Exhibition Statement

Introduction.  

Most people know that a rose symbolizes love, but what’s the true meaning behind an iris flower? Or the meaning of a marigold flower? Ever since the Victorian era flowers have held great significance and meaning and artists often exploit this in their art to create hidden meanings (Rocah). The artist hopes to expand on this tradition by expressing the first 5 stages of Erik Erikson’s 8 stages of development each as a different flower. Art is often used as a form of expression for artist ideas and these can even be abstracted as far as a flower representing a stage of development. This project features five embroidery hoops, each featuring a different flower (iris flower, bird of paradise flower, marigold flower, hollyhock flower, and lotus flower) and explanations for each stage. The question the artist seeks to answer is: How can the hidden language of flowers be used to create embroidery art that represents the stages in Erik Erikson’s stages of development?

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Literature Review. 

Beginning in the Victorian era, flowers became more than just something pretty to give someone, they developed an intricate language with unique meanings for all sorts of flowers (Rocah). Artist and writers have taken to using these flowers meanings to create hidden meanings in their works (PĂTRAŞCU). Flowers could be used to mean anything from a message of hope (an iris), a more direct message of “I’m sorry” (a purple hyacinth), or even to wish someone a happy marriage (a peony) (Flowers & More Design Studio). 

Embroidery is a popular craft that is mainly used to create decoration on fabric and has a history as a traditionally women's artform (Aranea). For example, this blouse used simple embroidery techniques to create the composition (Unknown). The language of flowers can be used in crafts like embroidery to convey messages even without having to have the actual flower. 

Erik Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development is a theory that focuses on an entire human life span and 8 “challenges'' faced in each stage along the way (Knight). These challenges can teach humans certain virtues if they succeed at a stage, or cause them to lack that virtue if they do not succeed (Orenstein). This project only focuses on the stages that the artist has gone through, so those include Trust vs Mistrust, Autonomy vs Shame/Doubt, Initiative vs Guilt, Industry vs Inferiority, and Identity vs Role Confusion (Orenstein). The other stages are Intimacy vs Isolation, Generativity vs Stagnation, and Ego Integrity vs Despair (Orenstein).

Methods.

Background research was conducted through a literature review. The artist compiled inspiration boards for each flower on Pinterest and then sketched patterns for each of the five designs using the information from these boards. Research into Erik Erikson's stages was conducted through a literature review using UMD databases. 

The main method used in this project was embroidery. The artist utilized simpler stitches such as the chain stitch, the back stitch, the satin stitch, and the french knot, as well as more complicated stitches such as the stem stitch, the blanket stitch, the feather stitch, and the herringbone stitch. I also used materials that I have never used in embroidery before such as felt and string! I learned pompom making methods and methods of felt working to complete my pieces.

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Audience & Impact.  

The intended audience for this project is one that is similar to the artist's demographic (age 18-21, specifically women). The artist hopes to reach flower lovers, embroidery fans, and people that are interested in exploring either subject through her art. She hopes that her project inspires the viewers to think about their own growth though the stages of life that Erikson describes.

Throughout the semester, I have grown a lot as an artist and as a scholar. This project was as much about the growing that flowers do as it was about the growth that completing this project would inspire within me. I not only learned a variety of new embroidery techniques and got to experiment with different materials, but I also learned time management techniques and how to inspire creativity even when it is hard to come by. 

Acknowledgements.

I would like to thank everyone who helped me with this project throughout the past two semesters. Huge thanks to Heather, Harold, Gabi, and all of my fellow Art Scholars for their feedback and direction throughout this entire process. I would like to give a special shout out to my partner Sam for always being there to drive me to Micheals when I needed more embroidery thread and for always being my biggest fan! Finally, I would like to thank every single person who encouraged me along the way and complimented me when they saw me constantly working on my pieces between classes and around campus. <3

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References. 

18th century. Artstor, library.artstor.org/asset/AWSS35953_35953_31217656.

Aranea, Lady. "A Brief History of Embroidery." 

“Flower Meanings.” Flowers & More, https://www.flowersandmoredelivers.com/about-us/flower-meanings/#:~:text=Marigold,today%3B%20the%20calendula%20and%20tagetes. 

Joe. “10 Contemporary Embroidery Artists.” TextileArtist.org, 29 Aug. 2019, https://www.textileartist.org/10-contemporary-embroidery-artists/. 

Knight, Zelda Gillian. “A Proposed Model of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Linked to Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development.” Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, vol. 24, no. 5, Sept. 2017, pp. 1047–1058. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1002/cpp.2066. 

Orenstein GA, Lewis L. Eriksons Stages of Psychosocial Development. [Updated 2020 Nov 22]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556096/. 

PĂTRAŞCU, Cristina. “Symbolic Codes of Communication in the Victorian Era: The Language of Flowers in John Fowles’s The French Lieutenant’s Woman.” Cultural Intertexts, vol. 1/2, Jan. 2014, pp. 95–102. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asn&AN=101100839&site=ehost-liv

Rocah, Barbara S. “The Language of Flowers.” Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, vol. 57, Jan. 2002, p. 377. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asn&AN=9073256&site=ehost-live.

Unknown, (Maker),. Blouse (Partial). 1880-1910, Image: 2007. Artstor, library.artstor.org/asset/ABROOKLYNIG_10312347883.

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