First !
2019
Deconstructed silk screen printing with thickened dyes on silk noil,machine quilted,reversible. 
Reverse side is silk broadcloth  with bomaki shibori discharged panels.
 A Turkish newspaper editor published articles critical of the government in 2016.
He escaped to the US when his paper was seized by the government.
His colleagues are still in prison, and he drives for Lyft and Uber in Virginia to support his family.  
His message that "Democracy is fragile!" is particularly  poignant.
"First !" celebrates freedom of the press and other freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. 
The pattern is the traditional Folkwear Turkish coat. The designs are inspired by a pamphlet  of Turkish embroidery an Army friend sent me from  Diyarbakir after the Gulf War.
  https://www.expressnews.com/news/news_columnists/elaine_ayala/article/Turkish-journalist-coming-to-San-Antonio-with-13650545.php