Rumors and Hard Times

Name/Title

Rumors and Hard Times

Entry/Object ID

2016.02.01

Made/Created

Artist

Susan Shie

Date made

1987

Place

City

Wooster

State/Province

Ohio

Country

United States

Continent

North America

Dimensions

Height

54 in

Width

90 in

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Artist Commentary

Label

“The house in the top center is our old home on South Walnut Street in Wooster, Ohio,” writes artist Susan Shie. “The scene is about a huge street renovation project going on in front of our house all summer. They dug a huge hole in front of our house. My body is in the kitchen sink, like we were in a sinkhole. There are little angels in the top corners, so I suppose those are guardian angels I’m calling in to cheer us up or help turn around a slump of hard times. My daughter was playing tennis that summer; the cat is Jimmy’s [her husband’s] Maine Coon cat. Jimmy looks like he is falling off of something. The owls are our patio owl lights; they represent home, wisdom, and protection. The Polynesian guy at the bottom right corner is a lamp I bought at a second-hand shop. I think the line of rumor mongers at the bottom is my expression of frustration to what was happening at the time with me getting a lot of publicity in the local newspapers. I just couldn’t believe some of the incorrect things that got written, and I took it all to heart. What really counts is that your friends and family like to see your work in the paper.”

General Notes

Note Type

Materials Used

Note

Unstretched cotton canvas

Note Type

Techniques Used

Note

Painted, hand pieced, stuffed, hand embroidered, hand quilted