This image shows the rest of the story at Artscape's B23 exhibition alongside another paper tapestry of mine, holding on.

This piece is based on a traditional Hutsul pattern from my family’s culture but laid out in repetitions that would never be seen historically. The Hutsuls are an indigenous population of the Carpathian Mountains and, over generations, those in Western Ukraine have come to be known as Ukrainian. Many have an entwined Hutsul and Ukrainian culture; my family included. Like a multitude of countries and ethnicities in the world, Ukrainians are again in an upheaval, and questions abound about how much outreach other countries should extend to those in need. What is a person’s or country’s obligation upon witnessing turmoil?

This piece is based on a traditional Hutsul pattern from my family’s culture but laid out in a repetition that would never be seen historically. The Hutsuls are an indigenous population of the Carpathian Mountains and, over generations, those in Western Ukraine have come to be known as Ukrainian. Many have an entwined Hutsul and Ukrainian culture; my family included. Like a multitude of countries and ethnicities in the world, Ukrainians are again in an upheaval, and questions abound about how much outreach other countries should extend to those in need. What is a person’s or country’s obligation upon witnessing turmoil?

acrylic and ink on fade out gridded vellum

18" x 27"                    2023

If left alone some things become more inherently beautiful and spread out naturally while other times leaving things alone causes unraveling. For this piece I researched a Florentine stitch work because of the issues of provenance with patterns considered to be Bargello. I saved multiple styles of security envelopes and used them to punch out 1/4" circles. I then individually glued the circles into the altered historic flame stitch pattern and darkened in some of the security patterns with graphite.

A drawing based on historic Florentine fiber work (aka Flame & Hungarian stitch) and the title, Predictive Coding, is the term for how our brains constantly create mental models of our surroundings based off of previous recollections and content - this helps us predict our sensory input more efficiently. For example, your hand touches something cold, and you know you had a drink nearby, so your brain assumes it's the drink before you look to see that it is indeed the drink or something else (maybe the cold nose of your dog or your kid's fingers). We assume horses not zebras... What happens when our previous recollections and content are from unhealthy situations?

ink on gridded vellum

8.5" x 11"        2021

The treatment of oneself is based on how others view us and social/societal perception. How we are taught to present ourselves – How we perceive others see us – How we may suppress parts of our identity based on past experiences and future perceptions… This piece speaks about my childhood perception of my immigrant mother and how she moved through public spaces.
I began by working on an embroidery piece using the cultural designs that were passed down to me. I realized that it was the pattern of the embroidery that was the right end for this piece – the pattern/plan allows many to make their own and also their own version. I referenced the scale of a рушник (a rushnyk is an embroidered towel). When it is narrow and long it is still called a ‘towel’ but is meant to be kept clean and is used as a ritual cloth in ceremonial events such as weddings, traditional dances, funerals, or to drape across the frame of an icon hanging in the home.