Fibers

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https://hdl.handle.net/10217/180168

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Open Access
Chelsea Lofquist: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Lofquist, Chelsea, artist
The artist's statement: I believe that art is often an experiment. I am inspired by fluid colors, interesting shapes and patterns, and the push and pull between soft and sharp, cold and warm, metal and fabric.
Open Access
Daniella Riggins: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Riggins, Daniella, artist
The artist's statement: My works spotlight hues that blend, complement and dance with one another, mimicking the way that visual memories skitter across the mind in an array of colors. Focusing on the chemistry of color, the technicality of weaving threads at the loom, and the poetry of stitching marks onto fabric, I let my unconscious guide the work. Highly saturated colors and layers of thread abstractly replicate cherished events from my childhood. The forms ripple and coil, dimpled and creased like aged memorabilia. Yet they also recall the luster of warm Mexican sunsets and chilled party treats with lots and lots of sprinkles.
Open Access
Kimberly Saye: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Saye, Kimberly, artist
The artist's statement: My visual interests tend to lean towards vibrant, cool colors and subtle patterns. I also make my works bold and stand out, as well. My point of view as an artist is to create works that are pleasing to the eye and set a calming and relaxed mood to the environment in which they are placed. When I research textiles and fibers, I enjoy the aesthetics that are seen in functional items. This is why all of my pieces are functional. When planning my works, I sometimes have dreams about what I brainstorm; these dreams help lead me to very concrete ideas and plans. Somewhere between asleep and awake, my mind allows me to recognize ideas that my fully conscious mind does not, and I am inspired to create functional art with a colorful dream-flair.
Open Access
Victoria Arias: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Arias, Victoria, artist
The artist's statement: As an artist I try to create pieces that contain elements of fantasy yet are cathartic in nature. I use textures and colors reminiscent of dream states to convey subconscious emotions, to help put content in perspective. Lately, I have been experimenting with wearable art, drawn to the way that art an interact with the body, and especially with materials not commonly seen against the skin. I find that I am continually inspired by in the art of Alexander McQueen and Nick Cave.
Open Access
David Pipinich: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Pipinich, David, artist
The artist's statement: Textile art involves great deal of precision and detail work, which is something I try to showcase in my weavings. I try to express the humor that I find in everyday life, using fascinating colors to change everyday objects or ideas in subtle ways. Being able to express my emotions through my weavings becomes a therapeutic practice that I want the viewer to be able to appreciate just by looking at my work.
Open Access
Amber Witzke: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Witzke, Amber, artist
The artist's statement: Rather than depending on synthetic dyes, I carefully gather bark, flowers, and leaves in hopes that they will share their beautiful hues and shapes with my fabrics; these fabrics then become screens in the lantern structures I build. An emphasis on the soothing use of light and color kindles a delicate ambiance. As in nature, the end result is often a magical surprise. The prints can only be planned to a certain extent; at some point the flowers then take their course and leave their personal imprints. This harmless natural method blends with the art of repurposing furnishings. The natural processes of our world are both beautiful and inspiring.
Open Access
Kimberly Orrell: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Orrell, Kimberly, artist
The artist's statement: As a fiber artist, I am drawn to domestic textiles because they reference tradition and lineage; they tell the story of our daily lives. The materials I work with are the type of things found in your linen closet: sheets, blankets, and handkerchiefs... I see them as a vehicle for talking about gender and identity. In my work I share experiences from my life in order to show how my female experiences speak of the human condition. I address difficult topics like illness and abuse because I want to give voice to these things that are shrouded in silence and shame. These aren't just my stories, they are everyone's. I am a bit of a Magpie, I collect things, without knowing why they are important; I just know I have to have them. Eventually their purpose is revealed. As in, Surrender Is Not Consent, this double, top sheet came my way, having been discarded. It is the stains and the archaic size that make it appealing to me. This history, the secrets that this cloth harbors, make it the perfect ground for a piece about sexual assault. These found materials have a will of their own, and I am required to yield to it; it is collaboration, we respond to each other. We wrestle as we learn the other's limitations. This part of my process is meditative. I love the quiet solitude of making. Intense focus charges my work, infusing it with my emotional energy. As the cloth passes through my hands I realize the depth my piece is capable. With every action I stitch in hope and promise and heart, lovingly. I am not interested in perfection. My individual mark is evidence of my existence, and distinguishes my work from mass produced, cold, machine made products. My ideas usually come to me when I'm doing something else, the day-today mundane things. I allow the idea to speak to me. Sometimes it is material that triggers the story, like with Transition Object. I found this soft wool yarn... the color, the texture; it was so familiar. There was something about it that spoke to me of the past, and I knew I had to weave a blanket like the one I had as a child. The object is a vehicle for the story; I make the object and it tells the story. Sometimes things are so commonplace, we have to see them compiled in a series of multiples, in a heap of objects, in order to realize their significance. Reckless Hope or Denial, is an installation compiled of many red flags stung together like Tibetan Prayer Flags. Together, they take over a space, both physically and with their bold color. I am constantly adding more flags and the piece grows over time. The growing magnitude of material, the accumulation of labor involved in dyeing and sewing each one echoes the way we as humans work hard to protect our denial and wild hopes around the unhealthy relationships in our lives. As it is ever changing and growing, this piece conforms to fit the space it is in. This references how we change in order to enable these relationships, which makes us too the red flag. Repetition allows for many interpretations. In Lost Love Letters, I address issues of loneliness and singularity through the telling of my experience finding letters from a former lover. The each one is independent of the others, but the three together speak about how our mind goes back again and again to things painful and confusing. The words are fading, coming unraveled. What are left are the promises, the words that lost their meaning first, but ones we held onto the longest. Because they are small and intricate, the viewer has to get up close to see the details and read the text. I do this to I create a private viewing experience. My color palate, fleshy pinks and bloody reds, seems to be drawn from the body, my body possibly. In Hope Chest I use "breast cancer pink" to remember my breast cancer treatment experience. Sickness is such a difficult thing for people to confront, yet it is one every one of us will face somehow. These needle-felted breasts are practically weightless; they are soft and pretty and inviting. I wanted to break down the fear of contamination and invite the viewer to feel something in reaction, instead of pushing it away. Because I address difficult topics, I have to create a safe space for the viewer. I do not intend to offend or shock. The words to talk about these issues have become whispers, barely audible. I give these subjects breath, and hope the viewer will give them voice. I use narratives of my personal experiences in my work. Because of this, the process of showing work is uncomfortable for me; I feel very vulnerable. I bring my stories to the viewer with honesty and compassion. But it is the sharing that is essential to the work I create. I don't consider my work done until it is shown. In Coming Out Dress, I transferred segments from my journal pages to the inside of the dress. The use of text speaks directly of communication. In my work the text is often obscured somehow. On the dress lining, it could only be read from the other side, but that cannot be seen because wrapping paper covers it. In Lost Love Letters III, the text is the same color as the handkerchief. In this way the words, the voices that speak the words, have been muted. This theme of obscured text in my work talks about the failing of words, how we are silenced, not heard, or how words have changing meanings and often betray us. I am influenced by the work of Jenny Holzer, who uses huge projections of words in site-specific light installations and repetition of phrases on light boards and signage. Her phrases are fragments of conversations. Taken out of context, they are open to new meanings and interpretations. The conflict between the internal and the external, or front and back, references my interest in the private and public spheres of society and its relationship to women and women's work. Domestic life, traditionally managed by women, is represented not only by my making processes like sewing, embroidery and, weaving; but also in the materials I use to make them. I am drawn to the things found in the linen closet. Blankets, sheets, tablecloths; these things speak of the day to day, of like inside the home and of who we are both personally and culturally. They are objects of the private life but they reflect the beliefs of society and gendered expectations about women and their roles and liberties. I bring my stories to the viewer with honesty and compassion.
Open Access
Allison Sheldon: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Sheldon, Allison, artist
The artist's statement: A blue whale has a heart the size of a VW beetle. This piece of trivia has stuck with me since I was a child. Yes, I understood that whales are very large, but when I imagine a pulsing heart in place of a small compact car the scale and majesty of a whale still makes the hair on my neck stand on end. I began to wonder what it would be like to have a heart this massive. Would I be able to love more, give more, and do more? Could I use my heart's power to envelop everyone in warmth? Connection is the core of this piece. A year ago I asked people near and dear to me to give me clothing and fabric that they no longer needed. Through the process of transforming garments into yarn the physical weight of the materials reflects the emotional weight that charges this piece. The act of crocheting binds people who have never met. The pedestal is made from old loom benches that bore the weight of my predecessors. With these gifts (the materials) I am creating a new gift for them; a space to feel loved and accepted. Special Thanks To Peter, Catherine, and Sarah Sheldon, Anne Bossert, Matt Sage, Chris Jussel, Tom Lundberg, Susan and Marta Lea Johnson, Tomas Vallejos, Brayden Love, Allie Cheroutes, all who donated materials to this project. Connection History Transformation.
Open Access
Lesley Clayton: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Clayton, Lesley, artist
The artist's statement: My work explores natural dyes and natural fibers to create works of art. In life I am drawn to wabi sabi beauty; its "imperfection and impermanence." My inspiration is the often overlooked or unseen gifts in nature: the plant or seed sharing its treasure of colorful dye, the tree fruit rendering beautiful yellows or healing the human body, the sheep giving fleece to be woven into comforting warmth. My work has taken form in wearable art, functional items and architectural panels. I enjoy the integral processes of printing plant materials and fleece-to-shawl practices. I experience kinetic energy when foraging for plant materials or in the transforming alchemy of color running through natural fibers. I am fascinated by conscious processes giving way to unpredictable results.
Open Access
Hayley Davis: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Davis, Hayley, artist
The artist's statement: Working with fiber-based arts has always felt natural to me. I find myself drawn to the comforting familiarity found in cloth and thread, while simultaneously having the capability to convey my artistic message. Through the use of these methods and materials, I create linear illustrations that explore memory, place, and time. The ability of the viewer to recognize the structure of a textile is just as important to me as the significance in the drawings on it; by this, enabling a conversation to occur between the medium and meaning of a work.
Open Access
Jeri Nichols-Park: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Nichols-Park, Jeri, artist
The artist's statement: Having experimented with many media, techniques, and materials, my art has continued to evolve over many years. My "go-to" tool has always been pencil, easy to use, easy to erase, easy to make changes. Always my work starts out as an idea translated into a sketch, and then it goes from there - could be watercolor, pastel, pen and ink, or a combination, and I have done many drawings, portraits, paintings, and prints over many years. But more recently I find myself creating unique fabrics by hand-painting silk, dyeing, printing, and weaving. Some end up as wall pieces, but more often than not they become a jacket, hat, skirt, scarf, or a blouse. I have designed apparel professionally for many years, but now feel like I am taking it to the next level by creating the fabrics they are made from. I see my one-of-a-kind garments as an art unto themselves...another artistic expression of myself. Rarely does a day go by when I am not thinking about what I will do next, as I am always inspired by medium I will use. When I am drawing, painting, or weaving, I become totally immersed in my work, allowing my emotions and subconscious mind to direct the process. At the start of a project I have an idea of what I mean to create and set about the task with intention, but I find when I let my "inner artist" take over the end result is almost always so much better than what I envisioned. I believe that art is as unique as the artist, the expression of each individual's unique experiences and emotions. Over the years I have finally learned that it's fruitless and self-destructive to compare my art to others; I am where I need to be, on my own path, as we all are. I create and work at my own pace and believe that true creativity cannot be forced. I want my work to be recognizable as "mine"; that viewers will know by the style, techniques, and subject matter that I am the artist. More than that I want people to know that my work is genuine, that it was well thought out, and is a true expression of me.
Open Access
Jeffrey Dale: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Dale, Jeffrey, artist
The artist's statement: My work stems from an international life. I am fascinated by the nature in which we identify ourselves and those around us. I began this work examining the nature in which US Army units identify one another for organizational purposes. I realized that tucked inside the system was a whole language that once spoken could allow you to understand the important details about a group. I began to study heraldry as well, the military system was derived from it but it was an even larger version of the same language. With this new language I began to make work about the people around me. I abstracted friends and family into flags and embroidered patches. Everything from the colors to the icons had meaning and I desired to communicate further through materials and process. What could you read about a person through the process? What different qualities does something hand made and delicate have over a screen-printed image that could survive battle. What could you read about a person from an object abstracted from them? My work however had to pull apart a person's heritage. I returned to the origins of my work: where are we from, what culture is our own? Flags for people represented them as a nation and a culture, but what cultures and nations made them. That question was uniquely American but "American" was something today so rejected. I realized that no matter the culture, we are what everyone else see's in us against our own knowledge of our past. Our past might dictate how we see things, but our singular identity is what everyone else reads in us. Special thanks to Tom Lundberg for al your help, guidance and advice; Jaime Pritchard for your support and love; Hayley Davis for countless nights of no sleep and a living room full of floss clippings.
Open Access
Brigid Hammel: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Hammel, Brigid, artist
The artist's statement: Exploring the contradictions and contrasting ideas that make me who I am is important to my practice as an artist. Within my works, I draw attention to the fact that this world is not black and white. How I view relationships is a large part of this concept. I examine the possibilities, which are sometimes conflicting, of relationships within my series Choice. Why do many view relationships as only one man and one woman, when the multitudes of in-betweens might be better for someone else? In my printed yardage and peculiar pillow series, I combine soft and comfortable associations and visuals with the bizarre, multi-animal monster motifs, questioning what 'monsters' really are. They can be so many things, a lot more than just something to be avoided or battled.
Open Access
Virginia Clay: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Clay, Virginia, artist
The artist's statement: I began my creative pursuits with the desire to become a metalsmith. Jewelry has fascinated me my whole life and it only seemed natural that this passion should manifest itself in my creative endeavors. However, I had not counted on a love for textiles that took me the first moment I applied thickened dye to fabric. It is the meeting of these two fascinations that has created the framework for my pieces. My inspiration comes from a variety of sources, but the natural world is the central theme for these works. Specifically, I focus on the forms related to foliage. Leaves, flowers, and stems are the shapes from which I create the patterns and objects in my work. Nature has spent thousands of years perfecting the elegance of its plant life; and in my work, I continue to explore and glorify it through these interpretations.
Open Access
Holly Sargent: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Sargent, Holly, artist
The artist's statement: My art is inspired by my spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ. I don't expect everyone that encounters my work to understand the theology of what I am expressing, but I spend my creative efforts to reach intimacy with His heart and the product gets to be displayed for all to see. I work with fabric and string; flowers and rocks, light and shadow. I am interested in textures that are tangled and chaotic. I sew and weave and stich and dye. These painstaking processes are my grief and my joy. Fabric tears, string breaks, dye fades, so why toil? Yet this is what I live for. I work with mud and fire, dirt and glass. I desire to contain; to display. I mix and pound and flatten and join. I pinch and press and carve and wait. Then I send my vessels into the flame. They become stronger, and I fill them with treasures. I am a vessel. His love fills me. I work with color and canvas. I paint visions of joy and capture views of peace. It's not just ideal, it's true. If I can explain truth through my brush, it looks like beauty. I work with notes and chords and emotion. I work with softs and louds, fasts and slows. I let loose the words of my spirit, and tell the stories of my soul. Music is my joy and His presence is always in that place. Art is spiritual. Art is healing. I spend hours enjoying creation in nature but I have to use my eyes that really see, and my ears that really hear. When I do, I get blitzed with gifts of beauty. Love notes written with grass and rivers and light. I must respond. I must worship. I must create. My art explores my heart, but also shows me His.
Open Access
Sarah Bendix: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Bendix, Sarah, artist
The artist's statement: Through my work in fiber I explore narrative, the surreal, and the otherworldly. Since I was quite young, I've been fascinated with Elsewhere, other earthly places or fantastic worlds full of spirits and myth. My work tells stories of the beings, bodies, and places that weigh on my mind. The medium of fiber allows me to create physical and accessible relics from these Elsewhere places by combining a wide variety of materials and techniques ranging from the traditional to the unusual. The intentional, slow acts of weaving and stitching let my mind delve deeper to discover new facets of the object at hand. The grid of a threaded loom can play host to anything from cotton yarn to cow bones. Yarn can be dyed with chemicals, plants, blood, or wine. A stitched and sewn object can be formed into anything at all. By referring to a rich variety of historical and cultural traditions such as Japanese stitch and dye methods, I can tell a personal narrative that is informed by those who come from everywhere and those who came before. I honor the impulses that make us human; the need to create, the urge to protect as well as the internal struggles that come with change and choosing. I merge the worlds of sacred and secular thought, invoking new gods and deities that embrace human beauty and folly.
Open Access
Jennie Maydew: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Maydew, Jennie, artist
The artist's statement: All color in my work is derived from non-edible plants that I have harvested by hand. I am drawn to the slow and intimate process of searching, collecting, storing, and preparing as a contrast to the hurried, detached aspects of my life as a modern human. To form structure in my life, I tend to think in grids, lists, and numbers. The chemistry of natural dyes is a bridge between the rational, predictable structure of science and the intuitive, expressive nature of art. My work in natural dyes is a representation of how things can exist as both methodical and intuitive, random and intentional. Fixing agents called mordants help plant dyes adhere permanently to fiber. Without a mordant, natural dyes fade drastically with time, use, and exposure to light. Art is the mordant for my memories; staining cloth with plants mimics imprinting memories in my own mind. My art is an attempt to make the ephemeral last, to protect what is fragile and precious in life. In a climate where plants become dormant annually, dyeing with their leaves and petals transforms a fleeting moment into something eternal.
Open Access
Nanette Bertoni: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Bertoni, Nanette, artist
The artist's statement: When I was young, leaving the ocean after a family trip gave me a sense of emptiness. The ocean represents serenity and contentment. My work speaks of this wonderful and somewhat elusive world. I use various fiber methods such as painting with thread or sculpting weavings, to embody oceanic themed pieces. These forms, using abstraction or representation, help convey my love and interest in life of the ocean. One day I'll visit the ocean again, but until then, I'll keep creating artwork in remembrance of my favorite place on earth.
Open Access
Eri Matsumura: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Matsumura, Eri, artist
The artist's statement: Forgiveness, to me, is the release of all hope for a better past. I have found difficulty in articulating certain events in my past that carry the heaviest emotional burdens. Being quiet about these moments has stifled my voice for expression. The lack of control in these pivotal events has left me feeling unresolved. In order to rectify this discomfort I form highly controlled compositions within my work. Creating small details, such as a clean screen printed line or a tight embroidery stitch, allows me to have a sense of power that I do not typically have. Presenting these works in constricted environments is an echo of the preservation of these memories. My work in fiber is a means of expressing feelings I find difficult but necessary to verbalize. The methodical, meditative processes of this art complement the processes of rumination and reflection that I often find myself in. This is the beginning of a conversation about significant personal events in the attempt to reach a state of acceptance, thankfulness, and forgiveness. This is an apology to the both of us for how long it took me to finally let things go.
Open Access
Gena Wasilewski: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Wasilewski, Gena, artist
The artist's statement: Even when I was young, I thought this world was beyond extraordinary. The neighborhood band of kids and I would discover and conjure up grandiose adventures worthy of story books in our green and trimmed backyards. My imagination ran wild as I relished in the hunt for small corners of untamed wilderness and delighted in stories that wove together the imaginary and the magical with the tangible. The natural world around me was ever abounding with simple gifts of such beauty and freedom. I collected and grasped these tightly in my memory. My textile work is steeped in childlike wonder, replaying the lovely bits of my memories and smoothing out the creases between actuality and invention. I create objects that evoke the emotions tied to nostalgia with delicate materials, soft colors and playfully rendered imagery. I utilize pattern and repetition on a small scale to mimic the actions of retracing and remembering. I hand weave, dye and assemble pieces that tell whimsical and endearing stories, bridging the existent and the make-believe. May we be ever seeking the extraordinary in the ordinary.