Date: 05/06/2024
Description of the Creation: The work Mariela created for me is a white handkerchief with scalloped edges, embroidered with flowers blooming along a vine and clean, sans-serif text. The colors of the embroidered text and flowers are warm: red, orange, and pink, along with green leaves. The text reads “topography of our (intimate) being”, stylized in some areas as overlapping, caused by a glitch found in Embrilliance (the machine embroidery program used to produce it).
Describe the creation/ fragment of a piece you received to take care of.
I received the piece as an image through Are.na.
The Creator:
Who is the creator of this creation?
My professor, Mariela Yuregui, created the piece for me.
Your Initial Reaction:
How did you initially feel when you received this piece?
I was really touched when I saw the piece. I’ve been isolated at home for a while more or less alone most of the time, so seeing a piece made specifically with me and the sensibility of my work in mind was a nice recognition. Most of all, I wanted to touch the textile, and interact with it in order to really understand its texture and material.
What were your immediate thoughts and emotions?
I thought it looked delicate and my first thought was about the color and the flower designs. I wondered if the flowers were done by hand or machine embroidered.
Caring for the Creation:
Describe the actions and responsibilities involved in taking care of the creation.
Taking care of this work will involve keeping it in a place where it can’t be damaged by things like stains, weather, or unraveling.
What are the challenges and rewards of caring for it?
It might be challenging to care for the piece in that I’m completely unfamiliar with the best way to care for a hankerchief. However, it’s a beautiful piece of textile, and I have a frame in my studio that would be perfect to hold it, thus keeping it safe “forever.”
Your Relationship with the Creation:
Reflect on how your relationship with the piece has developed over time.
As someone who is unable to actually interact with their piece as of right now, I’ve mainly had to interact with it in my imagination. I try to imagine the size and texture of it, and it would feel in my hand, or how it would feel running my finger over the embroidery.
Gratitude and Appreciation:
Express your feelings of gratitude or appreciation for the creator.
Thank you, Mariela, for making me this beautiful textile. Even though I’m unable to physically interact with the piece at the moment, I’m heartened in my recovery to know that I’m not entirely alone, and haven’t been forgotten. That’s dramatic of course, but I’ve had difficulty thus far feeling part of anything. I’m looking forward to coming back to campus and being able to interact with the handkerchief physically.
Long-term Effects:
Has caring for this creation had any lasting effects on your life, personal growth, or your relationship with the creator?
I haven’t yet received the work, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot as I’ve been ideating on my own piece.
Self-Reflection:
How has this experience made you reflect on your own responsibilities and connections with others?
This piece has led me to think about the efficacy of making a piece that can’t be interacted with physically. I’m wondering: is it the
Additional Comments:
Feel free to add any other thoughts, feelings, or insights related to this experience.
This experience made me think a lot about the possibility of art that is shared long distance as part of its intended way of being in the world. At the same time, it also leads me to think about how those who are unable to leave their living space for whatever reason or are otherwise immobile. This experience has been similar to the experience of COVID, when my classmates and I — as well as people all over the world — were suddenly forced home: except this is different because it’s been a totally solitary experience. What’s more, unlike during COVID I’m unable to move much at all which means I’m stuck home at all time and can’t spend time in nature. Being stuck due to these medical issues has been like a personal COVID-19 experience.
Conclusion:
Conclude the form by summarizing your overall feelings and reflections on receiving and caring for someone else's creation.
This has been an experience that’s led me to think more about my health and what being an artist means to me. I’ve had major difficulty working through my physical pain, and of course, this inability has led me to also to feeling emotional pain and disappointment with myself.
