Femme

Working with textiles has been exploration in self. I had some immediate connotations and assumptions early on in the work that felt in opposition of how I move through the world. Fiber arts are typically craft. A craft relegated to women’s work. Foraging also felt inefficient and foraging flowers…. too feminine. None of these things seemed authentic to me or my practice. But it called to me and I continued to honor and explore.

I learned about plants, their names, all the ways to coax color from them. I did workshops where only women attended and explored works of craftswomen and artists through the lens of quilting and homegoods. All the while harboring feelings that it was frivolous and lacked meaning.

Meanwhile I was also exploring my sense of self. Shedding egoic concepts left and right around the idea of hustle, productivity and the masculine energy related to those concepts.

I’ve since learned to lean into my feminine. Even when I’m feeling on the edge of burnout, trading jeans and sneakers for my most flowy dressess and bare feet. Bringing home flowers to remind myself that I’m not singular. That there is depth and a variety of ways to move through the world.

As I explore the meaning of each and every element of my creative practice I’ve come to understand the judgements I had around “women’s crafts” is baked into the art history books. I’m judging myself and the work as less than because it’s not yet been represented as any different.

Now I’m learning that art has always been a feminine practice of softness for me. Incorporating these practices is another way of shedding productivity. The centering of self through connection to nature and my environment and honoring the wholeness of my expression.