About the Artist
I currently have a concentrated weaving practice, typically weaving every day. Weaving is a craft that requires years of practice as there is no substitute for sitting down at the loom to throw the shuttle and beat the cloth. My current focus is to create functional art while I hone my skills. Unlike having gallery representation, I am now developing my own textile art business and am embracing all of the business and marketing requirements that that entails. I am also excited to announce that starting Sept. 2021, I am enrolled in a Masters of Weaving program at Hill Institute in Florence, MA.
Cloth is the completion of traversing some threads through some other threads, under tension and beaten.
First: Design, get to the sketch book and start drawing out ideas.
Second: Do the math, figure out thread count and yardage needed.
Third: wind the warp
Fourth: sley the reed
Fifth: thread the heddles
Sixth: beam on
Seventh: weave
These steps are the prep. When I was a painter, I usually purchased ready-made panels or canvas and then I gessoed them (primed with an underlayer of painter). Then I began painting.
The prep for weaving is much more complicated and depending on the width and ends per inch of the project, the prep time can take anywhere from 3 to 12 hours. But remember, once I’m on, I generally have 10 yards of warp to work with and so can create multiple pieces.
How quickly can I weave? Depending on the complexity of the weave structure, I’m usually about 1 inch per minute.
Now, mind you, I am not a machine and although I’ve been known to sit at my loom for hours at a time, I also have to interrupt actual weaving to: wind bobbins, advance my warp, stretch, hydrate, eat, change the radio station, you know, live.
The Beginning
Over time, I began to study with individual artists in their lofts: Peter Gourfain, Brenda Goodman, Diane Green, Shelley Haven.
And concentrating on oil painting and printmaking I worked with many artists installing group shows, organizing or joining co-op galleries, and having a few solo shows. I sold work out of my studio, joined all sorts of organizations and was represented by Beauregard Fine Art.
Exploring mediums
I won some prizes and was honored to receive residencies at Vermont Studio Center, Penland and Haystack.
Getting bit by the fiber bug
The fiber bug bit me. I began an innocent exploration of weaving and immediately sensed that I could really sink my teeth into this medium. I also moved out of Brooklyn and into that house in North Adams, which I now call home.
Focusing on textiles
Focus is textiles and fiber-related history and art. Living in North Adams, a once mighty mill town, is a perfect extension of my enthusiasm for history and the current state of fast fashion vs. slow and contemplative cloth making.
