My first publicly acknowledged work was done in the realm of handwoven textiles, and their structures, patterns and histories continue to inspire me. However, the onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis in 2002 has made hand weaving part of my past. Here you will find some examples of my art textiles as well as early works on paper.
GROUNDWORK
Groundwork is a strip of handwoven fabric 8 inches wide and 525 feet long sewn into a continuous loop. When installed in a gallery it sits on the floor as a heap, and viewers are invited to interact with it. This work has been the starting point for several collaborations.
TISSUE
Tissue is 10 feet tall and 16 feet wide, and is composed of handwoven strips of fabric that free hang in the space so that viewers can access both the back and front of the work. A quote by Roland Barthe is woven into the strips.
HANDS ON PHILOSOPHY
Hands On Philosophy is an interactive piece in which individual panels of handwoven fabric reproduce 19th century quotes about the nature of art and art-making. Then panels are available to viewers to arrange and rearrange at will. There are six quotes used in this series, only the first one, by Benedetto Croce, is shown here.
DISASTER BLANKET SERIES
My first series of art textiles were Disaster Blankets, hand woven or pieced from commercial fabric and hand stitched with text.
LEGACY
Much of my early work took on gender issues, especially the assumptions made about ‘women’s work’. Here, the last fourteen pillowcases embroidered by my great grandmother Sarah English make an installation. When the viewer looks closely they find a text stitched by me commenting on the uses of the ‘frivolous’ activity of embroidery. My text is a paraphrase of a quote found on a 19th century quilt. “With these works may it be revealed how distress by industry may be concealed.”
SEPTEMBER DIARY
Like many of my countrymen, on September 12, 2001 I began to meditate on the scale of disaster. This drawing, on 30 sheets of handmade paper, is 11 feet tall and 7.5 feet wide. I needed to see what 3019 falling forms looked like.
COLLAGE
We make our own meaning, construct our own knowledge. Collage is the perfect medium use when meditating on this. I often turn to collage to make sense of my own experiences. This series was made with found paper, machine and hand stitching.