Primordium

It’s just the beginning

This is a showcase of works inspired by various images of landscapes of the Qualla Boundary, an area of Cherokee land located in North Carolina.  Driven by my ancestors of the Cherokee nation, I use weaving as a medium to connect and ground myself with the land and with those who came before me.

Surface Exploration

These first few, small-scaled works represent the first development in a variation on the traditional inlay technique, in which supplemental weft threads are placed in the weaving.  Instead of just laying down the threads in a single shot, I began experimenting with the placement and repositioning the inlaid threads to create the desired effect.  I named this technique "inlay float" because of the long floats created by the space in between the initial placement and repositioning of the threads.

Beginning my research into my Cherokee heritage, I became fascinated with traditional ceremonial dress.  Exploring this aspect of the culture, I noticed an abundance of "V" and "X"-shaped motifs, which inspired the forms of the surface motifs displayed in these initial experimentations.

Experimentation in Color and Texture

Following my initial experimentations, I wanted to see how this technique would function on a larger scale, incorporating repetition of a singular motif throughout.  These works integrate dualities both in concept and aesthetic.  In traditional Native American ceremonial dress there is a tendency towards sharp lines and geometric forms in surface designs, which I translated in the "inlay float" motifs in the work, while the land on which they lived was natural and organic, displayed in the texture of the warp and weft threads.  Every color in the warp is hand-dyed and translates to a color in the image chosen for inspiration.  To create an amplified yet subtle texture, a wide variety of both traditional and textured yarns were used in the warp, and a single textured yarn was used in the weft in a simple plain woven structure.  These work sum up the beginning of my journey as a weaver and as my acknowledgement of myself as a spiritual being living the human experience.