Helen Geglio
Ordinary Oracle: Visions of Repair, 2023
Cotton, silk noil, found domestic textiles, small objects 45 x 34"
The oracle is a woman of great wisdom who speaks truth, offers insights and predicts change. She dwells among us.
Helen Geglio
Amulet Bundles for Teenage Drivers, 2022
Cotton, linen, found clothing, small objects, board book 10 x 22 x 1.5"
These amulet bundles are wrapped meditations on motherhood. Worries and fears for our children are bundled up and tied, held tightly inside protective layers of cloth.
Helen Geglio
Amulet Bundles for a Happy Childhood, 2022
Cotton, linen, found infant and doll clothing, small objects, board book 10.5 x 27 x 1.5 installed
These amulet bundles are wrapped meditations on motherhood. Worries and fears for our children are bundled up and tied, held tightly inside protective layers of cloth.
Helen Geglio
Apron Strings: Timelines, 2022
Cotton, linen, found quilt, buttons 53 x 54"
Apron Strings is a body of artwork that explores the complex relationships we have with our children. This is a stitched meditation on motherhood—marking the countless moments of passage until we set our sons and daughters loose into the world.
Helen Geglio
Anxiety Shield: Force Field, 2021
Cotton, wool, buttons, hand embroidered and stitched 48 x 34"
A shield from the free-floating anxiety of an uncertain time, and from the circular thoughts of sleepless nights. In the process of making, I discovered the protective nature of stitches made by hand.
Helen Geglio
Wisdom Cloak: Mender of Rifts, 2020
Wool, cotton, small objects, hand embroidered and stitched 52 x 60"
This series of woolen cloaks was made in recognition of the wisdom that women accumulate as they grow older, a deep and enduring wisdom, often unseen and unsung. I have sewn a primitive needle into each cloak to celebrate the generations of wise women who have gone before us, stitching paths of strength and beauty.
Helen Geglio
Women’s PPE: Wound Care, 2020
Embroidered and stiffened cotton, found domestic textiles 20 x 17 x 4"
These sculptural breastplates of women’s personal protective equipment (PPE) present a visual testament to the resilience of women during trying times. Somehow, amidst challenges and difficulties, we manage to clothe ourselves in an armor of fortitude, preserve a sense of humor and perspective, and then face forward. Afterall, women are so often the heavy lifters for real and sustainable change.
Helen Geglio
Women’s PPE: Breastplate, 2020
Embroidered and stiffened linen 20 x 18 x 4"
These sculptural breastplates of women’s personal protective equipment (PPE) present a visual testament to the resilience of women during trying times. Somehow, amidst challenges and difficulties, we manage to clothe ourselves in an armor of fortitude, preserve a sense of humor and perspective, and then face forward. Afterall, women are so often the heavy lifters for real and sustainable change.
Helen Geglio
Wisdom Cloak: Invisible Visionary, 2020
Wool, cotton, small objects, hand embroidered and stitched 52 x 58"
The Wisdom Cloak series is a tribute to the accumulated knowledge, experience and maturity of women, so often unrecognized and rarely celebrated. A primitive needle is sewn into each cloak, to honor the generations of women who have gone before us, stitching paths to a world of strength and beauty.
Helen Geglio
What She Carried: Hussifs, 2019
Cotton, linen, found domestic textiless, hand embroidered and stitched. 23 x 26 x 4" display
A hussif is a rolled sewing kit. These three hussifs tell stories of women who traveled to the plains and prairies of the Midwest during our nation’s time of westward expansion. Leaving the familiar landscapes of home, they found an endless expanse of grassland, isolated and strangely beautiful. Inspired by diary entries written from a sod house on a Nebraska homestead, I have created visual narratives of women uprooted.
