Plant Portraiture

I sink into plant portraiture almost by accident. The Maple in front of my house, it's branches and structure as known to me as the outline of my home, reaches out to be expressed in thread. And so begin dozens and dozens of hours of labor - sketching, placing, choosing stitches, colorwork, and stitching itself. Throughout this process, I strive to be as close as possible to my subject. I completed most of Fingers and Wrist seated on my porch, referencing the live tree in front of me.

Plant portraiture is as delicate, revealing, and relational as human portraiture. The subject shapes the work just as much as the artist. The work is a true collaboration, and the process of fiber arts, which forces me to slow towards the speed of a tree, is also a participant in the dance.

Medium, artist, and artwork are one.

Fiber to Thread

Spinning and weaving are hard to describe. Just take the numinous fluff of a sheep's coat, whisper to it with your fingers a story of creation, and let it become it's changed self. Easy!