Woven/dyed linen, spun paper, metallic thread

29”x18”

2006

House of Worry is part of a series, called Small Houses and was created while on an artist retreat/fellowship at Peters Valley Craft Center in Layton NJ. Before I departed for NJ, I had a few friends paint thoughtful text about one of the four emotions: worry, hope, fear or faith. Then I spun their painted paper into thread and wove it into the “House of Worry” piece. The consecutive houses of Faith, Hope and Fear were woven with handspun paper with writing from me and fellow artists at Peter’s Valley.

The linen thread is indigo dyed, a process that requires many dippings into the dye bath to generate a deep blue tone. These pieces are further embellished with hand stitching and couched silver threads. The Four Small Houses with Big Feelings series are framed in custom built frames, hand finished with clay pigment, ink and wax.

I found that by using the words and feelings of others in my art, I have taken another step on the path of using art to engender healing and transformation in other people.