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Memory gives us our identity – our recent, personal memories, those of our present culture, and those of our ancestors. Our memories tell us who we are and where we have come from so we can determine where we are going.
I embroider because my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and so many women before them stitched, to express their aesthetic and to enhance the comfort of their lives. I carry on that memory. Patience, reflection, repetition are all required for this handwork. These traditional skills are a metaphor for daily life.
Cloth is a necessary and integral part of the conception and creation of the work-cloth, which has covered and protected us from early times. The cloth is made and the theme develops in tandem.
The grid is reminiscent of crosswords, where answers emerge from hidden clues. The words I embroider evoke memories, both happy and sad.
Above: Blocks by Maura Donegan; photo by Maura Donegan.
Recollection (detail) by Maura Donegan; photo by Maura Donegan.
