Growing up in the foothills of Colorado, my childhood was infused with texture and natural color. From exploring the red and orange clay found on afternoon hikes to the native flower garden growing in our backyard, I learned to appreciate the biodiversity of plants and place from a young age. My work is a playful experiment of those early explorations. With a deep love for the earth and natural materials, I work at the intersections of plant-based color, textiles, and environmentalism. My evolving work in textiles and fibers seeks to create spaces to explore who we are as nurturers of the land and our communities.
The curiosity and wonder of my childhood continue to ground my practice. I enjoy exploring forests and fields where I live in Durham, North Carolina, curious to see what plants or natural materials can extract a colorfast dye. I forage for and grow dye plants in my neighborhood and partner with a local flower farm based in Durham. Throughout this process, I often use whole plants rather than extracts, so I have grown to understand the seasonal availability, growth cycles, and color potential of plants native to North Carolina. This knowledge allows me to develop color palettes specific to the seasons of the year and enables me to connect with the cycle of seasonal ecologies—both of which are foundational to my body of work.
Developing natural color is an immersive and wholly sensory experience. For example, experimenting with the age-old dye plant Japanese Indigo is awe-inspiring: from the colors that emerge–deep blues to hues of turquoise–to the smell of the dye vat. I was introduced to the process of extracting Indigo through Fiber Shed. This non-profit organization develops regional fiber systems that build ecosystems and community health through growing color as an alternative that engages and reconnects us with the land, its seasons, and processes. Through my education with Fiber Shed, I have been given a platform and passion for teaching about natural color as an alternative color solution.
Despite its inherent intentionality, the practice of making plant-based colors for textiles has been lost to the market-driven synthetic textile industry. My interest has become urgent; the West is losing its fundamental knowledge of healthy and sustainable color. Most modern-day textiles are mass-produced without ethical and fair labor standards and greatly contribute to environmental pollution. I seek to spotlight this reality and explore how natural color interacts with different animal and plant-based fibers as a sustainable source for our environment.
Much of American culture functions within systems that make us prone to live out of sync with the rhythms of the natural environments. My process of learning to identify plants, grow one’s food, and create colors from nature are directly related to ecological literacy. Engaging with plant-based color provides opportunities to make more sustainable design choices and new practices of how to view color.
Commissions:
2018 - Public Art Commission, "Hands of the Baker", Fiber, Urban Garden Performing Arts
2019 - Public Art Commission, "On the Way", Fiber, Hope College
2020 - Public Art Commission, "Around the Throne", Fiber, Pillar Church
2021 - Public Art Commission, "Lovely Still", Fiber, Bellwether Arts
2021 - Public Art Commission, "Today, Maybe Tomorrow", Fiber, Brehm Center
2022 - Public Art Commission, "Empty", Fiber, Calvin Worship Renewal Grant
2022 - Private Collection, "Wabi-Sabi", Fiber, Khara Aleilani
2022 - Private Collection, “Carolina Red Clay”, Fiber, Durham Arts Collection
2023 - Private Collection, “Indigo Studies”, Fiber, Durham Arts Collection
Exhibitions:
2018- Group Exhibition, Bread Show, Holland Arts Council Holland, MI (Curated by PJ Maske)
2019 - Group Exhibition, O Antiphons, Bell Tower Gallery, Holland, MI
2021 - Solo Exhibition, Devotions, Durham, NC
2022 - Solo Exhibition, Heirloom, Roberts' Gallery, Chapel Hill, NC
2022 - Group Exhibition, Environment Shifts, Charlotte Russell Contemporary, Raleigh, NC
2023 - Solo Exhibition. Of Plants and Place, Saugatuck Center for the Arts, Saugatuck, MI