Look Her Up #5: Wilma Mankiller

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Welcome to #5 in my Look Her Up needlepoint/women’s history series. Wilma Mankiller was the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation and a well respected leader locally and nationally, having the ear of U.S. Presidents for her ideas on Native American and women’s issues. You will learn a great deal about the Cherokee Nation and of Indigenous women’s immediate worries and actions concerning the kidnapping, disappearances, and murders of Indigenous women. Take time to use the internet, books, newspapers and other avenues of education to look up Wilma Mankiller, the Trail of Tears, and the hashtag, #MMIW.

This piece was worked on 18 mesh canvas in Rainbow Gallery Silk Splendor. It measures 11 3/8″ x 8 3/8″. The stars represent the seven-pointed star of the Cherokee Nation. The colors represent those most valued by the citizens of the Nation, including reds, yellows, green, and brown. Blue and black are excluded because they are considered representatives of sadness and death. The image includes two banners with a red hand, a symbol used by the movement to stop the violence against Native American women.

Look Her Up: Rose Schneiderman

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This past year was a full and complicated one, and I had in mind to post my usual World Embroidery Day blog but did not. And so I forgot to post the third of my Look Her Up Needlepoint pieces. Here she is:

Rose Schneiderman was a labor leader and outspoken women’s rights advocate for just about ninety years. Her fame began in New York City where she was active in the Women’s Trade Union League and then the ILGWU. Schneiderman went on to work with Franklin Roosevelt when he was governor of New York and then President of the United States. She is credited with being the person to popularize the phrase “Bread and Roses,” for those are the things that working women need. Bread for the table. . . roses for the soul. “Bread and Roses” became a popular labor anthem, and you can hear several versions of it on line. My favorite is the one sung by Judy Collins. You may notice that the piece is worked in various shades of rose and green with just a tinge of brown for the bread.

A belated message to all: Happy Women’s History Month and World Embroidery Day, 2022.

Happy Winter Solstice, 2022

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Luisa Capetillo if the fourth subject in my “Look Her Up” Needlepoint series. As in the past, the piece gives hints to the woman’s life, but my hope is that they will lead you to “look her up” to discover more about her life and her work. Use the internet, books, research collections. . . anything your heart desires.

          Here are some of the clues in the piece. Capetillo was a well-known Puerto Rican anarchist and labor leader. My use of reds and dark shades of gray (rather than black) for the letters is symbolic of the anarchist movement. The quote reflects her feminist leanings. I chose it on the day the U.S. Supreme Court negated Roe v. Wade, so the quote shows as much about my own feelings as Capetillo’s about her times. As three of the figures show, Capetillo wore pants, often men’s jackets, shirts, and hats. For wearing pants in public, she was arrested in both Puerto Rico and Cuba. The “FLN” on the poster stands for (in translation to English) the Free Federation of Workers. Capetillo often worked as a reader in cigar factories. You may find a description of her job most interesting. The border of the piece includes the Puerto Rican flag and the slogan for those supporting a free and independent Puerto Rico. The green figures represent the coqui, the Puerto Rican tree frog and the orange figure, the Taino Indian symbol for the sun.

          I have begun work on my fifth “Look Her Up” piece which I hope to complete sometime in 2023. In the meantime, here’s wishing you all a Happy Solstice and New Year.

Happy Winter Solstice 2021

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Happy Winter Solstice 2021

To celebrate the coming of a new (and hopefully better) year, I want to share with you the second in my “Look Her Up” Women’s History needlepoint series.  (Jane Addams was the first and can be viewed on my website: http://harrietalonso.com. )

I know that most of you will know the name, “Harriet Tubman.” But if you take out your phones, computers, ipads, and even books, you will discover much you probably are not aware of about this courageous and endlessly fascinating woman.

This piece measures 8” x 11” and was stitched on 18 mesh Zweigart mono canvas. The embroidery was done entirely in Rainbow Gallery’s Silk Splendor. If you allow your eye to travel around the design, you will see references to Tubman’s life as an enslaved child and then woman and her work on the Underground Railroad. Note the (North) stars and compass points in the border and the quote. Then look at the design. There’s the Big Dipper (the Drinking Gourd), a tree with moss helping to point the way North, and Tubman in the lead. She almost always wore a head scarf. When the lights in the room are dimmed, the scene starts to fade. When the lights come up, it is clear, but indicates it is nighttime, for that is the time most people taking their freedom had to make the trip.

Again, happy Winter Solstice. May 2022 bring you health and happiness and a $20 bill with Harriet Tubman’s face on it!

Happy World Embroidery Day, 2021

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Dear Friends,

To celebrate World Embroidery Day, 2021, I’d like to introduce you to the first in a series of needlepoint/canvas embroidery pieces I am creating. I call the group, “Look Her Up.” The idea came to me from two sources. First is my 40 years teaching, researching, writing, and speaking about U.S. women’s history. The women I plan to feature are those who I admire for their beliefs, their commitment to human rights, and their spirit. Second is the presence in the embroidery world of two trends: craftivism and “feminist” sayings. Both came in existence long before the COVID pandemic, but they blossomed in the last year or so as a result of the growth in interest in embroidery as a way of working through lockdowns and stress. Craftivists make small embroideries with statements meant to change public policy, especially concerning workers’ rights and climate change, though all issues are on the table. “Feminists” use common expressions to make small pieces reminiscent of samplers. I put the term in quotes because I feel that feminism is much more serious and political than these pieces express, but I like them nonetheless.

Looking at these small pieces, all with the purpose of sending out a message, I came up with an idea which would combine my Women’s History background with my earlier embroideries which I called “political posters.” Some of these 25 pieces now belong to the New York State Museum in Albany, New York. The others are, for the time being, still hanging on my walls, but eventually they will move to the museum. I call my new works “Look Her Up.” My intent is that folks will see a quote from a woman I consider very important in U.S. history and then use the internet or (!) books to learn more about her. First up is Jane Addams. You will find tons of information on her both on line and in print. You can also go to my website (htpps://harrietalonso.com) and click on “Jane Addams, Hull House, and the Devil Baby” for an interesting episode in her life.

The Jane Addams “Look Her Up” measures 10” x 10” and was stitched almost entirely with Rainbow Gallery’s Splendor silk thread on 18 mesh canvas. I chose to do it in basketweave/tent stitches to reflect Addams’s strength and resiliency. The colors echo the suffrage movement’s use of purple, gold, and white (and green if you’re British). Green is also symbolic of hope and peace. The border incorporates the women’s symbol, the women’s equality symbol, and the peace symbol. The women across the bottom reflect Addams’s commitment to both women’s rights and human rights. The quote says it all. The background is done in Splendor S802, an off-white that seems not to want to photograph as it appears in person. The background is actually a nice, clear slightly off-white.

Of course, each piece will take some time to design and stitch, but I hope that before the year is up “Look Her Up” number two will be ready to display. In the meantime, celebrate World Embroidery Day by stitching, reading, and thinking.

Happy Winter Solstice, 2020

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“The Needlepoint Cottage,” Canvas and Stitch Guide by Lynn Mason/Needlepoint by Sharese
Cottage Windows “redecorated” by Harriet Alonso; Stitched by Harriet Alonso

Happy holiday greetings!

2020 sure has been one helluva year, hasn’t it? Between Covid 19 and Donald Trump, it has produced one nightmare after another. Let’s hope that 2021 will be better. It will be difficult for us all to get out of the hole we are in, but I know we can do it! The vaccine is here and Trump is on his way out, two signs of better things to come.

For this year’s greeting, I would like to share with you one bit of good news on my front. Last year (2019), I completed an embroidery called “Votes for Women.” I wrote about it in my December 30, 2019 blog post. I entered the piece in two exhibits: the 1919 Annual Exhibit at the American Needlepoint Guild’s Seminar and the 2020 Woodlawn Needle Arts Exhibit. It received awards at both shows which was a wonderful achievement for me. The American Needlepoint Guild is especially careful about copyright. The inspiration for my piece had derived from a 1915 crepe paper banner from the New York State suffrage campaign. (Women in NY State won the vote in 1917.) The designer did not sign the piece and there is no information about who she might have been. That said, my own embroidery fell under the “adaptation” category for both shows and the American Needlepoint Guild asked for permission from the banner’s designer for use of the original concept. I approached Ashley Hopkins-Benton (Senior Historian and Curator, Social History) and Jennifer Lemak (Chief Curator of History), the authors of Votes for Women: Celebrating New York’s Suffrage Centennial (SUNY Press) where I had found a photo of the original banner. Ashley informed me that its origin was unknown and that I could feel free to use it, especially since more than 100 years had passed since it was first designed. Besides, my “Votes for Women” is its own design. (Artists, I have since learned, have no issue “appropriating” other people’s works. Note Andy Warhol’s famous painting of a Campbell’s Tomato Soup can. He did not design the soup can, but no one would question the authenticity of his painting.)

Anyway, in the course of our conversation, Ashley asked if I might consider donating the piece to the New York State Museum which has been developing a fine collection of women’s autobiographical and political work, especially in the fiber arts. I was very honored to be asked. At the same time, I had been thinking about a future home for my other political and autobiographical pieces, most dating from the 1970s and 1980s. Ashley invited me to send them information about that work. I wrote a proposal including photos of over 25 pieces which the museum’s committee decided they would welcome in their collection. In August, Ashley and Jennifer came to my home to pick up part of the collection which had been in storage and to record an oral history about a few of them. The rest of the pieces have been included in a bequest to the museum although any of them can be borrowed if they seem appropriate for an exhibit. I am so pleased to have found a home for these pieces which, for the most part, have been on the walls of my various homes over the years. . . and still are.

For my solstice greeting this year, I am including a link to the announcement the museum made on their website and on social media this month. It includes an image of “My Autobiographical Bag.” Since it was designed and worked in 1974, it does not reflect my years after that. Let me just say that it was learning to embroider and falling in love with the art form that led me to graduate studies in history (particularly women’s and peace history) and a career of 35 years as a historian. For most of those years, I did not stitch, but I returned to it around 2005 and now, in retirement, spend much of my time learning new skills and slowly working on new pieces (such as “Votes for Women”) which combine my two loves—-embroidery and history.

Here is the link to the announcement from the New York State Museum:

http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/research-collections/history/social-history/news/new-acquisition-harriet-alonso-needlework

And here’s wishing you a healthy, happy, and much better year than the one we’ve just gone through.

Happy World Embroidery Day, 2020

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Happy World Embroidery Day to all! I submitted the piece above to the San Francisco School of Needlework and Design for its World’s Longest Band Sampler project. The saying is a riff on Robin Morgan’s classic work, Sisterhood is Powerful. I posted the message on a few Needlepoint Facebook pages and sent it to those on my message list. You can imagine my shock when one person sent a message that she was blocking me from her account and I should not try to contact her again. This has led my befuddled self to write the following:

I am very concerned about the world of embroidery right now, especially in the U.S. Too many on-line groups, organizations, and publications are censoring works that have so-called political messages. So, for example, one site on Facebook criticized embroiderers who stitched “Black Lives Matter” into their pieces, emphasized concerns about Covid 19, or even one that slightly referred to former President Obama. Yet these same sites publish images of eagles, American flags, presidents, and other patriotic symbols and messages which are very political. A few media outlets have celebrated the anti-bellum South with needlepoint canvases of Confederate towns and romantic plantations. One even incorporated a Confederate flag. However, these same people have censored other artists, claiming their pieces do not reflect the “fun” of embroidery. I feel that if an artist expresses political views that are non-violent, non-hateful, and positive in intent, they should not be deleted or spit upon. One site went so far as to set down rules that no political messages would be accepted. No images were to have political titles or voice opinions. This was followed by a photo of a stitched, aggressive, bald headed eagle.  I was offended by the rules and the image.

Several embroidery organizations, publications, podcasts, etc. say that our stitching world has no place for political opinions. Yet, they also lament that membership is declining and younger people are not interested in participating. Of course, if these groups are not open to art that expresses different opinions other than those they hold near and dear, then, yes, the groups may dwindle and eventually cease to exist. But perhaps other venues will develop. I, for one, have been looking for a group of free thinking stitchers since the 1970s. If you know of one, please let me know.

Votes for Women: A New Year’s Greeting

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2020 is a huge year for those of us who live in the U.S. Not only is it the year for a presidential election but it is also the year we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment to the Constitution giving women the right to vote. In honor of both occasions, this women’s historian and embroiderer offers to you her latest “political poster” in her “Stitcherhood is Powerful” collection.

Designed and stitched by Harriet Alonso

For all you embroiderers out there, “Votes for Women” is a canvas embroidery (needlepoint) piece measuring about 9 x 10 inches. The ground fabric is 18 mesh canvas with two suffragists worked on Lugana 28 mesh appliqued onto the canvas, giving a three-dimensional effect. I used mostly silk threads from Planet Earth, Splendor, Kreinik and Pepper Pot supplemented with Rainbow Gallery’s silk lame and Very Velvet. The stitches include basketweave, slanted Gobelin, four-way bargello, and mosaic. The colors are those from the suffrage campaign—yellow, purple, and white for the U.S. and gold, purple, and green for our sisters in the U.K. The two figures in the piece were adapted from copyright-free images in Clip Art. I chose to use the August 18, 1920, date for the design as that is the date of ratification of the amendment and the date that appears in the Constitution. Many folks celebrate August 26 as the day when the final document was signed, making women’s vote the law of the land.

My design was adapted from a 1915 crepe-paper banner created, unfortunately, by “anonymous” (Please sign your work!) and sponsored by the Empire State Campaign Committee (New York) as included in Jennifer A. Lemak and Ashley Hopkins-Benton’s book, Votes for Women: Celebrating New York’s Suffrage Centennial (SUNY Press, 2017). The original banner belongs to the estate of the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Family.

 

 

 

I am very pleased (and proud) to share with you the news that the embroidery received two awards at the 2019 Exhibit at the annual American Needlepoint Guild’s Seminar in Houston, Texas: First Place in the Non-Professional Adaptation category and a Judge’s Choice Award from Mary K. Campbell.

I am hoping that all of you who read this will consider the message of this embroidery. Getting the vote was a long, hard struggle for women that began in 1848 at the first Woman’s Rights Convention held in Seneca Falls, New York. By the time the vote was granted in 1920, the campaign encompassed women (and men) from all economic classes, races, ethnic groups, religions, and political parties.

We are taught from an early age that voting is something we do throughout our lives. When we are children, our parents and teachers ask us to vote on all sorts of things. How many of you want ice cream for dessert? Who wants to run for class monitor? Who should we elect for our class officers? It is ingrained in us that voting is our right, our responsibility, and our joy. Yet, you may be shocked to hear that after 1968, when a whopping 60.7 percent of eligible voters cast their vote for President, the percentages declined. In 1996, only 49% voted, in 2000, just over 50% did. In 2012, 54.9% of eligible votes went to the polls and in 2016, only 55.7% did. I hope that in the 100th year of women having the vote, all citizens who are of age will register to vote and will exercise that right. Go out and vote, not just in November, but in all elections that affect your lives, whether for your local school board, your mayor, your governor, your Representatives and Senators, and, of course, for the President. Think about this precious right of ours and, please protect it and use it wisely.

And, have a very happy new year!

Happy World Embroidery Day, 2019

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Close Encounters of a New York Kind. Created and stitched by Harriet Alonso.

Once again, July 30, is a day to celebrate World Embroidery Day. And once, again, I would like to recognize the origin of the day, reprint the “Manifest,” and include one of my own pieces that, I believe, reflects the meaning of World Embroidery Day. The initiative came from Skåne Sy-d, a local group of Broderiakademin, the Swedish Embroiderers Guild. The first World Embroidery Day took place on July 30, 2011 in Vismarlöv, Sweden. As the founders stated, “The importance of embroidery must be made known and World Embroidery Day will spread around the world. Make 30th July a day filled with creativity for the sake of Peace, Freedom and Equality.” (See the entire Manifesto and photos on www.broderiakademin.nu. )

Manifest for World Embroidery Day
Day 30th of July

Textile reflects our world; embroideries can show the expressions of our time. Embroidery and textiles can focus on the social injustices between countries.

By the means of embroidery we can draw attention to the necessity of engaging in the force of textile in global trade and with it in world peace. Textiles is a power and let us use embroidery as an inspiration for people to engage in creativity that leads to a better understanding between countries and between people.

To embroider is a peaceful occupation. It can be traditional made from a common remembrance, drawn designs, from a pattern, or from your own imagination. You embroider for joy, beauty, decoration and for the creation of identity.

Stitches can be decorative, beautiful, comforting, repeating, healing, telling, pleasurable, rebellious, caressing and perfect.

People embroider out of joy, as a hobby, professionally, for the bare necessities of life and as an act of freedom. You embroider together with others or in meditative solitude.
We want to acknowledge embroidery as an act of free creativity, which can lead to free, creative thoughts and ideas. We want to tie our embroidery threads from the privileged northern hemisphere together with stiches that are sewn by embroidering sisters and brothers all over the world.

We want to be part of a joyfully creative peace movement. (www.broderiakademin.nu)

This year, I have included a photo of my 1978 needlepoint, Close Encounters of a New York Kind. Originally, the piece was designed as part of the Embroidery Guild of America’s Master Craftsman program. The assignment was to applique one size of embroidered canvas onto another size canvas. In this case, I stitched a UFO on 18 mesh canvas with DMC floss and then appliqued it onto a 10 mesh canvas street scene done in Paternayan Persian wool. The canvas measures 13 ½” x 13”. My idea was whimsical, playing on the popularity of the film, Close Encounters of a Third Kind. Today, my work takes on new meaning. My home town, NYC, is a sanctuary city. We welcome all peace-loving beings (and others?) to make their home here. In that spirit, I wish you all a happy World Embroidery Day!