Wasted Words: Global Warnings has a permanent home with the Textile Museum

(Above:  Wasted Words: Global Warning, fiber vessel filled with ripped-and-rolled and stitched pages from articles on conservation, pollution, and ecological issues found in World Book Encyclopedia Yearbooks, 1962 - 75.)

I made this piece in 2009 and blogged about it HERE.  Later, I entered the piece for curatorial review at the Textile Museum in Washington, DC.  It was accepted into a exhibit called Green: A Color and a Cause.  Steve and I went to see the show and I blogged about that trip HERE.  More recently, I had my Cotton Installation in another exhibition at the Textile Museum.  (Blogged about that HERE.)

During that last opportunity, I mentioned that I would LOVE to donate my fiber vessel to the museum ... which until recently didn't accept contemporary works of art.  I received mild interest and followed up with an email.  The correspondence was encouraging.  In June, I shipped the work and received a "temporary deposit receipt".  I was told that the work would be presented to the Board of Directors in November and a decision would be made after that time.

Today I received an awesome email:

I am writing to share that The Textile Museum’s Board of Directors formally accessioned your work, Wasted Words: Global Warnings, to the museum’s permanent collection.

I am so excited about adding this important line to my resume! Lots of people think museums just accept generous gifts whenever things are offered.  This just isn't the case!  Why? Well, the museum isn't just "getting something"; they are promising to preserve, protect, and keep records on the art and artist. Each donated piece must have  a sensible connection to the goals of the permanent collection.  Today I am really, really happy!  Something I've made will definitely be around long after I'm dead!  Something I've made is part of something bigger than my studio practice; it's a true "museum piece"!

I am linking this post to Nina-Marie's "Off the Wall Fridays", a site for sharing fiber arts.