About
I am a sustainable textile artist and knitting designer. As a descendant of generations of mountain folks in the eastern United States, I have a deep respect for handmade traditions and sustainable living. Growing up I learned how to move around a farm, take care of animals, clothes, and furniture, and reuse or repair a variety of things. The outsider artist Howard Finster lived about 45 minutes from my grandparents’ farm and the ethos of Finster’s Paradise Garden was present all through the area.
In this culture, things are not thrown away; they become something else. Aluminum scraps can be used to patch holes or drafts in the chicken coop. Old rusted bicycle frames become a huge sculpture. The land, plants, and animals are tended with care.
My work centers on these questions: When material comforts are not available or accessible, how can we care for one another with what is available? What is available now that can be used to create something else? How can objects be repurposed at the end of their life span?
Mending and upcycling are central techniques in my practice; I am devoted to envisioning new uses for waste materials, including in the tools I make. For example, T-shirts are a large portion of textile waste each year, which gives me a rich source for materials and connects me with local makers and businesses. T-shirts are easy to process into yarn and then knit or crochet into any shape desired. Diverting waste materials from the landfill and giving them new life is the joy of my practice. It is an honor to renew the connection to the land that my ancestors once had through zero-waste practices.
In the past I’ve made garments from used t-shirt yarn and interactive sculptures where visitors can deposit their own fabric or yarn scraps. Currently in the studio I’ve made circular knitting tools out of scrap or found materials which I then use to knit large t-shirt tubes. These tubes become the material for structures that I think of as incubators or places of comfort and safety.
My goal is to connect contemporary textile design with the sustainable ethos of my Appalachian roots—honoring tradition while pushing for a future in fiber art that protects our shared environment.