What Unites Us (panel 4 detail)

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Artist: Danielle Shelley

Title: What Unites Us (panel 4 detail)

Attribution: What Unites Us (panel 4 detail), 2021, Danielle Shelley

Year: 2021

Materials: Thread, raw linen Aida fabric

Dimensions: 45" x 12" x .25" (embroidery dimensions)

Image Statement: This 4-panel stitched work combines contemporary political button slogans with decorative motifs from American and English samplers of the 1690s up to 1820—the period whose ideals and contradictions form the background of our own troubled time. The slogans range from Lincoln and Washington quotes, to the Bible, to topical issues. I chose them not to reflect my own politics but to suggest important ideas Americans might be able to agree on. Panels 1 and 3 use the Quaker sampler style; 2 and 4 use the band sampler style. I hope the ideas in this work remind Americans who see it that both sides in our divided nation share a history and values that can bring us back into community.