As our new President is sworn in, I wanted to share my portrait of candidate Trump, called "BLOWN- (love, hate and Twitter, a portrait of Donald Trump"). Made during the campaign last summer (along with a companion portrait of HRC - "BRANDED - (easy A, a portrait of Hillary, Bill and Monica"), I created the two hand embroidered portraits in response to the strangest and most surprising political campaign I've ever witnessed.
The Donald is the first Politician that was brought to us by Social Media, specifically Twitter.
Donald Trump is either loved or reviled by the thousands of followers that he has collected into his virtual toybox, and it is frightening and impressive to contemplate the power he has acquired, 140 characters at a time.
As President, will the @Real Donald Trump continue to tweet? Will he always love the platform, or will he grow to hate it? How will his followers (and his haters) respond?
At first glance, the portrait of Hillary looks more flattering, but there is more below the surface:
Always Little Miss Goody Two shoes, Hillary was that hated elementary schoolgirl that set the curve all the rest of us were judged by. A brilliant student, the A's came must have come easily to Hillary Rodham until she met her husband, who created a situation where the world branded her with the permanent red A of HIS indiscretion and political fecklessness.
Hillary, Bill and Monica will be forever linked, but it is Hillary who will always be most prominently marked by the scandal. At least with the outcome of the 2016 race, Bill's oval office shenanigans won't be the worst thing that ever happened to HRC.
I made the two portraits before we knew the outcome of the election, and did so with the intention that they always be shown together, in the manner of a traditional marriage portrait. For better or worse, Donald and Hillary are partners in history; chained in tandem in a story that continues to unfold.
The DJT portrait is crewel wool and metallic fiber embroidery with silk stump work on damask, and the HRC portrait is crewel silk embroidery on velvet. Both works were done completely by hand in my studio near Austin, Texas. This pair is currently available for sale.
More info: catherinehicksart.com
BLOWN - love, hate and twitter, a portrait of Donald Trump
BRANDED - easy A, a portrait of Hillary, Bill and Monica
The political landscape, much like organizing an ideal birthday, is incredibly unpredictable and often leaves us with a mix of emotions. Just as birthdays can go awry despite careful planning, so can political campaigns unfold in unexpected ways. This parallel between personal milestones and public events reminds us that the journey towards perfection is laden with surprises.
For insights on how people navigate moments when things don't go as planned, you may want to explore how individuals handle unexpected turns during their birthdays.