2022 // 82 x 82 inches
machine pieced and quilted
cotton, Oakshott shot cotton, vintage & thrifted fabrics

Acquired by the International Quilt Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska

Artist Statement

Started in the spring of 2022, after the leak of the draft Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, I felt the need to work through my anger and frustration knowing that this fundamental human right to essential health care was soon to be lost for millions of women.

When seen from a distance, the more than 3,000 squares of this quilt form a red cross that swirls and fractures around the edges, eroding just as reproductive rights are eroding across America. Viewed up close, each square, made up of red fabrics that cover the full spectrum from purple to orange, solid to patterned, is uniquely shaped, a visual reminder of how each woman must uniquely cope with the unpredictability of having a uterus—from miscarriage to infertility, failed birth control to traumatic birth and delivery—and how all women collectively depend on and benefit from access to safe, legal reproductive care and safe, legal abortion.

As I cut and stitched up each block, I thought about how this disastrous decision, rendered by five men and one woman, will impact us all—women most directly, our families by extension.

The red cross is an internationally recognized symbol of protection and care offered to all in times of conflict and disaster. I can think of no better symbol to represent this unfolding calamity for American women, for those they love, and for those who love them.