Exhibition "Likeness", Arts Council of the Valley
Textiliforms
The familiar phrase "life is fleeting" continues to resonate because it speaks to a fundamental aspect of our existence. As a fiber artist, I explore this impermanence through materials and processes that embody change. Cellulose- and protein-based fibers possess a finite lifespan, much like our own bodies, making them uniquely suited to investigate themes of transformation, vulnerability, and time. Processes such as weaving, looping, dyeing, and felting become metaphors for the ways our bodies, relationships, and communities are continually shaped by experience. Rather than resisting these qualities, my work embraces them, allowing material transformation to become both subject and method.
In the Textiliforms series, I investigate weaving, felting, and rust as interconnected processes of accumulation and change. Each piece is constructed as a five-layer woven structure, a variation of double cloth expanded into quintuple cloth, with raw wool weft intersecting to create pockets, tunnels, and hidden spaces. These cavities are filled with steel wool before the work is wet felted, causing the fibers to contract and fuse while the steel oxidizes over time. The resulting distortions and rust stains record an ongoing dialogue between organic and industrial materials.
Layering has long fascinated me for its metaphorical possibilities. It suggests concealment and revelation, protection and exposure, memory and erasure. Layers create pathways while obscuring others, forming channels, pockets, and hidden interiors that invite reflection on the complex structures, both physical and emotional, that shape our lives.