Recipe Portraits: Archiving Matriarchs and Memory Through Baking and Weaving
Cotton and polyester fabric book machine embroidered and handwoven on a Tc2 digital jacquard loom, 2023, 12”x12”x2”
Housed in the Cranbrook Academy of Art Library
Cotton and polyester fabric book machine embroidered and handwoven on a Tc2 digital jacquard loom, 2023, 12”x12”x2”
Housed in the Cranbrook Academy of Art Library
Recipe Portraits
The following collection of digitally-woven jacquard portraits archive my matriarchal history by way of heirloom recipes. Each entry pairs a recipe with the matriarch most notably associated with that baked good, woven in the handwriting of its author.
The collection begins with the earliest generation of women that have raised me, and culminates in self portraiture. The recipes were taught to me by these women, each feeding into the next generation as they have been passed down to me and carry on through me. I see each matriarch as a collaborator to this book. I see their handwriting as their signature in this artwork. In archiving these recipes, some only existing orally before now, I honor these women and their influence on myself and my family. This book is an heirloom, ensuring these recipes propel our traditions forward into future generations.
The collection begins with the earliest generation of women that have raised me, and culminates in self portraiture. The recipes were taught to me by these women, each feeding into the next generation as they have been passed down to me and carry on through me. I see each matriarch as a collaborator to this book. I see their handwriting as their signature in this artwork. In archiving these recipes, some only existing orally before now, I honor these women and their influence on myself and my family. This book is an heirloom, ensuring these recipes propel our traditions forward into future generations.
Recipe Portrait: Nana Doris Cotton and polyester, handwoven on a Tc2 digital jacquard loom, 2022, 15" x 14"
Recipe Portrait: Aunt Sherrill Cotton and polyester, handwoven on a Tc2 digital jacquard loom, 2022 16" x 14"
Recipe Portrait: Gralma Deanna Cotton and polyester, handwoven on a Tc2 digital jacquard loom, 2022 15" x 16"
Recipe Portrait: Aunt Becky Cotton and polyester, handwoven on a Tc2 digital jacquard loom, 2022 14" x 12"
