LASTLASTLAST

… and the last time i’ll mention that this is the last week to see the show!

LASTLASTLAST. april 2025. repurposed fabric. handstitched. 74 x 80 inches.

Some quilts take over a year to finish. This piece became itself very quickly, about 2 months from spark to signature. The idea came to me in early March. I was (am still) brewing in the pain of the everyday moments with my ex that I didn’t know I would later want to memorialize. When was the last time we talked in bed before falling asleep? The last time we sipped coffee on the porch? The last time we heart-eyed each other across the yard? The last time we flossed (our teeth)? The last time we flossed (the dance)?

i plan the layout of the words, the rest of this quilt i left to chance. i created 10.5 LASTS / SALTS. the years my relationship lasted. woof.

This feeling led me to thinking on other losses in my life. The last time my grandmother and I baked rugelach together or crafted together. The last time my friend Hannah heaped honey into her mouth. I spoon honey into my own mouth and think of her every time. I try to do it like she did.

So yea, I was thinking of all the lasts, with all the people I was missing.

in process, one iteration. there were many…

As an American Sign Language (ASL)/English interpreter, and also as a person who externally processes everything in real time with anyone nearby (apologies, you’re welcome!) words are important to me. I play with the words that roll around, that stick, that hold multiple meanings.

The word “last” in English has distinct meanings: in the past, the one remaining, and to endure. In ASL there are distinct signs for this one english word: PAST, LAST ONE, CONTINUE. This word and these signs clung to me. I don’t exactly remember the last times. I didn’t think I would need to. I thought they would last.

i didn’t write out LSAT because that would be too activating for people wanting to go to law school.

LAST became SALT. Ocean. Tears. The preservation of things. A grain of salt of the earth. I made this quilt around Pesach. SALT felt like a type of LAST.

hand stitching this quilt took the end of season 1, season 2 and some of season 3 of parks and rec. till the point where ben meets and hits on leslie’s mother by accident.

All of my other quilts are medallion quilts, building layers upon layers around a center motif. This quilt is my first true improv quilt, parts equalling a whole. This more improv quilting approach felt aligned with the more disjointed, grasping way my memory has been functioning. I wanted to create something simultaneously fragmented and fluid, how the grief has felt.

bagel is the most gentle dog. i used to not like dogs. he changed me! i can’t believe how much i love him! and i can! look at that soft keppe!

So that is the spark behind LASTLASTLAST. The binding of this quilt and the other quilts in the show have X’s along the edge. I have so much love and so much ex.

just a bunch of breakfast items on a quilt.

Come see this piece in the show softedge, a two person show with Lena Mac, at the Northampton Center for the Arts (33 Hawley Street, Northampton MA) until May 30th. LAST WEEK BB!

lena mac and i did not match art on purpose. it just happened. and it’s wild. go experience it in person. <3

All of this got me thinking of recent FIRSTFIRSTFIRSTS in my life. They’re PG don’t worry. And offers a very weird glimpse into my life so I’m putting it behind a paywall for the very curious you’re welcome lmk if it was worth it sorry if it wasn’t: