Artist Statement — sun/dogs

Through drawing, weaving, and cyanotype, my work reckons with the tension of loss, longing, and desire. I center ephemeral subjects of water, land, and light to explore the invisible systems that structure the natural and metaphysical world; such as the phenomena of surface tension that allow water to ripple, or the capillary forces that allow roots to drink and plants to grow. I depict these subjects as energetic, autonomous, and pattern-driven by dissecting and re-organizing them into woven systems using hand craft techniques.

My approach to weaving balances a precise organization of blending color and pattern within the warp (y-axis), with an intuitive application of weft (x-axis). Once my warp is prepared on the loom, I experiment with color and space: embodying a rhythmic dance that is cooperative with my materials and technologies. Through this lens, I use weaving as a tool to study the interlacement of the divine with everyday life, and to document my encounters with these thresholds.

I often use deconstructed plein air drawings or cyanotype prints within my weavings. Sketchbook, print-plate, and loom are frameworks that allow me to work iteratively, and to temper the mechanics of craft with a surrender to natural forces of light and dance. I accept how the principles that govern my process also govern me, and all living organisms. I invite my viewers to consider each object a piece of a grand ecosystem: one that, like the river, is all-encompassing.

Draw a ribbon of light upon the waters…
Reach in and hold this love
like a stone in the palm of your hand.
Let it saturate you
(then let it go)

— Faithful Records, by Katie Miller, Spring 2023.