News from the Third Year!
2024 Began with Mutual Aid
In January I raffled off a baby blanket, raising $2,610 for humanitarian relief in Gaza: eSIMs through Connecting Humanity, and water through Ele Elna Elak. The person who won the raffle wanted the blanket to go to someone more in need, so I gave it to a friend’s newborn godchild, whose mother he’s been supporting since she arrived from Venezuela seeking asylum. I’ve also sold blankets to raise money for the Chicago Abortion Fund after the repeal of Roe v. Wade, and in ACRE Residency’s silent auction. (And I have a few baby blankets left for sale, if you’d like to snag one!)
Press, Exhibitions & Public Engagement
I’ve also had some wonderful invitations to write and speak about what I do, and why:
In April I was given a design feature in NewCity magazine by Vasia Rigou
In August I was a guest on The Coffin Cards podcast with my friend Alejandro Salinas
And in October I finally got to collaborate with photographer Brittany Sowacke, for this piece by Courtney Kueppers on WBEZ. It also ran in the Sunday Chicago Sun Times, and you can see a bonus video here.
Through January 26 you can see one of my Burial Blankets in the show “Agency: Craft in Chicago” at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, curated by Adrienne Kochman. Both galleries are packed with decades of incredible work from marginalized Chicago artists, accompanied by our own short catalog essays on how we view the role of agency in our practice. (Mine is about the practice of writing my will.) As part of a cluster of exhibitions on craft, I also co-taught “Weaving Stories,” a workshop at the Jane Addams Hull House Museum with fellow UIMA artist Lourdes Guerrero.
In September it was also a tremendous honor to produce a series of free, public workshops at Comfort Station called “Art for the Living and the Dead,” which began with a Death Café facilitated by Alejandro. These events brought together dear friends and total strangers for the most thoughtful, intimate, and caring conversations about heavy, complex topics. I was so inspired to share this material, and plan to bring this curriculum to other venues next year, in other formats — if you are a teacher or arts programmer and want to connect about that, please reach out.
"Art for the Living and the Dead"
photos by Ricardo Adame
DCASE Individual Artist Grant
Last year Burial Blankets received a $6,000 grant from the city of Chicago to invest in upgrades to my studio and public exhibitions. This included a new performance of my memorial piece for G as part of the group show “Aesthetics of Loss.” This was a traveling group show that started in Chicago (my first show in my new city) and ended in Madison, WI (my hometown). I am also investing in new equipment to ease the strain on my body during production, completing the process of becoming a certified provider with the Green Burial Council, and recently joined the Funerary Artisans Collective. I also spent the summer months learning new techniques for a woven shibori shroud, dyed with black walnuts I harvested from my folks’ yard in Wisconsin.
What’s Next?
On November 10 from 1-4pm I’ll be part of a Home Funeral Demonstration with the Chicago Death Doula Collective at Chi Yoga Shack, if you want to come by! You can also learn more about home funerals here.
I’ve also returned to Spudnik Press Cooperative as a Teaching Artist! Upcoming classes include virtual, “pay what you can” workshops on professional skills for artists: Nov 7 is “Demystifying Grants, Residencies, and Exhibitions,” and Dec 5 is “DIY Self-Promotion and Communications.”
The rest of this winter I will be hunkering down in my studio. I am now the proud owner of a mechanical dobby loom and I could not be more excited to learn this new technology. This loom is built for large scale production and will allow me to weave incredibly complex patterns, using an analog computer made of wooden slats and metal pegs. As with most weaving projects, my first step will be: Sampling, sampling, sampling! Then I will begin my next commission and a semi-secret, soon-to-be-announced new line of products. Stay tuned!
As Always
My books are open if you’re thinking about a Burial Blanket. It begins with a conversation about what your cloth could look like, and what role you’d like it to have in your life, your home, and your burial options. There is no charge to begin the design process and we will move at whatever pace feels right to you. Feel free to reach out at any time — as long as I have a loom, I will weave a shroud for you.
in love and gratitude,
Anders