Clare Nicholls's portfolio

Work samples

ghost ladder

ghost ladder
2021
Handwoven gauze: hand painted linen warp with silk, cotton, and rayon wefts.
60 inches wide x 80 inches tall
inner spiral walkthrough.

A video of the artist walking through the installation "inner spiral" -- a 16 foot diameter spiral made from hand painted silk.
cacophony/spring

cacophony/spring
2022
hand embroidered lace, cotton and silk, acrylic
20 inches x 30 inches

Available for Purchase

Price available upon request.
GOOD LUCK

GOOD LUCK
2025
Handwoven fabric: acrylic, hand dyed wool.
45 inches x 36 inches

Acrylic yarn attracts me because it's an indicator of class. It sheds micro plastics and melts, but it's the main affordable fiber for millions. Acrylic is also unclassed in its ability to hold intense color. Dotted with motifs that used to decorate a girl's hope chest, GOOD LUCK meditates on the differences between traditional hand work-- the carding, dyeing, and spinning of wool-- and contemporary work-- the production of acrylic.

Available for Purchase

Price available upon request.

About Clare

Clare Nicholls (she/her) is a weaver, lace maker, and poet exploring textiles as texts. Her artistic research examines oral and written traditions of craft historiography. She is interested in how craft is a system of knowledge passed from person to person and via written texts. She earned an MFA in Fiber & Materials Studies at Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2022. Previously, she obtained a BA in Art and Art History from St. Mary’s College of… more

View Clare's Resume

A RED BOOK: a zine about blood, guts, and witchcraft

Drawing upon the grimoire tradition of witchcraft and punk tradition of zines, this handwoven zine explores "bad women" and the figure of the witch.

A RED BOOK: Title Page

Silk and cotton
A RED BOOK: pain writhes
A RED BOOK: figure 1
A RED BOOK: A HEX COMES
A RED BOOK: for weeks

hanky code

Utilizing Limerick lace-- an Irish lace tradition taught to poor women during the Famine-- these lace hankies explore inner states, and the relationship with queer women to male-dominated queer culture.

cacophony/spring

cacophony/spring
2022
Hand embroidered lace: silk thread on cotton net. Acrylic mat.
30 inches by 20 inches
cacophony/spring [detail]
hanky (tears)

hanky (tears)
2022
Hand embroidered lace: cotton thread on cotton net. Acrylic mat.
18.5 inches x 18.5 inches.
hanky (tears) [detail]
parasol parts (meet and separate)

parasol parts (meet and separate)
2022
Hand embroidered lace: silk thread on cotton net. Acrylic mat.
35 inches by 25 inches
parasol parts (meet and separate) [detail]
flame fans

flame fans
2022
Hand embroidered lace: silk thread on cotton net. Acrylic mat.
35 inches by 25 inches
flame fans [detail]
sister spider

sister spider
2022
Hand embroidered lace: silk thread on cotton net. Acrylic mat.
35 inches by 25 inches
sister spider [detail]

NETWORK

A series of hand-knotted net embroidered with images, these pieces accompanied an essay of the same name published by Fjord, Philadelphia. This is an ongoing series of appropriated images from Victorian sample books translated onto netting,

Grammar of Ornament

Grammar of Ornament
2026
Hand knotted linen net embroidered with silk and paper
6 inches x 6 inches
star net

star net
2026
Hand knotted linen net embroidered with cotton
6 inches x 6 inches