Cecilia’s grandmother, born in Iowa, USA in 1924, developed a passion for sewing that drove her to pursue an MA degree in textiles, an uncommon feat for a woman of that time. Cecilia’s mother inherited her grandmother’s deep passion and curiosity about textiles making clothes for the entire family and working on both private and public projects involving this skill. Now Cecilia and her sister continue this fascination, the third generation, hence triple-layer. At the age of 9 Cecilia made her first sampler on a long car journey, an experience that taught her patience, attentiveness, diligence, key traits to the work she makes today.

The Bargello technique is a needlepoint consisting of upright flat stitches laid in a mathematical pattern dating back to the 17th C. “When I look at the Triple-layer gather-gusset series, it occurs to me that the series as a whole functions as sampler. I am, through play and experimentation, familiarising myself and the viewer with all the variations of the bargello technique that I can think of.”

This work consists of three elements;

The fabric – handed down from Cecilia’s grandmother
The lace – bought by Cecilia’s mother in a Salvation Army sale in Pittsburgh.
The embroidery – bargello technique while referencing history is done by Cecilia.
No element takes a primary role. Each is supportive and integral to the whole. Each mirrors a generation.