Janice Nesser
"...and the river flowed through her to me."

What is this mystery... this curse... this gift... flowing from us, though us and out of us? When we are young we curse the inconvenience, when we are old we curse its absence... The mark of sisterhood, motherhood, our oneness with each other. Truths only we know, moments that connect us, secrets only we can share. Like a river it makes its mark, pulsing through us, giving life.

When asked about the idea of this exhibition, I immediately was enthusiastic. Although the theme had reverberated in 70's and 80's, I felt that it could be fresh and new. This was a new generation of women artists with different experiences, who lived in different times. I was curious: how would our life experiences, our culture, our politics inform our work? Would we walk in the steps of our sisters before us or move in different directions? Would we scream or would our voices be more subtle and quiet? What material would we use... more traditional forms (paint, clay), or new media (photographs and video), and how would we turn back to time honored crafts (sewing, embroidery)?

My work in this exhibition will be part of my ongoing series “from my grandmother's blood.” The series combines the practice of quilting, embroidering, the incorporation of patterns, altered books, photographs and found objects in an investigation of familial relationships, cultural ethnicity and their place in the formation of identity. I am drawn to the practice of quilting, sewing and crocheting that women in my family have practiced for generations. My aunts all began working in the factories while still in grade school, all having labored in a sewing factory. Yet on late evenings and weekends when they had a moment of free time they could be found sewing, piecing together patterns or creating ornamentation on five-and-dime linens to disguise their origin.

"... and the river flowed through her to me," will combine embroidery, quilting, photographic imagery and text with an emphasis on ornamentation and decoration in an investigation of generational connectedness and the blood that binds.

With special thanks to Lucille Clifton and her menstruation poem which is the inspiration for my piece:
read here

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