Artist Statement
“In general, the movement of people from their homes—the leaving behind of possessions, familiar sights, memories, and ancestral graveyards—does not occur without good cause. Most of us would prefer to remain in places where our names are known, our customs accepted, and our languages spoken.” - Madeleine Albright
In 2022 I migrated to a new home in the water rich lands of Minnesota, a place that I instantly recognized as home, a place that felt known to me. My search for home is echoed in my ancestry with my great grandparents’ immigration from Finland and Sweden. While in the span of one generation much of their culture and language faded from my family, what was passed down was a deep love and connection to nature. The work that I create echoes my family’s historic bond with land as well as the new ones I have formed in Minnesota.
I am drawn to processes that require a lot of time, repetition, and precision. I use traditional craft and fine art methods rooted in historic textiles – weaving, quilting, embroidery and dyework. By using textiles, I link myself to the histories and cultures of textiles as well as notions of women’s work, so often undervalued and downgraded to minor or merely decorative. Textiles are often associated with home. By joining my textile work to conversations of land I hope to bring an added idea of making our home in nature. Much of my work functions as a map – aerial views, memories mappings, and often, specific small or miniature landscapes.
Four Seasons of Minnesota
