Detail, raven hanger carved from juniper, turquoise beads, handwoven ethnic linen textile.
Lament: Kyrie eleison
Mixed media hanging
Oak barrel stave, hammered copper, carved juniper, formed and patinated copper screen, turquoise nuggets, handwoven ethnic textile.
29 x 14"
Private collection.
Making art during the pandemic
On March 16, 2020, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered us to stay home. We closed our collective gallery and retreated to our studios. Suppliers closed as well. I wanted to make art, but could only use materials on hand. I decided to experiment with techniques other than fiber art.
My first piece was an anguished face, formed with jeweler’s pliers from a scrap of copper screen. A blue-green patina was applied, prompting my daughter to compare it to Voldemort. Undaunted, for the next four weeks I struggled with how to present it.
Self isolation provided time to prune dead wood from over two acres of juniper trees, some of which could be two hundred years old. I moved from making fiber art into woodworking mode.
Branch after branch was cleaned and “auditioned” as a frame for the face. A few small sculptures resulted as I pulled interesting limbs from the prunings stacked for chipping.
Finally, I spotted a lovely forked limb, began carving, and was surprised as it developed into the head of a raven.
I planned to do a silk hanging in wax resist for the background. Going through my stash of Japanese silk, I realized that this elegant fabric was too refined for the raw emotion in the face and the somber symbolism of the raven.
Then, tucked away in my sewing room, a roll of coarse handwoven linen surfaced. It appeared to have been dyed a rusty hue, then stamped with a resist and overdyed with indigo. Purchased in Santa Fe two years ago as a remnant, it included crosses and repeating geometric designs.
Once the raven frame and dowel for the textile were assembled, I needed a top plate on which to attach the face. In the yard, a small nail barrel retrieved from a house where we once lived had been quietly falling apart. It had been left under the floor when that house was built in 1939. I pulled out a stave. Still sound, the well-aged oak was perfect for the top.
More gifts emerged from our past: a small bag of drilled chunks of turquoise was discovered in the old jeweler’s bench, and bits of copper wire from a dismantled motor offered possibilities.
Seven turquoise beads were sewn to the textile. Copper wire was formed and hammered into a spiral for the top, while other wires attached it to the raven.
Finally... all had come together, a complex piece created from materials we already had. The only bits not in hand were two hanger bolts.
And it only took nine weeks.
Special thanks to Leland, my technical assistant!