Allison Manch’s “Sampling” at Practical Art stitches pop lyrics and rap bling into old-fashioned hankies

Comments (0) By Robrt L. Pela Thursday, Sep 4 2008

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Allison Manch

Manch's Hometeam depicts a Buffalo Bills helmet in an homage to her family's New York roots.

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Allison Manch's "Sampling" will be on display through September 30. Call 602-264-1414.

Practical Art, 5070 North Central Avenue

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Despite her love of hip-hop and pop lyrics, Manch keeps returning to her roots, depicting her family in abstractions of brightly colored thread. Some have sports themes: In Hometeam, a Buffalo Bills football helmet (Manch's family hails originally from Buffalo) has been stitched into the center of a crisp, white handkerchief alongside a sprig of bright, similarly colored pansies. In Dorothy Manch, a wee, embroidered likeness of a football pendant necklace her grandmother used to wear dangles from a stitched chain on a delicate, floral print hanky.

For Manch, hankies are only for wrapping around her love of junk jewelry, of pop music producers. Her work is nothing to sneeze at. "I can't imagine using a handkerchief for its intended purpose," she laughs. "They're lovely objects, and to blow my nose into one? I couldn't do it."