Picture For You
2001 by Gloria Contreras
Found 03/2012, Goodwill (Oak Hill on 290)

Commissioned for the artist’s niece, this piece is a splendid example of a mixed-media construction, each element of the piece stitched into place from scraps of decorative fabric, pre-made ornament, and embroidered elements. Contreras lovingly creates a cozy home setting, the border of border of heart-patterned ribbon suggesting that the home space is surrounded and protected by love. The gifts of the spirit embroidered into the descending stairs represent a metaphorical solid foundation of faith and spirituality—and perhaps the beginning of a journey, as they mark the ascent of the stairs, and the starry window over them may be seen as a journey into the possibilities of the outside world and the future.

The artists’ niece is given a strong placement just left of center of the image, the thickened ornamentation around her photograph, as well as the simple inclusion of photography in an otherwise cloth composition, allow the small image to serve as the focal point of the entire piece, carefully balancing scene and subject.