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Gwen Westerman

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Ina / For My Mother

Ina
Ina

Ina Detail
Ina Detail

Ina / For My Mother | Media List


Statement

“Ina / For My Mother” (2005)

Quilt, 66”W x 66”L
100% commercial cotton with bead embellishments; hand quilted.

In many indigenous traditions, the turtle represents our mother earth. In Dakota, “Ina” means not only our Mother Earth, but also our human mother. In my mother’s family, her father and his siblings all had water animal names. His name was Yah-skv-nv-hi, or “Hard Shelled Turtle.” My mother collected turtles, and when she began dialysis, I started this quilt for her.

This piece is an adaptation of a traditional American quilting pattern known as Drunkard’s Path, or as the Amish call it, Solomon’s Puzzle or Old Maid’s Puzzle. The English know it as Robbing Peter to Pay Paul.