Common Thread
Embroidery, 7 x 11 x 15 feet, 2017
Hands are one of the most recognizable and expressive parts of the body. The image of the hand has been used throughout history as a symbol of power, community, and protest. Yet when taken out of context, multiplied, and layered, the forms become abstract and begin to evoke a sense of restlessness and disquiet. Created in 2017 as we saw an increase in turmoil and discord in our country, “Common Thread” speaks to a shared anxiety and confusion about the collective unrest our society is now experiencing and the need for groups of people to come together to make change. Strings come from the hands much like a mess of jumbled marionettes to gather in a pile of tangled fiber. By marrying this imagery with the repetitive, vulnerable, and time consuming art of embroidery, I put labor into a piece that calls for work – for people to come together and make choices on how to pull the strings.
In Shift
Ceramic, size varies, 2017
In Shift is a series of wheel-thrown vessels altered by applying force through anxious, agitated hand movements. Wheel throwing is a therapeutic art form, requiring slow, repetitive motions. The action of imprinting each vessel allows for brief periods of an emotional release of energy, which contrasts with the controlled motions necessary to create the vessel. The process of creating forms and ritually destroying them through a release of anxious movements is a way for me to yield control and transfer emotions into the vessels. Perched precariously on imperfect and tilting pedestals, these forms are the aftermath of therapeutic movement.
