"Lydia Reflecting": Quilt Art by Rebekka Seigel

Created in response to an exhibit at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Design entitled “The Body Adorned”, Lydia the Tattooed Lady is giving us an excellent view of her tattoos from the back. I embroidered all of the tattoos and included one which says MOM because a friend told me she gave her son permission to get as many tattoos as he wanted as long as they all said MOM.

The Lydia figure is meant to evoke the Vargas girls who appeared in many men’s magazines of the 40’s through the 70’s. They were idealized feminine images but so well drawn and colored that I couldn’t help but enjoy them whenever I came across them.