Happy Women’s History Month! This month EGA is excited to highlight the works of Harriet Alonso, member of our Manhattan Chapter, historian, artist, and activist whose embroidery pieces and wonderful “Look Her Up” series encourage viewers to learn more about important crusaders and role models in the equal rights and social justice movements. Harriet has an EGA Teacher Certification in Canvas Embroidery and her thoughtfully rendered designs have won multiple awards. She is a wonderful example of how dedication to a cause can inspire the greatest artistic expression.
When did you first start embroidering?
My answer to this question would take up so much space, so I’m going to try to condense my story as best I can.
As a young girl in the 1950s, I loved going to my local Woolworth’s 5 & Dime and purchasing a cross stitch kit. Over the years, I sometimes would do a cross stitch, but nothing too complicated or long-lasting. . . mostly bibs for new babies or aprons or the occasional pillowcase. But in 1975, when I was living on Long Island, I passed a needlepoint store in Port Jefferson that drew me in like a magnet. I immediately signed up for a class and completed my first sampler. And then, for some crazy reason, I decided I wanted to design my own pieces.
I loved the art of the political poster and immediately started creating my own. Mind you, I had absolutely no art training, could not (and to this day cannot) draw, and knew nothing about color theory. Later I took workshops in these subjects, but I would never consider myself an artist. Anyway, can you imagine? Using images I could trace, I designed works that were not small in size. Below is my second piece, completed in 1975. I call it, “ꜟViva La Huelga! (“Long Live the Strike!”) It measures a rather large 20” x 25 and was worked in Paternayan (of course) Persian wool on 14 mesh canvas.
At the time, I was one of many people who boycotted California grapes and lettuce during the long struggle for migrant laborers to have decent working conditions and better wages. For the central figure, I adapted the image of a woman breaking her chains of bondage that appeared in a Russian poster drawn after the 1917 revolution. Then I encircled her with grape vines and grapes worked in French knots and a chain stitch. She emerged from a lettuce as a representation of Mother Nature. I have always had a great fondness for the piece and keep it in my dining area.
Why focus on highlighting women’s history?
During those years, I became really passionate about needlepoint. I took several classes, joined EGA, and taught myself new skills by taking the organization’s Teacher Certification Program in Canvas Embroidery and completing five steps in the Master Craftsman Program in Canvas work. I completed the teacher certification program but did not pursue teaching as I was already working full-time teaching English as a Second Language. I never completed the Master Craftsman Program because my love for embroidery led me down a very unexpected path.
In 1980, I entered an MA Program in Women’s History at Sarah Lawrence College followed by a Ph.d. program at SUNY at Stony Brook. My own embroideries were put on hold while I pursued a full-out career as a women’s and peace movement historian. I did it all—teaching, researching, writing, speaking, organizing conferences, even serving as an administrator. I received several awards, the most precious being a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Peace History Society (an affiliate of the American Historical Association) in 2017. From 1980 to at least 2005, I did not hold a needle or thread in my hands. Do you know how impossible it is to read, write, and stitch at the same time?
Anyway, when I did return to needlework, I spent about ten years learning new techniques and enjoying new threads until 2019, when I finally figured out a way to combine my two paths. I was inspired by the thought that 2020 was a huge year for those of us who lived in the U.S. Not only was it the year for a presidential election but it was also the year we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment to the Constitution giving women the right to vote. In honor of both occasions, this women’s historian and embroiderer finally designed a new “political poster” for her “Stitcherhood is Powerful” collection.
“Votes for Women” is a canvas embroidery (needlepoint) piece measuring about 9 x 9.5 inches. The ground fabric is 18-mesh canvas with two suffragists worked on Lugana 28 mesh appliqued onto the canvas, giving a three-dimensional effect. I used mostly silk threads from Planet Earth, Rainbow Gallery’s Silk Splendor, Kreinik, and Pepper Pot supplemented with Rainbow Gallery’s silk lame and Very Velvet. The stitches include basketweave, slanted Gobelin, four-way bargello, and mosaic. The colors are those from the suffrage campaign—yellow, purple, and white for the U.S. and gold, purple, and green for our sisters in the U.K. I chose to use the August 18, 1920, date for the design as that is the date of ratification of the amendment and the date that appears in the Constitution. Many folks celebrate August 26 as the day when the final document was signed, making women’s vote the law of the land. The design was developed as I took courses with Celeste Chalasani and Laura Smith of the Embroiderers Guild of America.
Where do you find inspiration for your designs?
I use photos and images from the archives for my inspiration. For example, my design for the Votes for Women piece was adapted from a 1915 crepe-paper banner created, unfortunately, by “anonymous” and sponsored by the Empire State Campaign Committee (New York) as included in Jennifer A. Lemak and Ashley Hopkins-Benton’s book, Votes for Women: Celebrating New York’s Suffrage Centennial (SUNY Press, 2017). The original banner belongs to the estate of the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Family. The two figures in the piece were adapted from copyright-free images in Clip Art.
I was very pleased that the embroidery received two awards at the 2019 Exhibit at the annual American Needlepoint Guild’s Seminar in Houston, Texas: First Place in the Non-Professional Adaptation category and a Judge’s Choice Award from Mary K. Campbell. It also received a second-place award in the Senior Adaptation Category at the 2020 Woodlawn Needlework Exhibit.
I hoped that viewers would consider the message of this embroidery. Getting the vote was a long, hard struggle for women that began in 1848 at the first Woman’s Rights Convention held in Seneca Falls, New York. By the time the vote was granted in 1920, the campaign encompassed women (and men) from all economic classes, races, ethnic groups, religions, and political parties.
What does your design process look like?
I love my profession as a Women’s Historian, and I love my artwork as an embroiderer. My series, “Look Her Up,” represents the merger of these two loves. How did this idea come to me? Well, in 2020, I was trying to figure out how to do a piece that would honor one of my favorite historical characters: Jane Addams. But I had so much information that I could not figure out how to fit even a small fraction into an embroidery. One day I was speaking with my friend, Wendy Chmielewski, then head curator of the Swarthmore College Peace Collection, and I expressed my dilemma to her.
“Harriet,” she said (and I paraphrase), “you don’t have to put in all that information. Nowadays, people just whip out their phones and look things up.” Bingo! A light went on. And that light led me to develop the “Look Her Up” series. The five pieces I have designed and stitched so far represent my dream of an interactive project, one in which the viewer can go beyond what is on the canvas to learn more about the women involved.
Each canvas has clues encouraging the viewer to take their electronic device (or book) and look the woman up. The colors, design elements, dates, and a quote lead the way. For example, in that first piece (Jane Addams), suffrage colors, the peace symbol, and a line of diverse women hint at Addams’s life’s work in the settlement house, peace, and women’s rights campaigns. In the second (Harriet Tubman), a viewer can travel from the history of U.S. slavery and the Underground Railroad to the Civil War and beyond. And so it goes in pieces introducing Rose Schneiderman, Luisa Capetillo, and Wilma Mankiller. Each piece includes the women’s equality symbol as a unifying theme.
As for the design process, first I carefully choose a woman from history. I look for women from diverse backgrounds, who were politically active, had feminist values, and said wonderful things. Then I usually read or re-read about her so that I feel close to her life story. Then I work on the design. I choose the quotation very carefully, one that tells the viewer much about the woman’s philosophy. Then I think about the graphic, one that will give some hints about the woman’s life work. Finally, I choose the images to use for the border. I look for meaning in each image. For example, Rose Schneiderman’s piece includes bread and roses to go along with her quote. Luisa Capetillo teaches viewers about Puerto Rican women’s struggles for equal rights. In fact, she was arrested for wearing pants, a no-no for women. Even color is very important. Wilma Mankiller’s piece includes colors important to the Cherokee Nation and avoids colors that are considered bad luck that represent death.
These pieces reflect the spirit of early American schoolgirl samplers and are purposely worked in basketweave/tent stitches to center attention on the content rather than types of stitches. I used Rainbow Gallery Silk Splendor almost exclusively for its vibrant colors and Zweigart 18 mesh canvas for clarity and quality. Unlike so many lucky people who have mastered the use of computer technology, I design these pieces with a common pencil and graph paper, so each one takes quite a bit of time. Just figuring out the math is a challenge! But thank goodness for the number of cross stitch books that offer guidelines and models for me to adapt the motifs and figures. The hardest part of the process is stitching the background. Sometimes I wish I had someone to help me with that.
What’s the best piece of needlework advice you’ve received?
Keep on trekking.
What are you currently working on (or looking forward to working on)?
In the Spring of 2023, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 endometrial cancer, which has slowed me down. But while I still have most of my health, I have decided to move ahead with my next Look Her Up. For this project, I have selected Anna May Wong, most noted as a Hollywood movie star of the Interwar Years (between 1919 and 1942). Why, you may ask, have I chosen a Hollywood figure? Well, if you look her up, I think you will understand why I’ve chosen this fascinating woman to join my group of already incredible subjects.
Do you have anything exciting—new classes, designs, events—that we should know about?
Some of the 25 pieces in the “Stitcherhood is Powerful” series, which began in 1974, now belong to the New York State Museum in Albany, New York. Most of the other pieces reside with me, hanging on my walls and greeting me each day. Eventually, they will move to the museum.
If anyone is interested, they can read more about my work in embroidery and history on my website harrietalonso.com. My email address is alonsoharriet@gmail.com. All six of my books are still in print and available through online stores. You can find The Women’s Peace Union; Peace as a Women’s Issue; Growing up Abolitionist; Robert E. Sherwood, Yip Harburg and Martha and the Slave Catchers. Read and enjoy! Thanks to EGA for inviting me to participate in this blog and Happy Women’s Day History Month to all.
