My "Art" Piece

We were also asked to submit an artist's statement, the likes of which I always ponder, groan, and postpone. It's really months, or years, afterwards, when I'm warping, or weaving, or even weeding or ironing, that I realize the real effect of a piece or a process or a person, but I had to hand in something. Curator Andy suggested I write about the process of making something "impractical", so here's what I submitted:

"I am usually a weaver of scarves and shawls, for which soft and drapy texture is most important. I also try to design pieces that are interesting to look at close up, as well as from a distance.

"When Andy challenged me to weave something to make me look up, “long” and “bright” first came to mind. The focus became more on grabbing my attention quickly, as well as making the eyes travel up and down the length of the cloth. On the other hand, texture and matters that arise from close inspection became comparatively unimportant. In fact, a degree of stiffness in the cloth became vital in keeping the piece taught and straight.

"“Places I’ve been” is made of coarse wool, and with 13 colours; it is by far the boldest piece I’ve woven, but still has the fine weave patters (sic) that are interesting if you can see (it) close up. The pattern is based on a (sic) flame, an idea that came to me while thinking about the places I’ve lived or visited, and flying from one place to another. I go back and forth to these places, so the flames move forwards and backwards. Though there is no association between the colours and the places, this is a map of the places I’ve lived, Japan, the US, and New Zealand, and the places I’ve visited, Scotland, Ireland, China, Australia, and the Pacific Islands."

Noticed how I spelled "colours"? I also put a low price on it, so low Andy checked back with me. I wanted a school or a kindy to be interested, ergo the affordable price. I believe the piece has that kind of an appeal.