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Repetitions of Sylvia

Renie Breskin Adams (American, born in 1938)
American
1981
Object Place: United States

Medium/Technique Cotton and cat hair, embroidered (stem and dettached buttonhole stitch), artists wood frame and strainer
Dimensions Length x width: 28.6 × 28.6 × 5.1 cm (11 1/4 × 11 1/4 × 2 in.)
Credit Line Gift of Mobilia Gallery and David L. Wagner
Accession Number2000.1012
ClassificationsFiber arts
Renie Breskin Adams initially studied anthropology and psychology at college. One semester, when a class she wished to take was already at capacity, she took a weaving course instead. This catalyzed her shift to a lifelong fiber practice which she shared for many decades as a professor of textiles at universities in Wisconsin and Illinois. Here, Adams depicts nine different abstracted perspectives of Sylvia, her cat, using different embroidery techniques like stem stitch and detached buttonhole stitches. Looking closely at the work as to prepare it for display, we found cat hair intentionally woven into the piece. Gift of Mobilia Gallery and David L. Wagner, 2000 2000.1012 .

DescriptionPictorial embroidery illustrating nine different abstracted perspectives of Sylvia, the artist's cat. Worked in stem stitch and detached buttonhole stitches.
ProvenanceGift of Mobilia Gallery (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and husband of the artist (David L. Wagner) to MFA, December 13, 2000
Copyright© Renie Breskin Adams