The quilt patterns allude to traditional crafts, “women’s work”, and the home.

Unlike most quilts that symbolize comfort, each piece in this quilt is cut with pinking shears leaving a zigzag of sharp points and irregular edges. Laying under this quilt would be very painful, a metaphor for many painful realities for women worldwide subjected to inequality, marginalization, abuse, and domestic violence. The individual quilt pieces could actually fit together perfectly, but, much like every day life, the best laid plans become disrupted and don’t quite fit together. The title, “Stitch Care Mend Fold Muse Reach Stress Wear Break Torn” is like the extended "to-do list" of everyday life.

The cross shape is like a crucifix, referring the sacrifice that women often make to take care of a home and children, rather than develop their own skills or professional status.

The cross shape is also a flattened pedestal, a square that has be flattened or collapsed. This is the final artwork in the series, "A Pedestal for a Woman to Stand On" .

Below are close-up images showing the 3-dimensional quilt construction (taken while I was doing a Condition Report checking this artwork before an exhibition.)

Six-foot metal quilt/sculpture based on quilt patterns hangs on the wall. Constructed from post-consumer recycled tin cans; aluminum rivets.
Though it appears to be flat in the photo, the quilt pieces are lifted up and going in all directions. 

6.5' height x 6.5' width x 4.5" depth

INSTALLATION: Ships in four boxes and installs easily in five units on the wall. It is not heavy, weighing about 5-7lbs per unit. 

This wall piece is available for purchase or exhibition.

Each piece in this quilt is fabricated from recycled tin cans. It would have been easier to assemble it flat, but the strength of the metal allows each piece to break away from one plane.

The image below is a close-up of one edge. You can see how three-dimensional the construction of this quilt really it. 

 © Harriete Estel Berman, 1997-1998, 2021