Sunday Dinners
Bobbi Meier, April 2018
In 2017 I began a series of embroidered, re-worked needlepointed tapestries that were given to me by a dear friend, Sabina Ott. I was curious how the history of Sabina’s inherited chair coverings and my interventions to these tapestries would become intertwined. They have become part of a series of re-worked embroidered relief sculptures that I call Sunday Dinners.
Wrapping the tapestries on an oval canvas in my studio I am reminded of cameos and portraits of long-passed relatives. I encircle the canvas with a bulbous, stuffed border made of pantyhose and remember being jealous of a girl who sat next to me in biology class in 7th grade who already had breasts and was allowed to wear stockings to school.
Throughout the making of these objects I am remembering the 60’s decor of my childhood home and considering women’s labor. My mother and grandmother always had a handmade needlework project under way. Crocheted afghans, intricate lace doilies, knit sweaters for the grandkids, mittens every winter, cross-stitched baby quilts, embroidered tea towels, hand sewn prom dresses, a very special needle pointed piano bench cushion, all were part of their repertoire.
A transference of energy is being released from me into the needlepointed canvas and I hope I am performing an act of importance.