This new body of textile-based work is made by intimate, meditative wrapping of embroidery thread. Through this practice, I build intricate installations of repurposed materials with heavy emphasis on color and design. These compositions play with tension and release, both internally and externally, while the circular motions of their creation explore concepts of repair and mending.
The work is rooted in a process of embodied healing. This series grew out of a period of extended grief after caretaking and losing both my mother and father and the sudden loss of my mentor. This at the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, when all of us were grappling with fear, confusion, pain and isolation. The wrapping practice became a method for being present with – and thus working through – these powerful, complicated, human emotions.
This work is deeply inspired by the textile artist Judith Scott and her wrapped sculptures created from discarded materials, yarn, twine, and fabric. Scott was institutionalized at age seven due to Down Syndrome and deafness, and lived most of her life in isolation. She began creating art at age forty-three, after being reunited with her twin sister. Scott found her voice through creating cocoon-like sculptures and was able to heal from the traumas she experienced while being institutionalized and estranged from her family.