Windgate Fellowship at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts
June 2, 2023
“Metaphors for Pain” (The Murder Blanket)
Mixed Media Quilt
Windgate Fellowship/ Workshop at Arrowmont School for Arts and Crafts
METAPHORS OF TIME, LABOR, AND VISIBILITY: A MIXED MEDIA FIBER ART EXPERIENCE
MAY 28, 2023 - JUNE 2, 2023
MILLIAN PHAM LIEN GIANG · ALTIMABLOSSOM.NET
I chose this workshop because it combined two of my favorite mediums- mixed media and fibers/textiles. I also wanted to dive deeper into my art process and add more layers and interest into my work. Knowing that I was going to work with metaphors, I had decided beforehand that I wanted to work with invisible illness and chronic pain disorders as these things rule my life. First, I made a list of metaphors tied to the chronic pain disorders. For example, it feels like I’ve been hit by a train or it feels like I’m being stung all over by bees. Next, I did a word association to create a list of words that expressed how my pain feels. I then found photos to go with what I had written and printed them on fabric. Since I had so much visual information to include, I decided that I would create a quilt. I have quilted in the distant past but not this style. I wanted to include the raw edges and visible stitching to represent my nervous system and how frayed I feel inside. I knew I wanted a lot of actual and visual texture in this piece.
To bridge the gap between the senses and the arts, let me take you on a journey. I live with several chronic pain disorders. These are called invisible diseases because I look fine on the outside but on the inside there is so much going on. I decided to work in textiles and create a quilt about metaphors for pain to maybe help people understand what chronic pain feels like. I left all of the edges raw to signify how it feels on the inside. Instead of traditional quilting to bring the piece together, I used pencil roving to move around the quilt instead of stitching. I had been looking for an outlet for this idea and this quilt helped with the healing.
