors, suffering. The chains of slavery tear apart the highly symbolic Huguenot Cross; the Beatitudes fall from the points of the cross, the hearts at the base of the fleur-de-lis are chained, and the Descending Dove of the Holy Spirit weeps.”

This piece was accepted for the Sacred Threads exhibit in Herndon, VA,  July 7-23, 2017, and will travel for two years as a part of their program.  I am very honored to have my work included. I will be attending the Artists’ Weekend, July 14 and 15, 2017.

4 thoughts on “Better Late than Never…”

  1. Your art work portrays your ideas well and your question is so appropriate over and over again in history and current events. Why are lessons of oppression unlearned?

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