New Idea, New Work

Thea Clark, Domestic Inclusions, 2009- Petrified wood, pvc, silver, copper, cotton thread, pearl, gimp

When I have goal, I charge forward and procrastinate in equal measure. I tell myself, "On with the blinders, stick to it, don't get distracted". Yet, it is precisely at these times that insistent new ideas demand attention. Goals or deadlines be damned, this newest piece was going to get made. 

I'm glad it did. The looping ribbon is a piece of found fiber, can't remember where I picked it up. The petrified wood I just got, my souvenir from the Nevada desert (thanks mom), pvc, metal wire, and pearl, make up the brooch "Domestic Inclusions".

Fiber represents three generations of women in my family, all amazing at knitting, crocheting, and  sewing. This skill completely bypassed me. During my theater intern days I had to work in the costume  shop, where they promptly stuck me in the corner pulling out seams. On the other hand, I was a star in the prop shop with the glue gun. Felting is as close as I've come to the Domestic Arts. So, fiber references domesticity, female identity, the question of what roles we play in society. The pearl, the thread, both reenforce this. The manufactured pvc smacks of forces outside the domestic. The petrified wood is matter in a changed state, both one thing and another at the same time.