ABOUT
In the summer of 2011 I wrote the concept of a tarp quilt into a grant application. The original tarp quilt I envisioned was intended as a one-off piece that would be a part of a larger installation about overcoming aversions to trauma-rooted materials and experiences. It was intended as one piece, and only one piece, just as my art projects to date had always been one-offs. When I proposed the concept of a tarp quilt I had no idea that four years and more than 100 tarp quilts later, making tarp quilts would become my studio practice. While I am still VERY new to the world of quilting--and even to the world of sewing, for that matter--I wake up every morning excited to play with tarp, ready to push its boundaries and my own, challenged by its ability to connect conceptually to my body of work as a whole.
Why tarp? In the beginning it was about something else. You can read all about that here. Over time, my work with tarp has evolved to be about so much more than my early aversions to tarp, and my avoidance of all the triggers it presented. These days it's about subverting the notion of the quilt. It's about using a humble material to make magic. It's about poverty. It's a strategic choice to work with low-cost materials in a labor-intense manner. It's about intentionally narrowing my materials and methods to avoid the cognitive burden of decision-making paralysis. It's about not being a fabric hoarder. It's about defying expectations others might have about me or the material. It's about pushing boundaries. It's about what works but doesn't work, and its about things that supposedly work but don't. It's a metaphor for life. A metaphor for me. I suspect the reasons why I use tarp will continue to evolve as my body of work continues to evolve. It's a process, this stuff.
QUESTIONS
Lots of people have lots of questions about what I do and how I do it. Please ask them. I'm happy to answer them if I can. Email: [email protected]
PRICING
I believe in valuing myself as a maker, and regret that society often dismisses the work of artists as if it is not work worthy of payment. I also believe in making my work accessible to those who might not ordinarily be able to afford art. It makes no sense for me to have my work sitting in storage when someone else could be living with it and loving on it. My work is priced in an effort to balance these two conflicting goals. Prices are also reached as a delicate, imprecise, and imperfect algorithm: (1) How much did the materials cost? (2) How long did it take to make? (3) How broke am I? (4) How broke is the purchaser? (5) What's the curator's/venue's commission? (6) What will the market bear? (7) Will this piece have access to future markets? (8) Do I have a place to store it?
The moral of this story is: my work isn't cheap. Nor should it be. That said, I am very open to making my work affordable to those who want it. I am always happy to remake larger pieces smaller, if possible, to trade with folks who have goods or services I need, and to work out payment plans. Just contact me.
COMMISSIONS
I am currently accepting commissions with a 1-2 year turn-around depending on what I have going on in my art life and life-life at the time. My commissions thus far have predominately included remakes of existing work (no love for this), family quilts designed by family members but constructed by me (no love for this), work for local social justice non-profits (lots of love for this), and for community-minded businesses (lots of love for this). I am particularly interested in large-scale collaborative commission projects. I'm open to other forms of commissions, as well. My day-rate is $500, but I work very quickly, so some commissions run as low as $100, others as much as $2400, it all depends on the piece. Don't be deterred by finances. Let me know what you have in mind and we can work it out.
COLLABORATIONS
Generally speaking I am interested in collaborating with graphic designers, furniture designers, fashion designers, textile artists, illustrators, and builders. I tend to be more of a "pass the baton/relay team" collaborator than a true team worker, but I'm open to learning how to play well with others. My true collaborative interests lie in working with non-profits and community groups who are working on social justice and equity issues. If you know of a person, place or population that would benefit from a tarp quilt collaboration please let me know. I'm open to anything at any time as long as it doesn't take me more than three days or cost me more than $300. Anything that has a broader scope or would require more funding needs to be booked out at least a year in advance so we can secure grant funds.
CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS
I believe in giving back. If you are hosting a charitable auction or show or have some other something going on for folks in need, let me know. Maybe I can help.
DONATIONS
Because people know many of my projects benefit those other than myself, lots of folks want to know how they can help fund my projects in small ways. I'm very picky about what thread and needles and tarps I use, and I know exactly where to get everything at the best cost, and it's pretty complicated to explain all of that to everyone. So if you'd like to make donations, the best way to do that is to send my boyfriend an unsolicited PayPal contribution to [email protected]
ANYTHING ELSE?
Just ask.
In the summer of 2011 I wrote the concept of a tarp quilt into a grant application. The original tarp quilt I envisioned was intended as a one-off piece that would be a part of a larger installation about overcoming aversions to trauma-rooted materials and experiences. It was intended as one piece, and only one piece, just as my art projects to date had always been one-offs. When I proposed the concept of a tarp quilt I had no idea that four years and more than 100 tarp quilts later, making tarp quilts would become my studio practice. While I am still VERY new to the world of quilting--and even to the world of sewing, for that matter--I wake up every morning excited to play with tarp, ready to push its boundaries and my own, challenged by its ability to connect conceptually to my body of work as a whole.
Why tarp? In the beginning it was about something else. You can read all about that here. Over time, my work with tarp has evolved to be about so much more than my early aversions to tarp, and my avoidance of all the triggers it presented. These days it's about subverting the notion of the quilt. It's about using a humble material to make magic. It's about poverty. It's a strategic choice to work with low-cost materials in a labor-intense manner. It's about intentionally narrowing my materials and methods to avoid the cognitive burden of decision-making paralysis. It's about not being a fabric hoarder. It's about defying expectations others might have about me or the material. It's about pushing boundaries. It's about what works but doesn't work, and its about things that supposedly work but don't. It's a metaphor for life. A metaphor for me. I suspect the reasons why I use tarp will continue to evolve as my body of work continues to evolve. It's a process, this stuff.
QUESTIONS
Lots of people have lots of questions about what I do and how I do it. Please ask them. I'm happy to answer them if I can. Email: [email protected]
PRICING
I believe in valuing myself as a maker, and regret that society often dismisses the work of artists as if it is not work worthy of payment. I also believe in making my work accessible to those who might not ordinarily be able to afford art. It makes no sense for me to have my work sitting in storage when someone else could be living with it and loving on it. My work is priced in an effort to balance these two conflicting goals. Prices are also reached as a delicate, imprecise, and imperfect algorithm: (1) How much did the materials cost? (2) How long did it take to make? (3) How broke am I? (4) How broke is the purchaser? (5) What's the curator's/venue's commission? (6) What will the market bear? (7) Will this piece have access to future markets? (8) Do I have a place to store it?
The moral of this story is: my work isn't cheap. Nor should it be. That said, I am very open to making my work affordable to those who want it. I am always happy to remake larger pieces smaller, if possible, to trade with folks who have goods or services I need, and to work out payment plans. Just contact me.
COMMISSIONS
I am currently accepting commissions with a 1-2 year turn-around depending on what I have going on in my art life and life-life at the time. My commissions thus far have predominately included remakes of existing work (no love for this), family quilts designed by family members but constructed by me (no love for this), work for local social justice non-profits (lots of love for this), and for community-minded businesses (lots of love for this). I am particularly interested in large-scale collaborative commission projects. I'm open to other forms of commissions, as well. My day-rate is $500, but I work very quickly, so some commissions run as low as $100, others as much as $2400, it all depends on the piece. Don't be deterred by finances. Let me know what you have in mind and we can work it out.
COLLABORATIONS
Generally speaking I am interested in collaborating with graphic designers, furniture designers, fashion designers, textile artists, illustrators, and builders. I tend to be more of a "pass the baton/relay team" collaborator than a true team worker, but I'm open to learning how to play well with others. My true collaborative interests lie in working with non-profits and community groups who are working on social justice and equity issues. If you know of a person, place or population that would benefit from a tarp quilt collaboration please let me know. I'm open to anything at any time as long as it doesn't take me more than three days or cost me more than $300. Anything that has a broader scope or would require more funding needs to be booked out at least a year in advance so we can secure grant funds.
CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS
I believe in giving back. If you are hosting a charitable auction or show or have some other something going on for folks in need, let me know. Maybe I can help.
DONATIONS
Because people know many of my projects benefit those other than myself, lots of folks want to know how they can help fund my projects in small ways. I'm very picky about what thread and needles and tarps I use, and I know exactly where to get everything at the best cost, and it's pretty complicated to explain all of that to everyone. So if you'd like to make donations, the best way to do that is to send my boyfriend an unsolicited PayPal contribution to [email protected]
ANYTHING ELSE?
Just ask.