My work has evolved from weaving fabric on floor looms, to Eva Hesse-inspired mixed-media, to welding life-size steel and paper pulp sculptures, to the physical manipulation of photo-based inkjet prints on paper. Inspiration for my work has always been rooted in the tactile, the language of materials and process, and finding my way to something compelling through trial, error, and investigation. Combining photo-based inkjet prints, text from naturalists and philosophers, and traditional weaving drafts has resulted in modes of thinking, responding, and assembling that are new and familiar in terms of chance juxtapositions and relationships between pattern, structure, text, and image.
Mandala 14: The Art of War (1). 18 x 18”. 2025.
Inkjet prints of digitally altered text and photographs on Japanese and western papers, hand-cut into strips, hand weaving.
The weaving pattern is an original design by the artist. Text is from Sun Tzu On The Art Of War: The Oldest Military Treatise In The World. Translated from the Chinese By Lionel Giles, M.A. (1910). Original text 6th century B.C. From Gutenberg.net.
Photos by the artist: Indian Creek, Brimson, MN.
As the U.S. was experiencing a seismic shift in January of 2025, The Art of War, a treatise on wartime battle strategy written in China in the 1200’s, came to mind as timely subject matter for new work. I chose the photo of a creek, bordered by a lake, swamp and thick woods because strategically, there is no escape route. I started the piece with a circle to create a window into the photo and designed the maze pattern as a metaphor for finding one’s way.
Ellipse 7: The Equation (Indian Lake). 13 x 22”. 2025.
Inkjet prints of digitally altered text and photographs on Japanese and western papers, hand-cut into strips, hand weaving.
Weaving draft from Figurierte Muster Pl. XXVIII Nr. 7 (b), Die färbige Gewebemusterung, Franz Donat, Germany, 1907, Handweaving.net #63698.
Text excerpts are from Louisa May Alcott (Thistledown 1854), Emily Dickinson (Poems 1830-1886), Neltje Blanchan (Nature’s Garden, 1900), Friedrich Nietzsche (Beyond Good and Evil), and L.H.Bailey (The Holy Earth, 1916), (Gutenberg.org)
Photos by the artist: Walden Pond, Leominster MA, Indian Lake, Indian Creek and sky, Brimson MN,
Mandala 12: Cloquet Riverbank Double Ellipse. 2024. 12 x 11.75”
Inkjet prints of digitally altered text and photographs on Japanese and western papers hand-cut into strips, hand weaving.
Weaving drafts are from Ralph Griswold (Color and Weave Projects, 2005), and P. Falcot (Weaving patterns,1844), Handweaving.net #41479 and 45274. Text excerpts are from E.O. Wilson, John Muir, and others.
The Photograph was taken by the artist in northern Minnesota. March 2024
Ellipse 3: Sampler. 12 x 22”. 2024.
Inkjet prints of digitally altered text and photographs on Japanese and western papers hand-cut into strips, hand weaving.
Weaving draft is from Louis Serrure (Atlas De 4000 Armures, 1920) Handweaving.net #38087.
Text excerpts are from John Muir (Our National Parks, 1901) (Gutenberg.org).
Photographs of the sky, the aftermath of the Greenwood Fire (2021), and a meadow of native and invasive flowers were taken by the artist in northern Minnesota.
Great Lakes 1 & 2. 7 3/4 x 7 ¾”. 2025.
Inkjet prints of digitally altered text and photographs on Japanese and western papers, hand-cut into strips, hand weaving.
A variation of Weaving Draft: stars and diamonds, Reena Meijer-Drees, 2004 - 2024, Handweaving.net #79721
Text is from The Great Lakes: The Vessels That Plough Them: Their Owners, Their Sailors, and Their Cargoes. Together with A Brief History of Our Inland Seas. By James Oliver Curwood.G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York and London, The Knickerbocker Press,1909 (Gutenberg.org)
Photos by the artist: Lake Superior, near Two Harbors MN.
Ellipse 4: Thistledown. 12 1/2 x 21”. 2024.
Inkjet prints of digitally altered text and photographs on Japanese and western papers, hand-cut into strips, hand weaving.
Weaving draft/pattern by Emmy Jacobs, 2004, Handweaving.net #63385.
Text excerpts are from Louisa May Alcott (Thistledown 1854), Emily Dickinson (Poems 1830-1886), Neltje Blanchan (Nature’s Garden, 1900), Friedrich Nietzsche (Beyond Good and Evil), and L.H.Bailey (The Holy Earth, 1916), (Gutenberg.org)
Photographs of the thistle, meadow, and sky taken by the artist at Skibo Mountain, Hoyt Lakes MN, and in the studio.