Relic II
50” x 28” (60” wood rod)
Handwoven mixed fibers, fabric, leather, and upcycled cables
It started with a bag that I fondly called my Mad Max Stash which was a collection of old black clothes and wires. I had in my mind the idea of making an apocalyptic piece of all the things we discard. Mind you, this was way before 2020 happened. The original vision was also to put it on the big loom, but at that time Relic I was on that loom and across town. It was right after things started to close, and I wanted to get it started while I had time at home. I decided to do it in two pieces with the hopes of figuring out how to connect the pieces later. It started to become more refined than what I had first intended so I went with it. I cut the clothes into strips and made “yarn” of them. I added some dark brown wool roving, as that is what I had at the time. At one point the source for my thinner black wool had shut down because of the pandemic, and I had to stop working to wait for them to start shipping again. While the initial idea was to make it from scraps and discards, I found that I had to do so out of necessity for a while.
After the first bit of phone wire went in, I thought about connections.This period of time staying away from each other is strange, and we are connected via wires, waves, and cables.
The clothes I shredded reminded me of times with friends: the leggings I wore while painting the halls of the studio with a friend that has since passed, a thrift store shirt that had just enough of an 80s vibe to wear to my friend’s 80s Prom themed 50th birthday, a favorite sweater that I had worn in the office at my job in Ringgold, and my leather boots that I’ve had for years that took me to many parties and events. Man did those boots have some fun, but they had been re-soled and worn out again.
The second piece came together and it was time to figure out how to join them. What had started as just a way to weave on a smaller loom became part of this theme of connections, whether it is to each other or to the past through objects.
A little story. The piece of wood that Relic II hangs from came from a hammock that I had on the rooftop balcony of my old apartment in downtown Chattanooga. Someone once referred to it as the Friends apartment, because you had to step out the window to get to it. I had that hammock out there, and spent countless Sunday afternoons and Saturday nights either alone with a glass of wine or a group of friends.
Relic II is available at Area 61 Gallery in downtown Chattanooga and would look wonderful over a bed or sofa adding interest and drama to that space.