the woven series:
behind the scenes
The Woven Series
I seek to create art that is unique and bold, yet calm and peaceful. As I created this series, I imagined the pieces hanging in reading nooks and cozy corners filled with plants.
This work explores the balance between order found in geometric compositions and imperfections that occur when creating work by hand. I’ve found that as I work, I must listen to both the perfectionist in me that begs for flawlessness and the artist in me that delights in mishaps that often lead to interesting work.
Frame Building
After coming up with the idea to sew designs into caned frames, I mocked up compositions, and did a lot of research on caning. Next, I picked out maple wood to use for the frames. My husband then helped measure, cut, and saw a groove into the wood where the caning and reed spline would later go. After that I glued the frames, sanded them, and added a light coat of polyurethane.
Caning Prep
Next I cut the mesh cane and then soaked it in water so it would be pliable when stretching it across the frames.
Caning
I pressed the damp caning into the grooves and then glued reed spline on top to keep it in place. After that I trimmed off the excess caning around the edges. As the caning dried, it became more taut.
Sewing
Once the frames dried, I used wool yarn to sew designs into the caning.
