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I made these in an art workshop at the Nasher Sculpture Center, held in connection with their exhibition of Sheila Hicks textile works. It was suggested we bring with us a piece of fabric that has meaning for us, one that we wouldn’t mind altering during the art-making process.
We made memory bundles, dancing with what we brung to the party. Some people brought baby clothes, clothing of departed loved ones; a group of artists came together and brought textiles they had printed in another gathering.
Can you guess from the color what my source material was?
Open Arts Spring 2023 
I have looked at this for a while and really don’t have a solid guess of what your source material is– excited to learn more! What is the intention of a memory bundle?
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A memory bundle captures the memories associated with an object or objects. The object may be totally hidden inside the bundle, thus becoming known only to you. Or the object may be visible to all, but may be so altered that it is recognizable to the maker. Someone in the workshop wrapped fabric around folded up notes from her friends, for instance. Sheila Hicks uses scraps from her studio and I don’t know what all else.
My primary source material was a T-shirt I’ve had since 2008. A T-shirt with personal meaning that was getting frayed and was starting to spring holes, but I didn’t want to get rid of it. The most important part of it is in the small bundle, and the rest of it comprises all of the larger bundle. Now, think about the color.
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Your bundles are fun to look at. I wish I could pick them up and hold them. They look so soft. Pink makes me think of “It’s a baby girl” and, breast cancer support. Two very different associations. Also, I think of Code Pink, the activist group. Let us know what pink means to you in your bundles.
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You hit upon it, Barbara. I repurposed my Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure T-Shirt. A journey, not a sprint.
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The color should have made it obvious but I was stumped. I am fascinated by this idea of memory bundles, of hidden objects. And the tactile quality of them really makes me want to get my hands on them. The power of objects is a very intriguing subject, especially those imbued by memory, by history. Tom Robbins wrote a wonderful book called Skinny Legs and All in which a story within the story involves the life of objects. Precisely – a can of beans, a magic stick, a spoon, a conch shell, and a dirty sock. Worth reading.
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I’m sure you know that “Skinny Legs and All” is a Joe Tex song. My spousal unit says that he said to his friends, “Someone’s got to dance with the girl with the skinny legs” when first he set eyes on me in a college bar. I’ll have to check into this book because of my memory, our history.
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I did not know about the song, Teri, and it has been many years since I have read the book. May have to reread it. I love this story you have shared…
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Teri, as I was reading comments on your post and thinking about memories, I recollected reading a novel years ago. The author actually created a museum of memorabilia that coincides with each chapter of his novel. I saw a copy of the museum’s catalogue after I read the book. I thought it was a very creative idea. I couldn’t believe I was able to find an article about the museum and novel online–I’m not the best researcher. I could only recall there was a novel with its own museum somewhere in the world. Now I know that the novel is “Museum of Innocence” by Orhan Pamuk. Pamuk is Turkey’s most famous author. He won a Nobel Prize in literature in 2006, and he used almost all his prize money to create the museum. Here’s the site: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/30/books/orhan-pamuk-opens-museum-based-on-his-novel-in-istanbul.html.
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Thanks, Barbara. I have read Pamuk’s “My Name is Red,” which was quite a ride. A friend of mine has a daughter who is an artist painting tiny works, which I didn’t know (I just knew she was an artist) when I told her about the miniaturists in this book whose fate was to go blind. Oh, no. So sorry.
I’ve read the article in the NY Times. It’s an interesting thing to build a collection of objects for a museum while you’re writing a book which turns on those objects. Ultimately, though, is that a good way to spend $1.5 million? I don’t know. Maybe collect the objects to facilitate the writing then take photos of them and let them go, or put them in a storage facility for your kids to deal with when you’re gone…
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