Loretta Faveri
Clementina Sauro, 2024
handmade paper made by my aunt, thread, ink 36" x 48" x 8"
My grandmother was the stepmother to my grandfather’s five oldest children who served the Canadian Armed Forces during WWII. She had four children with my grandfather making nine in total. She was a musician, an artist, a schoolteacher and an Italian Canadian who worked tirelessly writing letters to government officials advocating for the release of my grandfather, Reverend Libero Sauro from an internment camp in Ontario, Canada during WWII. I transcribed her letters tore them up and stitched them back together to create her portrait. This creative process is a metaphor for healing and moving forward from the past with compassion and forgiveness. Her image comes to life in the shadow, like a ghost from the past.
Loretta Faveri
Apology, 2025
handmade paper made by my aunt, thread, ink 36" x 48" x 8"
The Reverend Libero Sauro, my Italian Canadian grandfather was interned during WWII in Ontario, Canada. He was wrongfully accused of being a fascist sympathizer. The uniform of each interned prisoner included a red circle stitched on the back, a target in case an internee tried to escape. The transcribed text in this piece comes from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s address to parliament (May 27, 2021), apologizing to the Italian Canadian community for the internment of 600 Italian Canadians. This silhouette was created by tearing through the apology and stitching the fragments back together. My process is a metaphor for healing and moving forward from the past with compassion and forgiveness. Of the 600 internees, no one was ever charged with a crime against the state.
Loretta Faveri
Let it Be, 2021
pages from my 1994 journal, ink, beeswax, thread, grommets 64" x 47" x 4"
In 1994, I was abusing alcohol and spending too much time with unavailable men. Much of my daily angst was documented in my journal and years later, when I reread my words, I realized how much shame had consumed me. I removed the pages, applied ink and wax, cut the pages and then stitched them back together, not as they were but as something new. The process was healing, and allowed me to release the shame I felt and simply let the past be.
Loretta Faveri
Let it Be (detail), 2021
pages from my 1994 journal, ink, beeswax, thread, grommets 64" x 47" x 4"
In 1994, I was abusing alcohol and spending too much time with unavailable men. Much of my daily angst was documented in my journal and years later, when I reread my words, I realized how much shame had consumed me. I removed the pages, applied ink and wax, cut the pages and then stitched them back together, not as they were but as something new. The process was healing, and allowed me to release the shame I felt and simply let the past be.
Loretta Faveri
Space to Breathe, 2020
Japanese paper (washi), ink, beeswax, thread 36" x 19" x 4"
Cutting and tearing through my creative output and stitching it back together as something new is a metaphor for healing wounds from a shameful past and rebuilding it into a positive experience. Living with shame and self-judgment can paralyze us from achieving our life goals. Not only have a repurposed my self described "rejected artworks", I have transformed them into something far more meaningful and paved a new creative path forward.
Loretta Faveri
Space to Breathe (detail), 2020
Japanese paper (washi), ink, beeswax, thread 36" x 19" x 4"
Loretta Faveri
Captured Moments, 2021
Japanese paper, thread, ink, beeswax 33"x35"x4"
Cutting and tearing through my creative output and stitching it back together as something new is a metaphor for healing wounds from a shameful past and rebuilding it into a positive experience. Living with shame and self-judgment can paralyze us from achieving our life goals. Not only have a repurposed my self described "rejected artworks", I have transformed them into something far more meaningful and paved a new creative path forward.
Loretta Faveri
Captured Moments (detail), 2021
Japanese papers, thread, ink, beeswax 33"x35"x4"
My "rejected" prints and batiks filled a bin. This tapestry holds many of these rejects torn and stitched together with compassion and forgiveness building a positive path forward.
Loretta Faveri
Ode to Sylvia, 2023
handmade papers 40"x40"x4"
My aunt was a weaver, bookbinder and papermaker. Before she died, she gave me a large collection of her handmade papers. To honour her memory, I’ve used these papers to build and stitch her likeness in four portraits, eight including the shadows they cast. They are inspired by Andy Warhol’s screen prints of famous women. Family members sent me stories, words and phrases in her memory and I have torn and stitched them into the background of each tapestry. One tapestry now resides in my mother’s home. The other three are with my aunt’s children and serve as a reminder of her legacy.
Loretta Faveri
Ode to Sylvia (detail), 2023
handmade papers, ink, thread, beeswax 40" x 40" x 4"
