Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
3” x 17” x 15”
Techniques: Armature building, fabric manipulation, ice-dying, hand-stitching
Materials: Ice-dyed silk organza, wire armature, Paverpol fabric hardener, various threads
Artist Statement: When it’s time to wake no more - Lay me down to nourish the forest floor -
To become a part of the plants and trees -
My soul to fly among the birds and bees.
Photographer: Amanda Snavely
Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep - detail
Triune
Triptych, each panel 10” x 40”
Photographer: Hoddick Photography
Just Add Color
93” x 33.5”
Techniques: Acrylic paint, Fusing, Hand stitching, Machine stitch
Materials: Cotton Commercial Fabric, Canvas, Metallic thread, Cotton thread, Silk thread
Artist Statement:
Urban landscapes repeatedly transition through a cycle of viability, decay, and regeneration. They reflect the city's quality of life and its community values. The beautification of collective spaces blooms during times of vitality through murals, protected green spaces, public art, and other creative placemaking. Just Add Color represents the perspective of a city in transition-- a city on the edge of change. The addition of color represents the effect of creative revitalization efforts on a city. Turned on its axis, however, Just Add Color also mimics rain washing the color away, revealing the grittiness, darkness, and desperation of a space on the edge of urban decay.
Photographer: Sam Garnett
Just Add Color - Detail
Just Add Color - Detail2
Sanctuary
41” x 27”
Techniques: Hand-dyeing, silk-screening, hand-stitching, machine-stitching
Materials: Hand-dyed fabrics, commercial fabrics, various threads
Artist Statement:
Early in the morning when the neighborhood is just waking up, the smell of blooming star jasmine greets me. A bird hops along over the soft carpet of moss searching for breakfast while a breeze rustles the tree leaves. I am always welcomed and comforted by the embrace of my yard. Here I can finally breathe, sit, and be myself without judgment. Even when neglected, it never judges and waits patiently for my return. With time, love, and attention we heal each other. Sanctuary - A culmination of the shapes, colors, and shadows of the yards I have created and loved.
Photographer: Sam Garnett
Sanctuary - Detail
Life in Abstraction
48” X 33”
Techniques: Digital printing on silk organza, Hand dyed silk organza, Acrylic painting, Hand stitching, Machine stitching
Materials: Metallic thread, Cotton thread, Silk thread, Silk organza, Cotton fabric, Wool interlining
Artist Statement:
Wandering along the water’s edge, one glimpses the magical world beyond the hazy veil of salt spray. Encrusted on the rocks are gooseneck and acorn barnacles, limpets, anemone, and mussels packed tightly together. These intricately patterned creatures face environmental damage-- the crashing surf, the drying sun, harvesting as delicacies, and damage from humans in their quest to view this delicate ecosystem. The barnacles chatter as they move inside their shells reminding us to observe without disturbing. The organisms arrange themselves so closely together that the creatures visually merge: the eye cannot distinguish where one creature ends and the next begins. An abstract pattern emerges as the contrasting shapes compete for space in one small crevice. Delicate beauty such as this reminds us we must look with our eyes instead of our hands to preserve this natural art form.
Photographer: Sam Garnett
Life in Abstraction - Detail
Unveiled Existence
38.5" x 33"
Techniques: Fiber reactive dyeing, screen printing, discharge, hand stitching, machine stitching
Materials: Silk Organza, Cotton Thread, Metallic Thread, Loosely Woven Fabric
Artist Statement:
Moving across country removed the shroud in which I previously existed; I put aside the camouflage needed to blend in as part of a conservative Southern hometown. Being mother, wife, relative, friend, and artist simultaneously often conceals our true selves with an appropriate perceived image for each identity. Unconsciously, I developed layers to avoid criticism for not conforming to the accepted norms of each role. The enveloping layers of camouflage changed for the occasion. Unfettered by the pull from relatives, social groups, and a conservative town, I shed layers of oppressive ideals that clouded my true self as an artist. Various layers of translucent organza represent the multitude of influences that obscured my artistic identity. Each layer, however, provides hints to the beautiful dimensions that lay beneath the constructed shield.
Photographer: Sam Garnett
Unveiled Existence - Detail
Rhytidome
18” x 7” x 6”
Techniques: armature construction, hand dyeing, hand stitching
Materials: Wire mesh, cheesecloth, hand dyed silk organza, various threads
Artist Statement:
Traditionally, fibers were thought of as soft and warm, sculptures as hard and cold. Fibers need no longer be bound to beds and floors. Sculptures need not be limited to metal and stone. Fiber sculptures unravel those traditional notions by embracing techniques of both art forms.
Rhytidome melds the hard and the soft by utilizing sculpture’s wire armature techniques overlaid with hand-dyed silk organza. The delicate fiber layers, hand-stitched to evoke bark patterns common to the Pacific Northwest, coalesce around the armature giving the impression of a hard, protective layer of bark having just been peeled away from the tree.