Maggie Wiebe

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul (Robbing Papa to Provide Protection) 

Cotton (my dad’s pants, my brother’s shirt, my pants), linen (my mom’s shirt, my aunt’s pants), cotton batting, cotton thread

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The Mennonite tradition of quilting is rooted in comfort and providing for others. Quilting is traditionally a community based craft, structured around church quilting groups where women contribute to many of their friends' quilts. By utilizing and referencing quilting practices to think about the highly individualistic nature of martyrdom and the discomfort that comes with it, this work questions our relationship with service and care for the self. 
 

Using a pair of my dad’s pants I cut, patched, and recut pieces for the quilting pattern Robbing Peter to Pay Paul, filling in the rest of the pattern with pieces cut from my family's clothing. Over the course of this process, both the pants and the quilt gradually lost their intended structure, leaving a record of the harm that comes when you give more than you have to offer.