Butter

Since 1999 my mother and I have saved the wrappers from every stick of butter we have consumed and I have sewn our mutual collection into this morphable, movable, translucent semi-chandelier of shame and pride. As bakers and chefs we both excel, but as women with formidable breasts and apple cheeks we both struggle with body image and self-loathing. We delight in sharing cookies with neighbors, yet we both suffer from ill-fitting clothes, sideways glances, and doctors suggesting Ozempic. This project is an ever growing appreciation of the graphic design of butter wrappers; a collection that has persisted long enough to see the proud Native American symbol struck from Challenge Butter as well as the rise of Tillamook Creamery to the ranks of grocery store staple. Waxed butter wrappers are fragile, so there are also traces of mending as they tear and have to be rearranged to continue to hold fast to one another. In the tradition of American “Flag” Quilting, no piece is too small or not precious enough to be included.