As a senior budget analyst for the city of St. Paul, Nichelle Bottko Woods often attends meetings of the St. Paul City Council.
She has found a creative way to stay focused. “As I sit and watch, I crochet to stay quiet and pay attention,” Bottko Woods says. These two worlds — the city council and the creative arts — came together for Bottko Woods during the historic inauguration of the first all-women St.
Paul City Council on Jan. 9. “It was an amazing event, and it really just inspired me,” she says.
So did the inauguration photos of Mitra Jalali, Anika Bowie, Rebecca Noecker, Saura Jost, HwaJeong Kim, Nelsie Yang and Cheniqua Johnson. Specifically, one photo by John Autey, Pioneer Press photojournalist. The photo of the seven women standing together on stage at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in downtown St.
Paul, the site of the inauguration, is a tapestry of colors and cultures and textures. The women, dressed for the occasion in outfits ranging from a tweedy pastel suit to a purple pantsuit to a traditional Hmong Xiengkhouang outfit and purple hat (Phuam Txoom Suab) to a gown made in Ghana — look joyful as they smile and wave, one with hand over heart, standing there like the American history they were making. Here’s how we found out about the project: “I recently crocheted a photo you took of the City Council Inauguration, and I am hopeful to ask for your blessing, or guidance in officially requesting permission to display this photo alongsid.