Art During the Time of a Pandemic

The Kindness of Artists

Yesterday, after the tropical storm swept across the East Coast, there was a calm. The sun came out around 4pm and I opened my front door to take a look outside. To my surprise there was a package from artist Sophie Leigh Fisher.

Sophie sent me a signed copy of her beautifully illustrated book about her grandmother. What a wonderful tribute to her grandmother!

Her gifts were the calm and sunshine after a terrible storm.

*Coronavirus Disease 2019:

Update in Maryland- 8/5/2020

92,426 confirmed cases

3,536 deaths 5,749 recovered

Update in New York State - 8/5/2020

418,225 confirmed cases

32,754 deaths 73,410 recovered

Total in United States: 4,818,328 confirmed cases, 158,174 deaths

Total Worldwide: 18,727,700 confirmed cases, 706,044 deaths

* All numbers are taken from Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center

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Born of Love, Shakespeare's Sonnet 151

Over the summer I worked on new artwork, Born of Love , inspired by Shakespeare's Sonnet 151. The book offers a translation of the sonnet to the language of textiles and embroidery. Working on this book allowed me to explore the beauty of textiles from four continents. Its construction is inspired by the poetic structure within the sonnet. This book, along with two other of my art pieces, will be on exhibit at the Folger Shakespeare Library from 16 Sept 2024 - 9 Feb 2025.

Flowers For Mistress Overdone, 2024

Coded Threads: Translating Shakespeare Through Art The following is a page from Flowers For Mistress Overdone , the first of two books that I presented at the Folger Shakespeare Library on Nov 16. The pages for the books are created with textiles from 5 continents (Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North America). The textiles were collaged and sewn into various designs. The fabric on the left is a collage of American and Tanzanian fabrics that I combined with one of my linocuts. The fabric on the right was an original mid century modern English quilt top I purchased at London's Antique Quilt Company during my summer in the UK researching Shakespeare's texts. The owner, Christopher, sources the highest quality textiles and it was truly a joy to transform this quilt into pages of my books inspired by Shakespeare's Measure For Measure. It was wonderful to present a few of my original artworks and embroidered books during my talk at the Folger Shakespeare Library....

Flower Power, 2024

2024 was a productive year. I created several different book series of embroidered and embellished books during my 1.5 years as a Folger Institute Fellow. These three flower books are in response to Shakespeare's Sonnet 54. During my artist talk at the Folger on 16 November 2024, I mentioned the power of flowers. "The act of giving flowers is a timeless gesture of deep appreciation, love, or praise. Beyond their symbolic value, flowers serve as visually striking design elements, drawing the eye and creating inviting focal points. Even after a fresh bouquet fades, the memory of the gesture endures, lending a poignant resonance to these artistic choices." /Suzanne Coley, 'Coded Threads,' November 2024

Baltimore Sonnets

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