Textile Society of America
Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings
Date of this Version
2024
Document Type
Presentation
Citation
Textile Society of America 2024 Symposium
Shifts & Strands: Rethinking the Possibilities and Potentials of Textiles, November 12-17, 2024, a virtual event
Abstract
This presentation is a reflection on felt as a chaos structure, an underdog and a queer material capable of offering a physical manifestation of exhilarating, transformative possibility. Images of artwork from my own studio practice will act as orientation points to examine the physical and the psychological. The physical exploration includes the intrinsic characteristics of wool as well as the material transformation of the wet felting process. The psychological aspects include opportunities to embrace intuitive, collaborative and expansive ways of making. Writing on feltmaking as it relates to the canon of textile scholarship will also be examined. Viewing felt through both historic and contemporary lenses tells a story of a material underdog that has moved in and out of fashion, value and modes of understanding. This presentation poses questions and offers theories on these shifting attitudes and lingers on my own discoveries as a queer maker seeking a new visual language.
Included in
Art and Materials Conservation Commons, Art Practice Commons, Fashion Design Commons, Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Museum Studies Commons, Queer Studies Commons
Comments
Published by the Textiles Society of America
Copyright 2024, the author. Used by permission