What is it about fibrework?
When life gets rough, it's nice to be surrounded by anything that brings a bit of softness. Cotton, wool, hemp, bamboo, silk... they all bring a sense of comfort and luxury when touched, caressed or squeezed, and that can be a very necessary and important thing these days.
textile to tapestry and all things related
Who knew that on a loom strung with many vertical threads I could paint the landscapes of my imagination and those surrounding me? I certainly didn't when I began! Yet, over time, with endless changing colors, thicknesses and textures, I endeavored to draw out images from within and discover them anew among the warp. Little did I know that within the tidy framework of a loom all my visual memories and penchant for details and meticulous transitions of colors would begin to explode and take shape. It's easy to see my love of the sky, ocean, and desert when you step back and view the gathering of my work. Perhaps what isn't as easy to see is the peaceful, beautiful spiritual connection it provides...
healing + art + magic
Modern tapestry can be whatever we make it. I choose to flow energy into swirling, fluid, circular shapes or serene lines like ripples stretching out across a pool. I want my creations to bring forth the visceral sensations of the way hard winds blow, the casual way clouds float, the awe of the full moon, the incredulity of nature's insistence to make beauty in every ephemeral thing.
I often start with a vision and pull together a color palette, warp my loom, and then immediately surrender. Line by line, bottom to top, the art gains momentum with a life of it's own. I intuitively listen as the colors create shapes and relate to me ideas of who they are, what they want and mean, and what colors and textural accents they want to live next to for their best life. I approach my work with a goal, but I stay open to what I hear that will alter our progress, make it better, enrich it's vibrancy or take us in a new direction.
Each weaving brings forth a story, not just an image, and I am a channel for the story to be told. In the ether there is already a picture unfolding and I am holding space for what it becomes. My own internal feelings and by extension what may be universal feelings, then get exposed and shared through this incredible medium of fiber art.
I believe that as we share stories, hold space for them to be heard and loved, we heal... and healing is magic.
Rae in santa fe
I have always been an artist and spiritual being pursuing courses of study and careers that create a bridge from person to person, allowing us to be reminded how much more we share in our experience, than perhaps we feel at any given moment. I have lived in 8 states and moved over 40 times in my life, according me the opportunity to see many landscapes and meet many people- all of which influences my approach to life and intentions toward creating my art. It's only natural that I have become a Weaver, as it not only defines the act of making my art, but also the magical concept of intertwining all our layers of life in a way that feels approachable, sensible, and pleasing. I now live in Santa Fe, New Mexico surrounded outside by extended family, red mountains, and big billowy skyscapes, with seashells, dried sea sponges and palm fronds filling the interior of my own whitewashed adobe walls- each piece a hint to who I am, where I have been, and all I hope may come in the future.
