'Lay Your Burden Down' Stitches Handwritten Heartache Into Textile Art at SAAM

A collection of colorful, embroidered pillows lying on a hammock catches the viewer's eye when entering the installation room at the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM). With a closer look, each pillow features handwritten notes stitched into its fabric. "My burden is staying healthy, free of recurrence of cancer … mentally healthy and in harmony with other humans," one note reads.

The pillows and notes are part of a new exhibit by Seattle artist Carina del Rosario called "Lay Your Burden Down," which features textile pieces that display voices sewn into fabric. The work is a culmination of Rosario's community-based project that began in November 2024, when she started hosting spaces where community members could anonymously share their burdens by writing them onto pieces of paper.

"I wanted to give people the opportunity to share the heartaches they were holding, and feel a sense of support like they're not alone," said Rosario, recipient of the 2025 Constance W. Rice Fellowship.

The exhibit runs through April 13, 2026.

The process of handwriting notes was equally important to Rosario, who lives on Beacon Hill. In a digital age, she wanted to reinforce connections that people could physically hold and share, while community building through tactile art.

After collecting these handwritten notes, Rosario facilitated sewing circles where participants could care for others' "burdens" by stitching them into fabric. The first of the series was hosted at the SAAM's education studio. Rosario didn't expect much of a turnout on a weekday and was prepared for a smaller group.

"We were packed … with this palpable energy in the room. I was kind of stunned," Rosario said, "It was indicative of the need people have for connection with each other."

Rosario went on to host more sewing circles across Seattle in collective art spaces, churches, education centers, studios, and homes. At the end of the series, more than 230 community members had participated.

"I really loved how there was a mix of people and ages, people who didn't have any experience with sewing at all," said Rosario, "but there was something in the [invitation's] description that spoke to them."

Participants were always ready to help each other and had creative freedom when sewing. Rosario showed several Korean and Japanese techniques of stitching, but didn't want to limit participants to a certain style. She didn't correct any stitches, wanting participants' stitches to show personality and individuality.

After over a dozen sewing circles, Rosario, who was born in the Philippines, had gathered an incredible amount of communal voices and artistry. She finalized the project by massaging the papers with starch, mounting them onto fabric, and embellishing the pieces onto pillows — a symbolic and tangible display of the burdens of many finally finding a resting place.

On reflection of her final project, Rosario said it was a beautiful process to witness.

"It was really moving to see people who saw themselves in the burdens that other people shared," she said.

One participant experiencing a terminal illness found it empowering to turn her attention to someone else experiencing similar pain and loss. Another participant had recently given her child up for adoption, and found herself drawn to handwritten notes of people who wanted to be mothers but couldn't and the grief they experienced.

"In this time when it's really easy to feel powerless in the face of so much oppression and cruelty … it's not really about the product," Rosario said. "It's this process, these relationships people were forming through this act of sewing together."

Rosario said it has also been sweet to witness the rippling effect this project has created. Many participants want to come back, with even some teachers hoping to bring this project to their own classrooms. Rosario herself hopes to take this project to more community spaces in the future.

"I think a lot of people need this," Rosario said. "A lot of people who may not necessarily see museums as a space for them to find healing or turn to other spaces for healing and community. So I want to bring it to those spaces and offer it up there."

"Lay Your Burden Down" will be on view at the Seattle Asian Art Museum through April 13, 2026. If organizations or individuals would like to help sponsor the project's continuation in other spaces, they can reach out at cadelrosario.com.