Breaking rules I never knew

Artist Statement

 In 2018, after retiring from a decades-long profession largely devoid of visual aesthetics, I began creating abstract images composed of solid planes of colored yarn. Working back to front and sculpting yarn with dressmaker’s shears, I broke rules I never knew, relying on techniques I taught myself. Ironically, seeing new possibilities depends on repetition. Over time I have learned more about the yarn, its colors, textures, tensile strength, and malleability. I mostly use yarn remnants from projects of other textile artists, a practice in sustainability that invites serendipity and embraces the unexpected. Inspiration comes from many places: statutes, photographs, prints, paintings, textiles, graffiti, passing figures. I have come to prefer portraits and profiles, perhaps because we are hard-wired to look at people’s faces. My perceptions of a face inform the portrait’s title, often inspired by current affairs and wordsmithing.