Fiber artist, Shin-hee Chin, McPherson, KS, has been the Artist-in-Residence at the Red Barn Studio Museum, 212 S. Main St., Lindsborg, Sunday, December 3rd, 2017 through Saturday, January 13, 2018. Shin-hee Chin originally from South Korea came to the United States in 1988. She has studied in both Korea and the United States. Since 2005, she has taught at Tabor College. She says, “While this project has undergone several evolutions, ultimately, it sets out to explore the potential mixtures or cultural hybridization. The medium I chose, as well as the method I used to link it, reflect how I have come to view my identity and American culture. As I begin to see my ‘Asianness,’ not as intrinsic and immutable, but rather in constant flux, I conceive American culture as being molded by its carriers into new arrangements. The primary goal of the project is to produce several quilts by using old quilts which I obtained from friends and thrift shops. Those quilts were once alive as dynamic parts of everyday life, reflecting the mundane history of family and community. Utilizing reclaimed quilts as canvases, and stitching as I make my marks, I attempt to translate experiences of women in the prairie in such a way that those of diverse backgrounds and cultural experiences can understand and sympathize. Through the incorporation of fabric, fiber and thread, I convert the conventional “feminine” activity of needle work into an art medium. The slow, repetitive nature of stitching enables me to be more mindful of the present of time and the passage of time. I symbolically partake in creating a new synthesis, not as a passive and silenced woman but as an active maker of my own culture.”
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