Contrasting Concepts:
Contrasting Personalities
The white 5/2 cotton portrays modest, covered up, reserved, shy, pure, and chaste. The black leather cord depicts exposed, self-cofident, bold, forward, impure, and unchaste.
Observed Contrasts (Biking while Smoking):
The superior round lace and the copper expresses the feel and look of a bicycle wheel. The taped together strips of Camel Cash, which is an enclosed promotional material of cigarettes, represent the act of smoking.
Contrasting College Football Teams:
Using the same weft material that was used in the warps depicts the structure of the hounds-tooth pattern, which represents the spirit of the Alabama team. The slashing of this structure expresses the idea of the Auburn's team mascot, the tiger.
Contrasting Enironments:
The gold string, sequins, and plastic glow-in-the-dark thread portrays a flashy and seemingly glamorous Las Vegas--both day and night life. The sandpaper depicts the natural coloring of the sand and rocks, the rawness of nature, and the majority of the surrounding environment of Las Vegas, Red Rock Conservation Area.
Modern Translation of an 18th Century Polish Sash:
Preserving heritage mother was forced to forget.
This piece was inspired by an 18th Century Polish sash found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I was mostly interested in Poland because of my mom. She was born shortly after World War II and being Polish in New York City, her mother did everything she could to make my mother American. Therefore, she wasn’t taught anything about her Polish heritage—she was forced to forget. I have longed to know more about where I come from and who I am. This piece was an attempt to preserve my heritage. I was interested in the technical and historical aspects of this piece, such as, the materials used, function of the sash, the symmetries, and the symbolism in the sash. The sash was woven with silk and metal threads while my piece is woven with silk bamboo yarn and wire with red cotton poppies in the center. The red poppy is the national flower of Poland and it represents their freedom and independence. Along those lines, these sashes were used as part of the national costume of Poland. I used a weave structure that embodies a symmetrical and floral design similar to the one used in the original sash. By using modern and nontraditional materials, I have preserved the heritage my mother was forced to forget.
Ikat Samples:
Warp Painted Samples
4-8 Harness Complex Weave Structures:
Yarn Shrinkage
Two-Faced Brocade
Two-Faced Brocade
Woven Shibori: Bronson Lace (with Acid Dye and Heat Set Pleats)
Woven Shibori: Monk's Belt (with Acid Dye)
Woven Shibori: Summer and Winter (with Discharge)
Woven Shibori: Summer and Winter (with Discharge)
Twill Pleats
8 Shaft Furrows (Chevrons)
Waffle Weave
Ondule Reed
Double Weave: Pockets & Wrapped Floats
Double Weave: Pick-Up
Explorations With The Word Like:
When someone gets emotional with their storytelling, it often leads to saying the word “like.” Once the story is finished, all we can think is, “They say ‘like’ way too much.” It is unfortunate that we are distracted by the main idea of a story by one little word—like. Once it is all they say, then it becomes all that we notice. This turns into a vicious cycle of choppy dialogue interjected with this four letter word. The word “like” is problematic, flawed, overused, meaningless, overwhelming, nonsensical, and useless. When brought to our attention, the word “like” is overused that all its meaning is lost. We can’t help but perceive and acknowledge, and thus, it’s all that remains.
All photographed by Kyle Mathews
