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“Onions” is composed of fused glass and copper wire and and different techniques such as sandblasting, baking, text and image transfer and traditional painting. It is about the life of Katheryn Bethea, migrant to Newark who had to continually re-invent herself to keep up with changing times. I described her story through the metaphor of an onion. In her interview she spoke of her family’s use of onions for remedies and folklore: “I used to have an aunt that would put onions and sprinkle them with sugar on the back of the stove and that was supposed to keep my uncle from running around with other women.” During World War II Bethea mastered the double nose needle craft and wanted to make it a career. She applied for a supervisor position in a hospital uniforms factory, at a time there when there were no black women in those positions. But she got the job and kept it until the factory closed about 15 years after the war. Her dedication and work ethic then led her to open her own dress shop.

Oral History: KATHERYN BETHEA Artist: Andrea Cassar Title: Onions, 2015, glass, copper wire, 6”x17”x 22”

“Onions” is composed of fused glass and copper wire and and different techniques such as sandblasting, baking, text and image transfer and traditional painting. It is about the life of Katheryn Bethea, migrant to Newark who had to continually re-invent herself to keep up with changing times. I described her story through the metaphor of an onion. In her interview she spoke of her family’s use of onions for remedies and folklore: “I used to have an aunt that would put onions and sprinkle them with sugar on the back of the stove and that was supposed to keep my uncle from running around with other women.” During World War II Bethea mastered the double nose needle craft and wanted to make it a career. She applied for a supervisor position in a hospital uniforms factory, at a time there when there were no black women in those positions. But she got the job and kept it until the factory closed about 15 years after the war. Her dedication and work ethic then led her to open her own dress shop.

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