I am simply impressed how, with tension and yarn, I can make a textile. The gratification in each piece comes from an arduous process, the story conveyed, and connection to community. I grew up in rural northwest Florida with little knowledge of sewing, weaving, or how the surrounding cotton growing in fields became the blue jeans I wore. After a few life events and geographical changes, I found myself in a weaving workshop incorporating woven shibori with natural dyes. That experience took hold of me in ways I am still trying to comprehend.
Wanting to deep dive into weaving, plant dyes, and their origins, I moved to the Pacific Northwest to focus on these topics. My approach was to connect these processes to the apparel industry. After reading texts from Kate Fletcher, Rebecca Burgess, and Otto Von Busch, my work focused on disrupting waste-producing industry practices. Through collaboration with regional apparel designers, I worked to create a sustainable system for textile and clothing production in a project called Pastoral Textiles. The goal of Pastoral Textiles was to educate through creating material with meaning and to instigate skepticism into the origins of where/how clothing is manufactured. Wanting to validate my graduate research, I entered the corporate world of apparel manufacturing. Working in a sea of grey cubicles, trend reports, and design directed by margins, the corporate apparel world shifted my art practice. The corporate entity felt too big to change on any significant level. It felt more possible to make the change I desired locally.
Working in corporate apparel left me craving connection to my community, both people and land. This urge inspired me to volunteer with land trusts and conservation organizations on the North Coast of Oregon. My desire is to deeply understand the materials I deem favorable or healthy for the land and people. The resulting piece is usually a finished textile that imbues its origins and tells a story incorporating aspects that have given me moments of pause to consider seasons, community, and my place in this world.