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Artist Catherine Sugg explains elk metaphor and hand-stitched technique in textile painting
Summary
Artist and MFA candidate Catherine Sugg described the symbolism and handcraft techniques behind her mixed-media painting "It's a ***** Being a Cow," explaining her use of elk imagery, repurposed domestic fabrics and embroidered text.
Catherine Sugg, an artist and MFA candidate at the University of Montana, described the symbolism and techniques behind her painting "It's a ***** Being a Cow" during an artist presentation.
Sugg said she uses the elk as a metaphor to explore gendered roles in a regional context, and that she combines found domestic textiles such as dish towels and pot holders with contemporary fabrics and hand embroidery to build meaning into the surfaces. "I use, the elk as a metaphor," she said.
Sugg told listeners she intended the work to contrast the romanticized masculine image of the bull elk with a less-recognized female elk, in particular the role of the lead cow in herds. "She has a functional role in terms of warning the herd if danger approaches," Sugg said, and she described how some texts characterize that animal as ostracized or removed from the reproductive cycle.
Technically, Sugg said she sews all pieces by hand and often treats cloth surfaces with clear gesso or light washes to preserve background patterns. "Obviously, I sew everything by hand," she said. She described frequent problems when stretching older fabrics, including occasional ripping that requires patching with stitch work.
Text is a deliberate element in Sugg's work; she said embroidered words are always chosen carefully because the embroidery process is slow and exacting. "If I'm including text, it's always embroidered," she said, noting that the repeated embroidered phrase in this piece is "hot rolls." Sugg also described using an embroidery needle to add line quality and text after painting.
She placed the work in a domestic and regional frame by referencing items common in rural homes and by noting the scale of elements: she said she uses the dimensions of a full-size bed common in rural communities as a point of reference for some pieces. Sugg also identified her educational background and geographic roots as part of her perspective: she said she earned a BFA at UNLV (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) and is originally from Saskatchewan, Canada.
The presentation combined discussion of symbolic intent with practical craft detail; Sugg emphasized both honoring traditional domestic handiwork and questioning its cultural role in her region.
