ARTIST TALK WITH ZINA HALL

ARTIST TALK WITH ZINA HALL

January 28, 2021
2:00 - 2:45 p EST

Summertime is thrilled to present to you (see recording above) a virtual artist talk with Zina Hall, whose work was featured in our exhibition Fair Vanity. Zina has been an artist at Creative Growth since 2006 and was featured in The New Yorker! 

On January 28th, Zina spoke with Summertime, her daughter Myeisha Williams, long time Creative Growth mentor and nurse Charlotte Moses, and curator Lisa Slominski about early quiltmaking, why she started using colorful embroidery to capture those closest to her, and her favorite Motown hits.

Tell me more! 

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1964, Zina Hall began attending Creative Growth in 2006. Already an adept quilter, she quickly translated those skills into her embroidery practice. Zina’s work often acts as a tool for memorializing and immortalizing those that are close to her. Portraits of her parents, husband, and even herself as a child, celebrate the intimacy and eternal love of family and cherished moments in time. Zina also creates embroidered interpretations of her favorite TV shows such as The Golden Girls, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Sanford & Sons, as well as musical icons like Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Barry White. 

Zina works from photographs by either tracing the subject’s contours and details onto fabric with a sharpie while keeping the photo next to her for reference, or sewing through the photo itself on the fabric. The economy of means in her selective palette and tight stitch work delivers the drama and significance of a grand tapestry while capturing essential details of her beloved figures. While choosing to create single pieces most of the time, Zina will occasionally revisit her quilting skills and stitch several pieces together for large wall hangings.

Images Courtesy of Creative Growth and Zina Hall