My ancestors in Maine had flocks of sheep, and grew extra turnips to feed them over the winter, according to a letter dated around 1850. They spun and wove for their families and for sale. Their parlor was typical of the time, with a loom in the corner, a small flax spinning wheel, and a "great wheel," the large spinning wheel known as a walking wheel, because the spinner gave the great wheel a turn, then walked back from the bobbin, creating a length of yarn, and then walking forward to wind the new yarn onto the bobbin. Another ancestor received a patent around 1900 on a method of automatically knitting baby socks. My fiber roots run deep!
I work in a technique I was gifted in a dream many years ago. In the dream, a group of women of an ancient unknown culture made colorful handwoven three-dimensional faces as masks. They gave me one and showed me how to make it. I awoke and tried it on the end of a warp, and, incredibly, the method worked. I have used this technique for weaving sculptural textile faces since then. Because it came from inside me, I have called the technique Zati, which means from an inner region.
I have researched mask-making techniques, and found no other instance of handwoven faces shaped off the loom, making this work its own genre, and unique in world mask culture.
My work is in private collections and museums around the world. In the 2000s, I was invited to participate in the International Fibre Biennale held near Turin in Italy. The Museum of the City of Chieri acquired my work from the exhibition.
The spirit of the plants used to dye the wool, the shapes and decorations of the headdresses, and the powerful life of the faces create an energy that makes these masks far more than sculptures. For many of my collectors, they are both prized works of art and treasured companions.
More about my materials and methods
My Fiber Mask Sculpture Portfolio
My Life as a Teacher
My discovery of textile mask sculpture in the dream resonated with my interest in our inner lives and the resources we all carry inside us. Through study, experimentation, and working out fiber shapes, I developed a sequential program for using weaving as a tool for inner development.
It was clear there were certain elemental forms that humans had made in all cultures and throughout history. I identified seven forms I call "keyforms" that seemed to hold symbolic significance across many cultures: Amulet, Bowl, Doll, Cingulum (later Belt of Power), Mask, Bundle, and Shawl. In sequence they corresponded to seven stages of life:
Learn more about Weaving a Life