THRESHOLD
Solo Exhibition at East Tennessee State University’s Slocumb Galleries
August - September 2024
Limitation of Instinct
Woven cotton and acrylic yarns
By Another Name (Tumbling Blocks)
Woven cotton yarn
The Stranger In The House
Quilting cotton, flagging tape found in my father’s truck after his passing, cotton thread
Map To a Vanishing Place
Walnut from dad’s shop, nine of his work shirts
Through Which To Catch
Woven cotton + wool yarns, cherry wood from my father’s woodshop, flagging tape and un-plied construction twine from his truck, wooden pegs and wooden beads that he made, various yarns
Snag
Woven cotton yarns depicting an image of the backyard of my childhood home at twilight
Sour Grapes
Woven cotton and acrylic yarns, un-plied construction cord found in dad’s truck
The Devil’s Wife
Woven cotton, quilting cotton, batting, gifted curtain fabric backing my mother bought a decade ago
Heirloom
Woven cotton + wool yarns
Hand-Drawn Twill Study
Woven cotton
Will Versus Weight
Woven cotton yarn
Second Story Landing
Woven cotton and wool yarns
Virga
Woven cotton yarn
Net Study
Woven cotton
Cache
Woven cotton and linen yarns, wood pegs my dad was collecting in a jar
Lock Step
Woven cotton + acrylic yarns
Mama
Woven cotton, chestnut broom handle
Soft Landing
Woven cotton, wool, and polyester yarns, reclaimed packing foam, teak wood from the top shelf of my father’s wood collection
Devil’s Courthouse Steps
Woven cotton + acrylic yarns, quilting cotton, batting, bedsheet fabric backing
Lee’s Surrender
Woven cotton coverlet depicting an image of the McLean House
365
Wood from my father’s woodshop, clothing, various yarns and thread
This post-mortem readjustment is one that many of us have had to make after our parents die. The parental door upon which we have spent a lifetime pushing finally gives way, and we lurch forward, unprepared and disbelieving, into the rest of our lives.
- Sally Mann, Hold Still
Threshold is the artist’s response to navigating the recent passing of her father. Set against the backdrop of the American South, this exhibition of textiles and wooden objects examines familial dynamics, exploring themes of identity, patriarchy, memory, and reconciliation.
Threshold juxtaposes hard and soft, with the artist’s textiles clinging to, resting on, and recoiling from wooden objects crafted from wood salvaged from her father’s collection. These interactions mimic the estranged relationship that the artist attempts to protect and reconcile through material and process. Wrapping, weaving, quilting, netting, untwining, and deconstruction processes adhere to and complicate the binary system within these textiles, much like loss both names and obscures relationships. Some of these processes are technical in nature, and some are purely instinctual, serving as attempts towards healing. In this work, textiles and wooden objects collaboratively explore the family unit, pattern, and boundaries between planes.
Raised in Georgia, the artist foregrounds the American South as a poignant context of this work. The pervasive notion of loss in the South, tracing back to its history as a destination for marginalized colonists, through the Civil War, and extending to the contemporary effects of globalized capitalism on southern production, forms the narrative underbelly of this work. The title, Threshold, reflects both a boundary and a point of entry, symbolizing the transitional space between past and present, personal and collective memory. It encapsulates the artist's journey through grief and the broader cultural context of loss, inviting viewers into this liminal space.
Hinging upon this cultural landscape, Threshold draws upon memories, reflections, and critiques to create a narrative that is both deeply personal and universally resonant. In an age where grief is increasingly a private experience, Threshold makes this personal process public, inviting viewers to explore the complexities of grief in order to acknowledge the shadows of our past, to weave them into our present understanding, and to create doors to a more empathetic future.
Special thanks to Madison Cawthon for woodworking support + Casey Engel for quilting support.
Exhibition photographed by Loam.