Fiber

 

The process of my work has a definitive effect on the outcome. Whether I start with cloth woven on my own loom, or cloth ready to use, natural fibers are vital to me: the touch, the smell, the visual – all my senses are affected by the materials I use: cottons, silks, linens.

The descriptions that these materials bring to mind are the elements that make up my compositions. Words such as smooth, shiny, soft, silky, sensual, sturdy, strong. I bring color to the cloth by various methods: from simple painting with dyes and pigments, to more sophisticated and technical printing processes.  Over dyeing between each process layers the colors, creating depth and complexity and increasing surface texture.

Each piece of cloth is processed multiple times before it is ready to be used in a composition.

I work from an attentive and open stance, responding to the qualities that make up the cloth itself. Each element of a composition is carefully placed, and considered for its relatedness and authenticity. In a very real way, each composition is a meditative exercise. I am seeking in each, that place of peace, the view of clarity that allows the viewer to establish the same within themselves. In the juxtaposition of and interplay between texture and pattern, intense color and subtle nuances of shade, I seek a delicate balance.

I generally work on several pieces at a time. Frequently a piece hangs incomplete on my wall for some time, not quite ready to be finished. I try to be patient; I pace, I take a walk in the mountains, come back.

There it is.
Telling me what to do next.

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