The Blog

Mary Vaneecke is a fiber artist in Tucson, Arizona and has just launched a community fiber art project and future exhibition called TheMourningProject.com; an effort to shine light on the high rate of infant mortality in the U.S.

For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.  This short story, attributed to Ernest Hemingway, was the first thing that came to mind when I read the headline American babies are 76 percent more likely to die in their first year than babies in other rich countries.  The United States’ infant mortality rate is the highest in the developed world.  That statistic shocked me.  It’s a form of American exceptionalism we Americans don’t like to think about.  As the Washington Postput it, Our Infant Mortality is a National Embarrassment.

I thought about the parents of those little ones, whose crushing loss–losing a child before their first birthday–is immeasurable.  The cost of 23,000 infant deaths on our country is unimaginable.

The loss cuts deeper because infant mortality is a problem we understand pretty clearly.  It is not Democrat or Republican, Red State or Blue state.  It’s not about who is President.  The causes of infant mortality and solutions to it are well known.  It is a problem other countries have solved.  And it is something we have ignored.

(Gansey Booties, designed & knit by Kathie Popadin; shakeyourbooties on Ravelry; www.handknitlibrarian.net/syb)

As a visual artist, I believe in the power of art to change hearts, minds, behavior, and the world.  Think about the famous AIDS Quilt, a community art project commemorating the loss of more than 80,000 lives.  By ‘drawing’ a picture of a problem, we can see and feel the enormity of it.  Our country, our leaders, and lawmakers need to see exactly what infant mortality looks like in America.

My vision for TheMourningProject.com is that each of the infants lost in a given year will be remembered with a unique, handmade, heartfelt little elegy.   I am asking the fiber art community to come together to make 23,000+ pairs of baby booties.  This is the number of American infants who die every year.

Whether sewn, knitted, felted, woven, or crocheted, I am asking for donations of handmade baby shoes in the colors of mourning:  black, white, and gray.  Gathered together, these small elegies will paint a picture too big to ignore.  Time is of the essence–my plan is to collect 23,000 baby booties from Labor Day, 2018, until Mothers Day, May 12, 2019.  Once these booties are collected, I will create a travelling art installation designed to advocate for policy changes that can save lives.  Our work will be both a visual reminder of a national tragedy, and what we can do about it.

I can’t do this alone.  Are you with me?

Click here to find out all the ways you can get involved.  Go to Mary’s webpage for many other links regarding FAQs, patterns, talking points, support for grieving parents, and much more.