Archeology of the Body
“As an artist working within the Fiber Art Discipline, the process and materials of my work inform the content and metaphors I employ. For this series of works I have been developing a process of hand coiled basket-forms, crochet forms and floor loom woven forms which ungalvanized steel and raw wool roving. Once the raw wool and steel forms are developed, I machine wet-felt them; the resulting process leaves the wool forms felted and contorted in unpredictable ways and causes the steel to rust. These forms will continue to rust in open air until they become frail and fall apart. I view the basket-form as a vessel not unlike the human body and the processes of felting to be the external forces that form us as we grow. The random shaping of the felting process is a metaphor for the lack of control we have over our lives. Thus, the rusting process leads to the “death” of the form over time. It is a gradual build-up of rust that creates the color palette, deepening in color over time which will eventually destroy it. These pieces are metaphors for human existence.”