Foregrounding the tactile language of knotting, wrapping and weaving, my work positions textile art as a vital site for reimagining the politics of care and relationships in the context of social and institutional pressures shaping women’s lives. My work uses everyday materials such as packing paper, textile remnants, handmade paper, and found paper and cardboard to record information. These materials carry information from their previous lives and purposes. They hold marks, bends, folds, stains, holes, and memories. When I receive these materials, I add information with brushstrokes, prints, and marks that record information from my daily experiences. The marks become language and data, referencing forms of communication without using known writing systems. The forms draw on textile traditions using knotting, folding, and surface design, connecting the work to the history of textiles as communication.

Some thoughts on weaving and knotting:

Knots and weaving function as metaphors for growth.

Knots and textiles are languages that hold and pass on information.

Knots have come to mean a convergence or gathering of energy and tension, an opportunity or undertaking to resolve disquiet.

Knots can come upon us suddenly, without warning, forcing us to tackle a problem immediately.

Knots can be anticipated, like the sound of thunder in the distance.

Sometimes knots can be met with joy and spontaneity, as unexpected detours or moments of wonder and puzzlement where the most appropriate response is good-natured surrender.

The knotting process is itself a knot, a roadblock, a complication, and an opportunity to slow the mind.