Village — Shelley Spector

Village is a collaborative work that began at the Philadelphia Museum of Art as part of the exhibition, Shelley Spector - Keep The Home Fires Burning. The project was inspired by the tomato shaped pin-cushion and its Victorian roots as a symbol of hope at new beginnings. The piece combines workshops in which Spector teaches participants how to make a pin cushion with an expanding installation to which the new pieces get added. At the closing of the exhibition in 2015, the artist began to travel with the project to engage new collaborators.

A pre-workshop discussion in Brooklyn about the roots of the project.

A Spanish/English workshop at Monte Azul, in the rain forrest of Costa Rica.

Compound Yellow, an independent experimental art space in Chicago hosts the project in 2017.

A sample tomato with instructions.

All the materials come from deconstructed clothing and textile goods. (Philadelphia)

Select fabric one or two fabric pieces. (Philadelphia)

Cut fabric for the tomato body in a 1:2 ratio (no smaller than 4” x 8”). (Brooklyn)

Fold the fabric evenly in half on the short fold. The good side of the fabric should be on the inside. Hand or machine sew a ¼” seam along the edge opposite to the fold. (Philadelphia)

Hand sew a running stitch all the way around the circumference of one open side, ½” from the edge and ½” apart. Stop just before you get to the first stitch. (Costa Rica)

Pull it tight to cinch. Wind the thread around the fabric ends and tightly knot. (San Francisco)

Stuff the tomato with scraps till firm (right side out).

Leave 1” of fabric around the top for closure. (Chicago)

Hand sew a running stitch around the circumference of the top, ½” from top and ½” between the stitches. (Philadelphia)

Pull tightly, careful not to rip the thread and sew and knot the closure at the top. (Montreal)

To measure the binding thread, wind it around the tomato a generous seven times. (Montreal)

Wrap the binding thread two times around to divide tomato in half. Wrap two more times around and make a third of the halves and them two more times again to divide the remaining large section in half (six sections in all). (Philadelphia)

Knot thread and trim if needed. (Costa Rica)

Cut fabric for stem 1:12 ratio. (No smaller than 1 ½” x 18”). Iron in half, good side out. Open the fold and turn the outer edges to the middle making it ¼” the width. Iron again. (Philadelphia)

Sew the length of the stem by hand or machine. (Montreal)

Starting in the middle of the stem and make a bow. Make another bow right on top. Try to make the four loops and two ends even. Cut if necessary. (Montreal)

Hand sew stem on top of the tomato, hiding the stitches underneath as much as possible.(Brooklyn)

The workshop lasts about an hour and a half. Experience not necessary. (Chicago)

Installation view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Installation at the Ghostship in Oakland, CA.

Installation in the Kimmel Center, Philadelphia.

Installation amidst the art collection of Reverend Dr. Calvin Morris, Chicago.

Installation by the River Chirripo Pacifico, Costa Rica.

Installation at Room and Board, Brooklyn.

Photo credits: Nate Boguszewski, Constance Mensh, Melissa Matamoros, Nola Latty, Ellen Robley and Shelley Spector