Personal Grounds

This past Saturday, our quilt art group went to the City Gallery at Waterfront Park in Charleston to see an exhibiton--called Personal Grounds-- by Susan Lenz, a fabric artist from Columbia, South Carolina.  I think that each of us came away from there feeling as if we had had an experience that touched at the core of our beings.  There were many, many framed pictures--each with the same background and framing to give a sense of cohesivness to the body of work.  Each picture was of a real person with a real perspective.  I think she put the word out and people sent her their images with their own stories to share.  Susan transfered these images to fabric and then added hand embroidery and beading along with other embellishments.                                 

This first picture shows a girl who has a college education and nothing is turning out like she thought it would.  She NEVER thought she would have to apply for food stamps (and I think there are a lot of people in that same boat today).  And the sceond picture is one that centers on the thought that we should live our lives in such a way that we won't have regrets later. (Click on the picture to enlarge it so you can read the smaller words). We should ALWAYS let those around us know that they are cared for. 

There were far too many pictures to tell about each one but here are a few:

There was a girl covered in tattooes and the writing around her said "Marked for Life"  There was a pictureof a young man and around him it said "With Dad--Again."  There was a man who had a red ribbon on his shirt and the writing around his head said "Didn't Have Safe Sex."  Not all of the pictures were sad--many of them were celebratory--but each one of them had a deep impact.  It was the kind of exhibit that one must experience slowly so that mere images become transformed into real people's lives--lives that we are not so far from really.  I came home enriched by the experience and so greatful that I had the opportunity to see it.