Consumption, Mixed Media, 120 inches by 55 inches, 2019 $2,000
This artwork started with a simple premiss. I wanted to reuse paint that was getting wasted at the end of a paint session. I also really wanted to make another quilt inspired installation as an homage to the quilts that helped women get together, organize, and eventually gain the right to vote. As the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment passing and getting ratified gets closer, I wanted this artwork to be a celebration of those amazing moments.
To a viewer this artwork can simply be a pleasing assortment of color and pattern, but it also has a lot of symbolism. The cup, often associated with women’s reproductive systems, is the foundation of this piece. The application of the idea of consumption can also be seen through a feminist lens. I was explaining to a friend how I only paint at night, once my son has gone to bed, because caring for him consumes my time.
The title has many meanings. Consumption is defined as the using up of a resource and as a wasting disease. It also can represent how someone can be consumed by their vices. In this case, a lot of the first cups used for the quilt were originally used to hold the vodka that I drink while painting. But the cup also represents waste in and of itself, due to its nature. It is used once, maybe twice, and then discarded. It can take at least 450 years to degrade. The idea of using a plastic cup once, and then throwing it away to end up in a landfill or ocean for hundreds of years mirrors the idea that women can be a commodity.
The weaving of the cups into a quilt block pattern pulls together ideas of waste, renewal, and the cyclical nature of consumption on many levels. And due to the nature of plastic’s longevity, at least this artwork is archival.
This artwork started with a simple premiss. I wanted to reuse paint that was getting wasted at the end of a paint session. I also really wanted to make another quilt inspired installation as an homage to the quilts that helped women get together, organize, and eventually gain the right to vote. As the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment passing and getting ratified gets closer, I wanted this artwork to be a celebration of those amazing moments.
To a viewer this artwork can simply be a pleasing assortment of color and pattern, but it also has a lot of symbolism. The cup, often associated with women’s reproductive systems, is the foundation of this piece. The application of the idea of consumption can also be seen through a feminist lens. I was explaining to a friend how I only paint at night, once my son has gone to bed, because caring for him consumes my time.
The title has many meanings. Consumption is defined as the using up of a resource and as a wasting disease. It also can represent how someone can be consumed by their vices. In this case, a lot of the first cups used for the quilt were originally used to hold the vodka that I drink while painting. But the cup also represents waste in and of itself, due to its nature. It is used once, maybe twice, and then discarded. It can take at least 450 years to degrade. The idea of using a plastic cup once, and then throwing it away to end up in a landfill or ocean for hundreds of years mirrors the idea that women can be a commodity.
The weaving of the cups into a quilt block pattern pulls together ideas of waste, renewal, and the cyclical nature of consumption on many levels. And due to the nature of plastic’s longevity, at least this artwork is archival.