Artist: Dorothy Mara Cherbavaz
Museum: ArtsWestchester (White Plains, United States)
Technique: Cotton
From the Artist: Anxiety was what I felt as Covid turned from a cluster of sick people in China to a global pandemic. The news was more bleak each day. I sheltered in place and worried about my family, loved ones and friends. We talked, texted and zoomed to stay in touch. Christmas took the form of a drive by. My printing work stopped so I cleaned the house. I removed wallpaper, plastered the walls, ceiling, stripped paint, painted. My anxiety energized the work on the walls. When Winter became Summer, I worked outside, painting the garage and the house. I filled each moment with work so there was no time to think about what Covid was doing to us. In August my nephew’s baby was born. The baby needed a welcome gift. A new sewing machine arrived the same way everything arrives these days, by Amazon. The outfit was beautiful, the sewing very satisfying. While cleaning at the start of Covid, I found old jeans that inspired my first denim project - making denim bags. With each bag, I refined my technique...adding a liner, pockets, different handles, creative closures. The pant legs were turned into patches, the seams stitched together to become a new piece of fabric. The “Boro” patching technique added pizzazz. Sashiki stitching added texture. The tote became a Boho bag of surface designs, and hand stitching exploration. The stitching had a calming, centering effect as each white line followed the next, round and round or straight ahead. Finally, there were moments of reduced anxiety and peace.
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