Life
I was born and raised on a farm in southern Iowa, earned a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University, and pursued graduate work at the University of Wisconsin. I studied weaving with Ken Colwell at his studio in Mineral Point, Wisconsin and began participating in art shows while living in Madison, Wisconsin 30 years ago. Today, I live and work in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin.
Approach
Fiber is part of our basic civilization and weaving utilitarian textiles from materials at hand is a rich tradition all over the world. The "rag rug" was important in Colonial America and speaks of the transformation of humble rags into useful, practical and beautiful floor coverings. Pieces of clothing, bedding, and other household textiles too worn to be recycled into garments were cut into narrow strips and sewn end to end to become the weft of the rug. These strips of cloth contained a rich personal history of people and their lives, as well as social commentary reflecting the culture and life experiences from which they came.
As a contemporary weaver of rugs for the floor and wall, I have built on this rich tradition, retaining the utilitarian while creating new designs that elevate its textures, color, and shapes to an art form. My work is a connection to the past as well as an outlet for personal expression. It reflects a connectedness to this tradition and expands the place of the "rag rug" into territory that is at once familiar yet new.
Working on an 8-harness countermarche loom, I use strips of corduroy, polished chintz, and cotton rug warp to weave complex and vibrant rugs. Part of the challenge is to find new ways of looking at old things, of coaxing materials into form and function uniquely different from the originals. It is an exploration into new dimensions of the familiar-revealing predictable patterns, unexpected interpretations, and a richness not immediately evident at first glance. Designs that appear bold and graphic from a distance reveal subtle color and textural interplay when viewed closely. Past and present blend to create an element of surprise.
Technical
Working on an 8-shaft, 10-treadle countermarche loom, I weave contemporary rugs for the wall and floor. Historically known in Sweeden as "ripsmatta," the technique I use is known to American weavers as warpfaced rug weave, which is characterized by the warp threads (those running front to back on the loom) being set very closely so that they dominate the surface of the weaving.
Technically, the loom is threaded using tightly spun cotton rug warp in 2 juxtaposed and contrasting colorways: a pattern colorway and a background colorway. Ends (warp threads) from each colorway are threaded alternately on different shafts across the warp. Each pattern block is threaded on two shafts with a pattern-colored end on one shaft and a background-colored end on the other shaft. This structure allows me to create distinct adjacent color areas by contrasting the hue, value, intensity and "temperature" of the pattern and background.
Structurally, the technique is an interlacement of contrasting scales. During the weaving I use two cotton wefts (the crosswise yams in a woven cloth), alternating a thick weft and a thin weft. Geometric shifts, positive and negative images and a color and textural interplay are created as pattern and background threads alternate with thick and thin wefts.
With over 100 intersections per square inch, the warp-faced technique allows me to create rugs of rich color and texture that merge technical complexity and design challenges with artistic expression.