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Joan is a fiber artist working to translate the natural world into fiber art by dyeing the colors and building the shapes that captivate her. Her hope is that as people connect with her art through their own experiences, they gain new insights that enhance their future experiences in the natural world.
A lifelong maker and art student, Joan found her artistic voice later in life. Determined to push her knowledge and skill with fibers further, she developed her signature techniques through experimentation; continually learning about the natures of her materials, reclaimed knitted wool fabrics, wool yarns and fabric dyes, and how they behave when felted. Joan sews together layers of different wool types, most often merino wool and cashmere, before felting them. Using their varied responses to felting, along with several fabric dyeing techniques, she creates dimension and implies the sources of her inspiration. |
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What draws her to wool felting is the transformation wool makes during felting from a soft, flat fabric into a sturdy three-dimensional shape. The warmth and softness of the fibers, along with a sensation of liveliness, are comforting to her as she creates, and to those who experience her finished work.
Joan’s mostly functional art celebrates self-reliance, along with the joy of creating and using individually handmade articles. Through her work, Joan honors the millions of women who came before her, most notably her mother and grandmother, passing down their handwork skills and the tradition of creating beautiful functional items essential to their daily lives. |
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