Fiber 2018-2022
Meditating on the meaning of attachment while actually weaving fibers, mending torn and frayed edges, and sewing pieces together continues to teach me about how interconnected human beings are to one another, and how to love more deeply. Stitching and dry felting processes use a needle to weave fibers together through repetitive and aggressive jabbing motions, while wet felting incorporates water and friction to create connection. These processes can become the antidotes to overwhelming emotions such as anger, despair, and sadness, by instilling feelings of hope and beauty.
The year of the pandemic has taught us that everything is attached and interconnected.
All beings need each other to survive.
Quilts
Grief Builds a Path (2020) is a meditation on living in NYC during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is made with 4 antique napkins inherited from my grandmother, dyed with indigo, and hand stitched with felt and cotton thread.
Felted wool, thought to be the oldest known textile, has been used by nomadic cultures for over 3500 years. Legends describe people adding wool to their sandals to prevent blisters while fleeing persecution. The friction created while walking, along with sweat, transforms wool into felt socks. Nylon, a thermoplastic man-made fiber, became ready-made, disposable stockings in America in 1939. By incorporating materials from disparate cultural traditions, the theme of sameness and otherness emerges as a way to acknowledge human beings connection to our bodies.
