I recently put up my series of hand-puppets-cum-liquor-bottle-covers. In this series I turn things around: instead of simply accepting that animals are hunted, displaced and tortured by humans, I explore what it’d look like if it were nature against man. I gave the animals guns, fishing rods, bombs, baseball bats and axes. Their victims are little blond girls, old bald men with goatees, pretty swimmers and entitled baseball enthusiasts. The devil is in the detail as they say, which is why I wanted to share some of my animal puppets’ weapons and victims. I think no further explanation is needed. Let the animals rule!!!
Hand Puppets-Cum-Liquor-Bottle Covers
I have been quiet over the summer, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been creating. In fact, I have been creating furiously. I made a series of hand puppets that hunt and fish for humans. These puppets are versatile as they can help you act out your fury against humankind while also hiding your liquor bottles. (Considering the current state of the world I suggest you buy several.)
Ironically, I decided to stop drinking entirely while working on these beasts. Maybe they’ll have the same effect on you? You can also hide your water bottle if necessary. Or just use an empty bottle, for God’s sake!
Below are two of my favorites. And here is the whole menagerie.
“Raptor,” 2022
“Fish,” 2022
Now up: My Raptor at Silverwood Park
I am very excited that my “Raptor” (see post above) will be putting the other birds in their place at Art at Silverwood in Minnesota. If you’re in or near St. Paul this fall, check it out!
Buy This Quilt, Help the Animals of the Ukraine!
You guys, I feel terrible for the poor animals that were left behind or had to flee the war in Ukraine! The fighting and destruction is bad enough for people, but at least humans have some agency while animals solely depend on their human caretakers to help them withstand or escape the terror. Plus, they can’t make sense of the horrible situation at all.
I can barely think about the poor animals in zoos and sanctuaries without fighting back tears. Can you fathom the trauma homeless animals in shelters experience? They don’t even have a person to cuddle up to. Can you imagine being a cat, a dog or rabbit who is being dragged to a bomb shelter? (Our cat Gilbert gets distraught when we move the litter box to a new location or change his feeding time.)
Dancing Bear Breaking Loose, recycled fabric, 57x52 in., 2022
As I was figuring out what I could do to help, I came across a fundraising campaign that drew attention to a bear sanctuary in Western Ukraine. I have always felt bad for bears that are made to live with humans as “pets” or who find themselves forced to work in the entertainment industry. This is how my newest project came about.
I decided that 25% of the proceeds of Dancing Bear Breaking Loose, will go to the Animal Welfare Institute, a nonprofit that has been working tirelessly to fundraise for animals impacted by the war in Ukraine. Among their beneficiaries are animals crossing the border into neighboring countries that are in need of urgent medical care; a bear sanctuary; and various international nonprofits that continue to care for animals left behind in shelters and zoos. If you don't like my quilt (impossible!) but would like to make a donation through their website, you can designate your gift to "Ukraine." The quilt measures 57x52 inches and is quilted by hand. It is entirely made from recycled fabrics donated to me by kind strangers and friends.
As a side note, I would like to remind you that 5% of the proceeds of my quilts always go to the magnificent Animal Legal Defense Fund. If, between now and the end of the month, you buy one of my "older" quilts, I will make an additional donation of 10% to Animal Welfare Institute to benefit the poor, suffering animals of the Ukraine.
Cat Daddy
Finally a show that’s made for me—and I AM IN IT! The show features my brand new quilt “Montecore Says Hello,” which illustrates the moment when Montecore, Siegfried and Roy’s white tiger, (almost) rips off Roy’s head. At AHA Fine Arts until January 16, 2022. Co-curated by Jody MacDonald. For all you cat enthusiasts out there!
The NYC Wildlife Quilt Wins Best in Show
Sometimes great, fun things happen right after disaster strikes. We were hit terribly by Hurricane Ida in early September. After days of pumping out and cleaning our dark and damp basement, I had my day in the sun. My NYC Wildlife Quilt won Best in Show at the Queens County Fair. Since my car was totaled during the flood, my husband and I took a train ride out to the Queens Farm. It was an unusually warm and sunny day in mid-September. We had overpriced food and craft beer, got drunk, made fun of people, laughed and for a couple of hours we had forgotten about all the bad things that had happened to us. Almost as an afterthought we decided to attend the awards ceremony. Given the traditional setting I did not expect to win anything. But lo and behold… MY NYC Wildlife Quilt won Best in Show. (I can’t help but chuckle a little while I write this because I’m always reminded of Christopher Guest’s hilarious eponymous movie.) As I said, sometimes great things happen right after disaster strikes. And if you wonder what took me two months to let you know: basement cleaning, roof repairs, FEMA applications, fighting with contractors…
The ribbons now have an honorary place on my studio wall.
Me with my awkwardly hung quilt.
Mer having fun.
My husband having “fun.”
I'm in this show!
We Don't Eat Our Beloved
Guys! Dreams can come true. I made a little quilt and cookbook that features my Things-We-Don’t-Eat placemats, which are based on folktales in which humans fall in love with and marry animals. More importantly (maybe?), the book contains a myriad of tasty vegan recipes, like vegan “chorizo” tacos, vegan sausages, Spaghetti “Bolognese” and Indian-style chia pudding.
Here is a photo of our rescue cat Tula modeling the quilt and cookbook—because she really, really likes the bonus recipe on the back of the cookbook: A (non-vegan) cat food recipe that has the power to bring cats back from the dead. To order the book and cook the tastiest vegan dishes EVER, please email me at sabineheinlein@gmail.com. I will send it to you for only $4, including handling and shipping!
Meet me (virtually) at Quilt n'Things!
Please join us for a free zoom meeting at Quilt n’Things where I’ll be talking about how working with recycled clothes and fabric scraps can lend itself to artistic discoveries. After a short overview about how previous pandemics have impacted artists’ practices, I will share my “pandemic quilt” series and talk about how the past year has impacted my own creative practice. Attendees will engage in thought experiments to explore how daily and perennial occurrences--including but not limited to Covid-19--have impacted them personally. We will ask ourselves: How could we reflect this experience in a quilt without hurting the environment? What research material can we use to find inspiration? Where can we look for help? Click here to register.
Egyptian Coffin Quilt (from the pandemic quilt series, 2020)
Things-We-Don't-Eat Placemats
It started with us needing a change of pace at the dinner table. We had been vegetarians for a long time, but were starting to tire of our beautiful hand-woven animal placemats that we picked up at an artisan market in Peru many years ago. Even though the pandemic has encouraged me to dive even deeper into vegan cooking--I’m making my own vegan cheese and sausages, fermenting my own vegetables and baking my own bread--our routine was marked by solitude and the longing memories of fabulous trips to faraway places and little eateries in Queens. So I began thinking about a theme that would compliment our food philosophy. This is when I came across a book of folktales and ancient mythology that detailed stories of humans who fell in love with animals.
“Zeus and Europa,” Ancient Greece
Beauty and the Beast: Classic Tales About Animal Brides and Grooms from Around the World by Maria Tatar (Penguin Classics, 2017) features a plethora of stories about humans who fall for snakes, bulls, pigs, parrots, fish and even muskrats! The book is as much an overview of the attraction animals have had on humans across the globe and over thousands of years as it is a lesson in empathy. (Another good source is this page, specifically about snake husbands) by the University of Pittsburg, edited by D.L Ashliman. SNAKE HUSBANDS, get it???)
“The Golden Crab,” Greece
Animals have souls and a sense of humor. They feel love, joy and pain. They suffer, just like humans do. Just because you have never met the pig or chicken on your dinner plate doesn’t mean that it didn’t have a little soul, that it didn’t have feelings. Animals can teach us about ourselves and encourage us to think about the world in ways we wouldn’t be able without them. Yet, far too often they are disrespected and mistreated. Our senseless hunger for meat is what brought us forests where birds sing no longer sing and monkeys have ceased to screech. Our desire for burgers and pork chops made us cram ever more creatures into factories where they exist in sorrow, their only purpose to be consumed by humans. The suffering is unimaginable. It is the lack of respect we have for animals that have brought us zoonotic diseases like Covid-19, SARS, Leprosy and Ebola.
“The Girl and the Snake,” Sweden
I had a hard time picking five animals to depict on my placemats because, honestly, I love all animals; eventually I let myself be led by the most passionate quotes from folktales and mythology. Once you get to know an animal you just can’t help but love it. I fondly remember, for example, how a turkey hugged my husband on a visit to the Farm Sanctuary. The turkey literally spread his wings and wrapped them around my husband. From that point on, my husband decided to never eat turkey again in his life.
“A Boarhog For a Husband,” West Indies
I have always said that if our cat Gilbert was a human, my husband would have serious competition. OK, I’ll be honest, my husband does have serious competition. Gilbert looks into my eyes like no one ever has. But since Gilbert doesn’t read to me at night and is just a tad less funny than my husband, my marriage is safe and blossoming.
“The Swan Maidens,” England
The placemats measure about 12x17 inches. They are made from recycled fabric. In the end, we decided not to eat from them because they simply took too long to make to be splattered with oil--and vegan cheese. The mats are for sale. Please contact me for a price at sabineheinlein@gmail.com