What Is Home?

Hi All!

So, here's something I made several months ago that I've been waiting to share with you. This piece was made as a submission (my very first!) to an art show that my pal Ellen was curating in Los Angeles, it was called Home Is Where The Needle Marks. The show was comprised of stitched pieces and textile work, exploring the theme of the word "home" and what it means to different artists. The show has now closed, and was a great success! My piece was not used in the show, but now that the show is over, it can see the light of day because it holds some powerful truths... 

Are you ready? Can you handle the truth?

{snort-giggle!}

Oh. Yes. It. Does.

Upon submission, applicants were asked to fill out an Artists Statement (yikes!). The following words are my artists statement and the meaning behind the piece... This is kind of an over-share, and I'm a little nervous putting this out here into the big, bad internet, but it's good to be honest, and if I was prepared to share this information with the world in an art show, surely I can share it here with you guys.

Home Is Where The Bra Comes Off

by

Lisa Leggett

Embroidery gives me permission to go slowly, one stitch at a time. For a woman who hurries through everything, stitching is a gift of time that I give to myself. A reason to sit still, calm my rushing mind and still hope to achieve something beautiful, funny, or useful; sometimes all at once. Embroidery is my meditation.

I try to approach life with a sense of humor, from the best news to the worst; no problem seems as serious if you can laugh at it. Whether what I’m working on is pretty, whimsical or subversive I enjoy a good laugh, and I try to incorporate humor into everything I do.

Home is where the bra comes off. Not only something to garner a giggle, but an unbending truth in my life, one which I believe many women can relate too.

I haven’t left the house without a bra on since I was in the 3^rd grade, I was seven years old. All at once my body developed, and it was no longer ok to go to school or anywhere else, without wearing a bra.  I didn’t feel grown up, perhaps the way some girls might, but rather slightly ashamed and embarrassed.  My budding boobies must be bundled up, and they must stay that way! That was 30 years ago. Home for me, is where I feel safe enough to be unguarded, to remove that armor and be free of the straps, hooks and wires. Home is many things to many people, myself included, but maybe one of the best things about home is that, home is where the bra comes off.

So... yeah... that. I'll be even more honest here; most days I'm dying, literally dying to get home and get this damn thing off. I hate it. Days when I don't put on a bra at all are like a vacation! Please girls, tell me I'm not alone in this? Being rather, ahem, "well endowed", bras have never, ever been comfortable for me. They are a necessary evil. They hurt my shoulders, they pinch, they poke. They are the devils work.

Right? Right.

This piece was a stretch for me even though it looks simple, I don't do cross stitch very often (oy, the counting!) and don't feel like I'm an artist, so modifying a font to the right size to be seen from a distance, and a developing a border which all lined up properly was a challenge, but one which I enjoyed. I don't know what I'm going to do with the piece moving forward, right now it's just chillin' on a shelf in my craft room... I'm kind of getting used to seeing it there, maybe I'll just leave it. 

What do you think, girls?  How do you feel about your bras? Are they a cage or a comfortable familiar? Do tell! I am always genuinely curious how other women feel about this subject. I'm looking forward to your comments!

oxo,

Lisa

p.s.

OH! I've been featured on Craft Gossip!

Check it out!