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Series: WORDS ON CLOTH

The Tears I Never Shed 
2021
Silks, vintage brocade,rayon threads, beads,free motion machine embroidery, hand beaded, constructed.
17 x 21 x 4"

I forgave my mother for a lifetime of damaging behaviors at her death, but the resentment continued. The pandemic gave me the opportunity to realize that forgiveness depends on repentance and reconciliation. There was never any effort on her part for either. My mother always considered herself a “blond bombshell,” and she would have worn a black bustier such as this. Raw edge appliqué symbolizes our tattered relationship. Scraps from her brocaded evening gown are included along with assorted silks. Crystal beads disguised as flowers symbolize the feelings I could never express. Painful memories were exposed with free motion machine stitching. Seeing the words become finite allowed me to realize that holding the pain only perpetuates more pain. Releasing it, however, is key to its transformation.