Baltimore Sonnets

  No Longer Yours, Shakespeare’s Sonnet 13 "No Longer Yours is a work of art that responds to Shakespeare’s Sonnet 13. The poem asks what it means to care for beauty that doesn’t truly belong to us. My book considers inheritance not as possession, but as responsibility, something that is held briefly and shaped through attention, labor, and love. "The black cotton cover is bound with black tulle densely sewn with bronze metallic paillettes, interrupted by tiny embroidered French knots that add texture and strength. Inside, hand-painted vintage duck cotton doublures introduce the text. Shakespeare’s sonnet is hand-silkscreened using traditional printmaking methods and accompanied by hand-carved linocuts, establishing a visual language built on repetition and variation. "The opening pages use a diamond-based string piecing technique drawn from early African American quilting traditions. Narrow strips of disparate fabrics, vintage garments, inherited textiles, and scraps g...

  Sonnet 18 - Unearthing a New 'Fair' "For my Sonnet 18 book, I was drawn to Shakespeare’s repeated use of the word fair, which is a term he summoned three times to describe beauty as shifting, resilient, and ultimately eternal. I wanted the cover to explore fair not as a fixed ideal, but as something gradually revealed and illuminated over time. That idea guided my use of layered embroidery, gemstone hues, and textures that feel both ancient and newly unearthed.  "The cover design begins with a metallic floral foundation worked in iridescent threads and chatoyant tones. This symmetrical base establishes the piece’s quiet shimmer, echoing the poem's opening comparison to a summer’s day. Above it, I added a second layer: a constellation of tiny prismatic blue glass beads and micro-sequins glowing like scattered sapphires. Their soft flicker creates a visual cadence, inviting the eye to linger as the meaning of fair unfolds. "The third layer intentionally...

The 20-Count Verse: In Sequent Toil “This week’s work responds to Sonnet 60, Shakespeare’s meditation on Time as a relentless force. I wanted to create imagery that reflects the fragile balance between life’s fleeting moments and enduring beauty. “The patterned geometry of a Turkish rug became the visual motif. By translating its intricate design on the book’s cover, I transformed a textile usually left underfoot into an object of contemplation, echoing the sonnet itself. Stitched on a 20-count Penelope canvas using the continental stitch, each deliberate motion became a parallel to Shakespeare’s craft: beauty shaped through patient accumulation. Each stitch a line of verse, each row a wave of time. “In Shakespeare’s sonnets, each line is perfected through inherited structures of meter, rhyme, and metaphor. In embroidered bindings, each stitch and pattern reflects generations of knowledge and care. Repetition in both is generative, creating resonance and subtle variation within a stric...