This needlework picture by Ohio artist Mary Borkowski glows with silk threads on a silky field. The narrative, too, is brilliantly lit by the blazing fire stitched in golden-yellow threads. It is based on the life of Borkowski’s friend Raymond Turner, who owned the apartment building in which the artist lived. According to Borkowski, Turner was consumed with money and engaged in nefarious activities that eventually attracted the unwelcome attention of the Internal Revenue Service. He lost almost everything and died at the age of seventy. Rather than granting him what Borkowski considered a “decent funeral,” Turner’s family had him cremated. This thread painting is Borkowski’s testament and warning; an homage to her friend Mr. Turner and an illustration of the greed that caused his downfall.

Stacy C. Hollander, "Trapped," exhibition label for Ooh, Shiny!. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2012.