There’s a sensitivity we all have to those materials. Like, what we choose to put on our body, and how different textures have a pleasing or displeasing roughness or softness. And can I also talk about different things? There’s all kinds of things you can bring into what textiles reference. Like, lingerie is sheer, therefore sexy. Versus something very opaque and solid, like workwear or leather bondage. I mean, you name it. You know? It has the ability to talk about all of those things, and those aren’t necessarily what I’m talking about, but it’s there because it’s textiles. So therefore, people can bring something to it. It’s not pure abstraction in a way because there are all these inherent meanings that people can bring to textiles. And I love that, because although I view my work as abstract and color play and this formal thing, the flip side of the coin is that there’s a lot to talk about. If you want to look for things to talk about, you could talk about patchwork and quilts, or you could talk about architecture and shade and function, or you could look at it as a whole, as an interactive, environmental installation that someone can partake in and walk around with. I guess I’ve never really thought about textile art in that way. Well, I think that’s what I was trying to say in a nutshell in that blog post a long time ago. So, there’s a lot there. I like to have the work be open so that people can bring whatever it is that they’re interested in to the work. Like, let’s say you’re a mathematical engineer type of person. You might really be more interested in how these things are built and made. For the math and engineering that comes with working this way and thinking about the elements and the actual practical things. The sturdiness, the weights. And then if you’re just into color and that makes you feel really good to be in a space and surprised by a large gesture of color, that is a completely different experience. I like that it can work in a lot of different ways. In some ways, it’s kind of like a hybrid of all the things that I’m interested in. I think that’s why I find your work so interesting, because there’s so many forms of artistic reasoning that are interacting to create your sculptures. Well, thank you. I think it evolves from just kind of being influenced, and I find so many things interesting to look at and think about. And it used to really stress me out to really hone in on this one idea. Like, what am I all about? What is it that I want to say? And I could never really figure that out. And then, through time and working through a lot of ideas, to just be like, okay. It’s not about one thing. It’s about a lot of things. And now I’m happy that I worked that way because I feel like I have a lot of different audiences that I can speak to.
Joan Mitchell, “Close” Elaine de Kooning, “Bacchus #81” Frank Lloyd Wright, “Window from Walser House, 42 N. Central Ave., Chicago, Illinois”
Sam Gilliam, “Patchwork/Terry” Albert Gallatin, “Composition”
scale model here — it’s definitely taking up space on an architectural scale. To me, that’s showing how powerful these kinds of materials are that can be overlooked because they are so familiar to us, like in craft, fashion and even textiles that we have in our home, like curtains and bedding. Things that you surround yourself with and really, literally envelop and touch.
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