The School of Fiber Chambers
Untitled (Mama), 2024, wool, aluminum silk screen frame, silk scarves
The transformational power of sheep’s wool is thrilling. Water, soap and bare hands convert these wispy fibers into a boundless array of dimensional forms. Throughout this residency, I have let loose the reins on former methods of construction to embrace new techniques and strategies of fabrication with wool. My studio has become The School of Fiber Chambers, a frenetic laboratory of experimentation and risk intended to expand the future designs of the Fiber Chambers body of work. The result of this intensive material is a surreal fusion of wet-felted wool with locally sourced found objects, secondhand fabrics, and video screens. Though some of these whimsical juxtapositions of form and material may feel light and even silly, the study is serious and purposeful. When approaching new work, I never want to be trapped by my intentions. The School of Fiber Chambers has become a mindset as much as anything else. It is a reminder of the significance of looking closely and responding to the material in front of you. The plan was to develop new directions for a specific body of work…the journey has spawned much more than that.
Exhibited at Akron Soul Train
November 20th - December 22nd, 2024
Waves series
Waves 1, 2022, wool, silk, sound, video, digital photo frame
Through media objects, I’m addressing the precarious state of being out-of-body in order to consider how we manage physical and mental trauma. The wall-mounted objects in the Waves series offer abstract video content on household digital photo frames encased in fiber. Silk gauze and wool felt lattice present as ethereal appendages to the haunting little screens. Viewers are encouraged to lean in close to catch glimpses of the lush video and oddly warbling sound. The felt appears to be lit from within as the video saturates its fibers. The video content for all works in the Waves series was produced in the same manner. Since 2015 I have been experimenting with the real-space simulation of computer-generated special effects using handwoven textiles I create with mirrored mylar. All video is shot in slow-motion while I physically manipulate the woven mylar draped on a green grape arbor wet with dew and blanketed with sunlight. The sound is simply the slowed buzz of the bugs and birds of the arbor. At a time of perpetual shared trauma, I offer this work as a space for healing, rest and beguiling bliss.
Fiber Chamber 1
Fiber Chamber 1 (installation documentation), 2022, wool, silk, projected video, sound, ~ 20' x 10' x 20'
Through media installation, I’m addressing the precarious state of being out-of-body in order to consider how we manage physical and mental trauma.
In Fiber Chamber 1, a large felt textile drapes from the wall into the gallery, creating a small chamber from which to experience the work. The video offered here documents a walk through the installation, showing the outside and then inside of the chamber. Viewers are encouraged to enter, sit, and allow their minds to drift as the video projection saturates the walls, floor, and fibers, creating a surreal intersection of surfaces and light. The textile is comprised of wet felted wool and silk. Magnets are felted into the top and bottom edges securing the textile to the wall and floor.
Flaming Stardust
Flaming Stardust is the first video in a series intended to assist a person negotiating a physical or mental trauma. This particular video is an attempt to craft a work that might be viewed by someone on their deathbed. This iteration is directed at myself as I consider what I’d want to have envelop me as I died. The video is lush and at times psychedelic, following the seductive curves of a mirrored mylar weaving draped on a green grape arbor wet with dew. An ethereal voice gently sings the song Stardust a cappella as the video morphs into a euphoric glittering climax. There is no obvious literal narrative, though imagery of the grapes rotting on the vine and fragmented trees may evoke a sense of beautiful decay. Underneath the hypnotic visuals is a passage from life to ecstatic death.
Flaming Stardust, 2020, single channel video with stereo sound