Textiles hold an immense amount of power in their ability to provide comfort not only through warmth but through their ability to transport people to another time, place, and feeling. I find this power particularly present in previously used textiles. My work centers around collecting these heirlooms and second-hand fabrics, celebrating their previous lives and giving them new life.
Using a combination of weaving, quilting, and natural dyeing techniques, I create forms and textures that are reminiscent of those found in the natural world. Flat weaves are given tactile dimension through the incorporation of stuffed and quilted repurposed fabrics that are stitched into the warp of some and woven into the weft of others to reference layers of lichen on stone or the rocky landscape of a shoreline.
The resulting work explores the transformative power of previously used textiles through whimsical home objects and masks that are meant to be touched, reclined on and used to reawaken a child-like curiosity for play and exploration.