Hello Friends,

My son is graduating from the 8th grade this week. (How?!) His class studied US history this year, learning about both the good and bad parts of it. Looking back, they were asked which part of our history most surprised or shocked them, and their answer was Jim Crow Laws. They were particularly upset by a “literacy” test created to prevent Blacks from voting in the South. As part of an end of year school presentation, the parents were given this test and most of us failed. It was designed to be as confusing and misleading as possible. His class also shared their hopes for what our country will look like many years from now, imaging how people in the future will reflect on our current society. In their imagined future, there are no more school shootings or gun violence, nature is protected and has the same rights as people, we have Universal Health Care, equal wages, no child labor and exploitation, there’s freedom and equality for women and BIPOC and LGBTQIA communities, there are no more wars or nuclear weapons, and everyone has access to clean water and enough food. Sounds good, right? Hearing this version of our world spoken aloud was powerful and made me feel hopeful. And I really needed that. I’m holding their vision in my mind.

Changing Tides

I’m excited to share that I have six textile pieces in a new show! Changing Tides opens this Saturday, June 8th, at ArtPort Kingston in upstate New York. The space looks really beautiful. Local NY friends, I hope you’ll be able to go see it. I’ll share some installation shots next time!

New Work

I’m doing the finishing work on a new Still Life. It includes cyanotypes of vintage French aperitif bottles that I borrowed from my dad. As a kid, I remember these bottles sitting on our living room bookshelves. When my dad visited Paris, he would ask the waiter if he could take an empty bottle home. Contrary to the cliché of the French being rude, they were always very generous and gave them to him. The stripes on the left are machine sewn Bojagi style and the pattern on the right is a Broken Grid. This is made from recycled fabrics that I dyed with cochineal, marigolds, pomegranates, indigo, and fresh leaf indigo. And I grew or foraged many of these dye materials myself.

Commissions Are Open!

I’ll have time to take on some commissions this summer! If you’d like me to make a custom textile piece for your home, please respond to this email. You can see more examples on my website.

Fundraising and my Website Store

Last month I was able to make several donations because of your support for my online store! So this month I’m having a sale and hoping to keep the donations flowing. I’m offering 15% off for the month of June, use the code JUNE15 at check out!

Love, Caitlin