My work reclaims the female body and bears witness to the spirit. I create fiber installations to memorialize my mother whom I lost to alcoholism and domestic violence when I was 15.  I use a variety of fabrics, using sewing as form of drawing, applying the skills passed down to me from my mother who was a talented seamstress.

The shadow bodies are a proxy for my mother’s spirit. They also reflect my awareness of my aging body and the realization that I am now older than my mother was when she died at the age of 47.  While there is a mourning aspect in these works, there is also a growing acceptance and celebration of my aging body as I journey through menopause.

I am attracted to working with light, transparent fabrics because it reminds me of the permeable separation between the living and the dead.  In the series “Shadow Bodies,” I use hundreds of squares of polyester tulle which I sew together with reflective thread.  I then layer them on the wall and anchor them with map pins.  

“Shadow Body 1,” 2023, 60”x 48” x 4”, polyester tulle, thread and map pins.

“Shadow Body 2,” 2023, 60”x 48” x 4”, polyester tulle, thread and map pins.

“Shadow Body 3,” 2023, 60”x 48” x 4”, polyester tulle, thread and map pins.

“Shadow Body 4,” 2023, 60”x 48” x 4”, polyester tulle, thread and map pins.

“Shadow Body 5,” 2023, 60”x 48” x 4”, polyester tulle, thread and map pins.