Artist Statement:
I grew up in Coastal Rhode Island and was raised by two Marine Biologists which introduced me to a meaningful relationship to the earth as a young child. All of my work is in response to their goals of healthier forests and oceans, and a deeper public awareness of a more sustainable ecological future. I use recycled and repurposed materials in my work, and I source my yarn from fair-trade Cooperatives, secondhand stores, or deadstock donations from the fashion industry (which currently creates some of the highest volumes of waste.) I also incorporate many "problem" materials like plastic bags, plastic drinking straws, fruit netting, plastic wrap, and large scale fabric like dyed bedsheets and old clothing that cannot be donated.
These bodies of recycled fiber work explore the changing cycles of life within the organic world and our growing disassociation to our Earth, despite our deep primordial connection to it. My work explores the phenomena of botany and nature in contrast to "what gets left behind" from our human existence. Using recycled and repurposed materials, I explore our human impact on the Earth...our mark and memory; Our ideas - our trash.
…Often, priorities of human convenience and success seem to outweigh a mindful relationship with our natural world. As a species living in a technological age, we often focus on material consumption, digital image, and personal wealth, operating with a false sense of entitlement to our natural world that can only hold on for so long.”
