One issue. One moment. One newspaper.
Watching Joe Biden’s first 2024 debate while managing my aunt’s struggle with Alzheimer’s, I couldn’t help but see the similarities between them. I rushed home from a high school open house to catch the Kamala Harris debate, then found myself cooking dinner while she addressed the Democratic National Convention. It was an inspired moment of cautious hope and bewilderment as this election unfolded. Interwoven in the loops of this paper potholder, you’ll find simultaneous worry woven together on both national and personal levels. It was a hot mess.
HOCUS POTUS – Debate #1 – WSJ 5/18-19/24
12 x 12 x 1.5 inches. Fabric Loops, Newspaper, and Clear Acrylic Medium on Cradled Wood Panel
A first debate and a looming election persist while I cook the nightly dinner. Familial duty, political strife, and dread, converge interweaving polarized discourse and pervasive worry. Two impossible candidates are too much to handle. The potholder protects hanging ever-ready for a hot mess.
This summer was unusually demanding. I was considering submissions for two calls for art; Pattern & Design by Kristine Schomaker of Shoebox Projects and A Woman’s Voice in a Pivotal Time curated by Kim Abeles. Simultaneously, I had been shepherding my elderly Aunt to neurological appointments, closely watching her non-compliant decline. I was worn down with extended and immediate familial responsibility noting the simple question “What’s for dinner?” now invoked a quiet inner rage. And like anyone who watched the first 2024 Presidential debate, I was distraught and then resigned with the state of our options.
My recent exposure to some talented textile artists may have inspired the idea of weaving an anxious pattern of discourse and debate. The potholder is a simultaneous symbol of protection and nurturing and an essential tool of the stereotypical idea of “women’s work” or making dinner.
Layering individual graduated squares of paper, I played with the checkerboard weave pushing the feel and relief of the newspaper to mimic the undulating grid of fabric loops. Crafting a potholder to better understand the visual construction of the crocheted edge, I was surprised at the weakness in my fingers. I was reminded that grip strength is a bellwether for overall health as I had observed my aunt needing assistance to twist off the cap of a bottle of water.
The collage was completed and submitted in early July but I could not help but continue in “real news time” extending the collage onto the sides. Biden bowed out, Kamala accepted the nomination, and my aunt spiraled into crisis. Coincidentally, my Aunt and Biden are the same age. I watched that first debate with a personal sadness. Aging can be brutal for the body, but even more so for the mind. Even the brightest will fight so hard for relevance and dignity, that we will resist long past the dignified moment of courage and acceptance. Biden held on but conceded. My Aunt blew it, delaying the decision, and ultimately compromising her adjustment to memory loss and her quality of life.
There exists a slow cortisol drip from managing my insistent elderly aunt and fretting about the future of our country. I wake at night fearful of what’s next and how I can prepare for an imagined worst. I find relief now in simpler moments and with an appreciation of my comparably youthful health. I even found a deep satisfaction, making my family dinner while watching the DNC with our new nominee. Now, if I can just simmer down.
The title was a gift from the available letters and discoveries only found in the 11th hour. The play on words regarding our ridiculous nominees before Biden dropped out, is even more fitting with this summer’s whirlwind replacement.
EXHIBITIONS
- SCWCA’s: A Woman’s Voice in A Pivotal Time. Juried by Kim Abeles. The Makery; 260 South Lost Angeles Street Los Angeles, CA 90012