Interview to the artist by Rachelle Gryn Brettler, from our Anniversary Book
Language and storytelling are important to me. My dad is a poet and a writer. Growing up, we did not have a television, so reading and books were an important part of my upbringing. I used to teach languages – French and German. I think there is a deep well of literature.
I create weavings, or three dimensional interpretations from a flat page – a weaving of words from books. I take a flat page or a book and I reinterpret it to create something that conveys an immediate response, and then there will be layers behind that for the viewer to look within and find details. It is an impression of a text, it is a different type of reading.
It might be that I see a book and it resonates with me. Or it might be that I see a pattern in nature, and it reminds me of some structure. I know there is a story to that, and I find the text that works. It is a reflection of patterns of thinking, writing and putting information together.
There is the actual materiality of the paper. Sometimes it is to do with the quality of the paper, its thickness or thinness, maybe there are gold edges and I will see the potential. Older paper is easier to work with and it does not change over time.
Sometimes I find one of those old books with wide pages and the text reaches all the way across the page, edge to edge. And then other times it is a book where the text comes in columns.
Another consideration is the type of font. Is it modern or really old-fashioned? Or large text from a children’s book. Each has its own potential.
Scale plays a part. I have recently made some pieces with maps and also with music scores –their original form is very big, which gives scope to work in a different way. Although I do not really understand or read music, when I am making these pieces, the movements are quite loopy and fluid, hopefully reflecting the rhythms and the way it is composed. I also have a collection of tiny little pocket books, that would create a completely different work.
The process involves firstly cutting or folding little units, perhaps threading strips through canvas or tapestry nets, always in multiples, reflecting the idea of language, letters and words that are built up. I will take small pieces and build up a bigger picture. It might be cubes or little cylinders, but it is always multiples. I do not really know the whole until I have made some samples and seen what they look like together. Sometimes I alter some of the units - I often dye the paper or dip it in tea, wine or ink.
All of that comes back to the idea of time and process. It is the idea of the artist or the writer who sits, thinks and dips their pen in ink, sipping their wine or their tea, everything intertwined. I like to work with subtle differences in colour. Generally, making one piece leads to something else, or it might lead to a short series.
The processes are always quite slow. They often involve a sort of undoing - doing a bit and then undoing it - and following some pattern. Sometimes it is a pattern that I have found in a textiles book or a weaving, embroidery or cross-stitch pattern. Sometimes it is a bit more free-flow. I cannot just use the same pattern with a different book, because I want to reflect a unique connection. I am combining structures and systems from different worlds and putting them together in a new way.