Inspiration

In my thesis I dedicated numerous pages to artists and designers who have influenced my work. It is a really special thing to find work that lines up with your interests, ideas and aesthetics. Rare, in a way.

Here is another piece from my paper on a very inspiring artist/designer:

“Christien Miendertsma is a young Dutch designer whose textile work is a great inspiration to my own. The concept is simple, yet her subtle shift in approach exposes a new way of looking at production and process in textile art. Creating hand-knit cardigans and oversized rugs, she carefully documents the source of her wool right down to the name of the sheep the wool was taken from. Each cardigan and rug tile is the product of just one animal’s wool. In this eloquent gesture, Miendertsma expands upon the value system of DIY and craft practices showing that the handmade element is just one part of the creative process. Her work places the origins of materials in the spotlight, while illuminating just how much material it takes to make a simple, everyday object.

These politics are evident in my work through the direct, non-gendered use of craft. I use sewing as a simple method of adhering pieces of material together to form a garment. It is not used symbolically to talk about the role of women or gratuitously to suggest an interest in labor. Like Miendertsma, I am using the technique as a means to an end. In choosing textile forms, I try to work with garments that are not immediately symbolic in the way a piece of lingerie or a 1950’s style of dress might be. I am more interested in garments that are familiar and suggest a utility. It is the space within this familiar territory I wish to shift slightly and utilize as a site of communication.” Both photos are courtesy of Miendertsma's website