Artist Statement
My love for fiber has been with me from the beginning.
So too is my love for color.
When I transitioned from a long career of weaving wearables, many doors flew open. No longer restricted to the loom, more ways to express my ideas presented themselves.
Stitching, crochet, coiling, knotless netting, applique, shibori, felting with wool and paper, eco dyeing- so many fiber techniques to incorporate into my work.
I combine several expressions in fiber in a single piece and now add inks, acrylics, pencils and pastels for color in addition to my stash of yarns.
And so was born my mixed media work. I frequently embed handwoven remnants that are so much a part of me, but they now lie in the background of my layered pieces as an homage to my past life. My unending supply of accumulated “scraps” allows me to over dye, boil, deconstruct. Still precious to me in terms of memory, I am inspired by their past existence to recreate with them new meaning.
I often allow process to drive the content of my work. The excitement of seeing what emerges is my catalyst for art making. Lately however, content has moved up to the frontlines of my thought. The world has turned scary again. Fear and isolation cannot be avoided, and my recent work confronts this darkness.
Similar motifs seem to be voiced in various techniques. One revolves around what remains hidden, what can or must be revealed. Be it in joomchi, vessels, or stitched layers, I return there as though on a circular path leading home.
Haiku in lieu of titles is a way for me to clarify my intent and reinforce my expressions in fiber.
Compelled to add to my holocaust series I pay homage to both Anselm Kiefer and Paul Celan whose work overwhelms me.
The pandemic has given me time, long days which pass easily through making.
Art has become the light that passes through the darkness.