That kind of leads into my next question, which is, what are some things that you have learned throughout your career? And if you could tell your younger self one thing, what would it be? I would say to not worry about categories so much. What would I tell my younger self? I would tell them a lot. Always be observant and listen to what people say or how they react, and particularly what I like and what I’m attracted to. And if I want to see it in the world, then I will make it because no one else is going to. So, that’s what I would encourage in my younger self instead of holding back, which maybe I did a little bit in the beginning. Are there any materials that you particularly enjoy working with? Why? Well, I’ve had to become kind of like a textile engineer because I have to figure out how to make these pieces last for two years outside, and at the same time, be thinking about the indoor component to this installation. Those materials are almost the complete opposite. They’re very fragile and lightweight. And so, I love that I get to use all kinds of different materials and explore and try to bring out the best in each material. Like, what does it really want to do? What is it good at? I try not to force any material to do what it doesn’t want to do. And something that I’ve been exploring on the side for a long time that is getting more attention in my studio and I’m excited about is working more with glass. A lot of my materials have that ability to cast shadow and be seen through in the same way as stained glass. So first, I learned how to do stained glass and dabbled in that for a while… Let’s say 10 years, but never really figured out how to make it fit in my work. I guess I was still trying to figure it out, and then I got the opportunity to work with glass blowers. In that, I found more of a relationship where it’s like you’re taking something solid and through the process of melting it, the gravity creates the volume and the shape. I also like that I can cut the glass and arrange it in a similar way to how I arrange a textile pattern. And so, all that practice, like cutting glass for stained glass, has been helpful. I can cut these glass pieces and then work with the glass blowers to give it that volume in the form of a cylinder. In a way, the liquid glass becoming something hard again captures a moment in time in the same way that a lot of my outdoor photography can capture this moment in time. So, I think that’s an interesting thing to think about.
I can definitely see how there would be an overlap between your fabric art and your glass blowing, and I’m excited to see how that influences your future work. I also love that there’s two sides when looking through a cylinder, so I can layer it and play with layers of color in the same way that I can play with the textiles. And you know, there’s so much going on in the textile and glass, and that kind of brings me back to Frank Lloyd Wright being part of my inspiration. Back to this specific installation, there are these outdoor pieces that are in the garden behind the museum that someone will be able to walk around and explore. And then there are three pieces that are on the facade of the building. There’s a piece down here. This is, like, if you’re in the sculpture garden looking at the museum. This is on the glass outside, and this is on the glass outside. And then this over here is inside after you come into the museum. There’s a whole wall of windows, so you’ll probably see one of the pieces on the windows first, and then you’ll realize there’s more outside. And then once you get upstairs, there’s an interior piece. So. depending on how you’re coming through the museum, it’s either leading you out or leading you in. It kind of reminds me of the abstract painting principles question because it’s like the movement kind of draws your eyes in a certain direction depending on where you’re coming from. When you enter a new environment, what does your process of designing a sculpture that engages with that space look like? Well, I walked around it and kind of followed the pathway, the natural pathway. I guess I like to not think practically at first, because then you can always pull back from that. I kind of just go with my gut and then get the idea out, get the drawing out, and then work back from there. After that, I like to know what is not possible, and then once you find out all the constraints of the space, then you can play and find out what is possible. That’s probably one of the main things that I like to think about first, and what’s great about that way of working is that I’m never working with a blank canvas. I always have something to respond to. It feels like a natural call and response to a space where I’m not coming in and splashing everything around with no care for the space. My goal is for it to feel seamless. Like, it was always there, and it should be there and it’s part of it.
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