Artist Statement

I create emotional narrative portraits using discarded clothing as my medium. I celebrate the common fabric of humanity. I give new life, second chances, and a fresh start to the worn, the torn, the mistreated, the unwanted, and to myself.  Discarded clothes have been warmed by the humanness of former wearers; they have absorbed and stored the energy, emotions, memories, and histories of people. I use these clothes to tell stories about what it means to be human. My artwork speaks of the personal, the universal, the psychological, the political, and the social. It makes the viewer rethink what clothes are.

My process dismantles the fabric of the world and pieces it together differently. Deconstruction is followed by reconstruction, a means to new possibilities, restoration, and repair. I repair a world torn apart; I explore the idea of repair as both a physical and symbolic act relating to individual as well as collective trauma. I assemble and join disparate strips of clothing to create a harmonious new whole which is more than the sum of its parts. I unite pieces of many colors, patterns, and textures; I commingle and interweave the clothing and energy of many others with my own. My work is a metaphor for we are one, all of us members of the human family. When we are intertwined and woven together we are stronger, more colorful, and more resilient.

This artwork is created slowly, lovingly, and laboriously through processes of hand cutting, hand stitching, hand hooking, hand embroidery, appliqué, collage, crochet, and soft sculpture. It raises awareness of the significance of human creativity in a time when artificial intelligence is gradually replacing work by humans. The power of the human touch and the human heart cannot be replaced by a machine. The need to touch, to feel textural and tactile comfort is amplified in the digital environment. Human handwork is more important now than ever.