February Studio Recap

Rat Race Show Review, ZOOM! Rugs, Upcoming Work, & More!

Mar 01, 2025

Hello friends! Happy March! I’ve been completely rejuvenated by the start of spring here in Iowa. It’s easy to forget the beauty in life when it’s so cold that it’s literally painful to be outside! lol! Dandy turned three this month, which is of course 21 in dog years, so we’ve been basically drinking beers and hanging out!!! (joking!!! joking!!!)

I hope you’ve had an incredible month since the last time we talked. I’ve been grinding in the studio as always—want to see what I’ve been up to?

Rat Race Show Review

I had a great time in Lincoln for the opening of Rat Race at Tugboat Gallery! It was so fun to check out the city and get a glimpse of the art community there. I met so many lovely folks!!!! Was definitely a great experience for my first out-of-town show <3

Paintings by the very talented Gage Woolsey!

ZOOM! Rugs Progress

I’m soooooo close to finishing this new series of rugs. Just need to wrap up the backing of the top piece and they’ll be up on the wall!

So excited with how these have come together >:-)

As I’ve worked on these bad boys I’ve been reflecting on how much my process has evolved since the first rug I made. I feel like I’m really starting to get a handle on my tufting technique and finishing process! I tested out some new ideas for the backing of these rugs, and I think they’re by far the most solid pieces I’ve ever done. New additions included a hardboard layer for added structure/flatness, screw-mounted D-rings for picture wire, and a new woven label!

Also using a new twill tape from Tuft The World to finish the edges which matches the backing fabric better !

I designed this new woven label specifically for the upcoming pieces I’m working on, so I thought it might be a good time to share a bit more about this body of work I’ve been thinking about. A few years ago I made my Animated Apples rug, and I was SO excited about the concept of creating frame-by-frame animations through tufting. I’ve been enamored with traditional animation for a long time now—there’s something so magical about creating the illusion of life through drawings, and when you look at each one individually they have a sense of energy that I find so compelling. The idea of combining those concepts with the static, tactile nature of fiber artwork felt like I’d stumbled upon something very interesting… I’ve kept it in the back of my mind as something to revisit and keep exploring, and when I received my career accelerator grant at the end of last year I felt like it was the perfect time to start building out a body of work around it, which I’m then hoping to put together as a solo show down the road!

I’ve been thinking a lot about the presentation of my fiber pieces lately, and one thing I wanted to incorporate was some kind of handwritten signature, which is a little tricky in a textile medium. I landed on using chain stitch, which feels like a perfect solution for my practice! That led me to designing these labels, which I also wanted to use as a way to mark the “frame number” of each piece within an animated series.

Having this unifying vision has proven to be super helpful as I’ve been planning upcoming work. Rather than starting new pieces with a blank page, I have previous pieces to be in conversation with, and some conceptual guidelines to fit within, which has helped inspire tons of new ideas. I definitely don’t have the details fully fleshed out yet, but that’s actually been really exciting! I’ve been expanding my understanding of the collection one step at a time, stumbling around in the dark, uncovering more as I go. I can’t wait to see where the work takes me!

A Walk Cycle Exploration

I think it’s always helpful to have multiple projects in process at once that you can jump between when you’re feeling sick of one lol. Alongside making my ZOOM! series I’ve been planning my next tufted piece, which is going to be a series of frames making up a walk cycle. I’ve had so much fun working through the animation process for this design!!! Here’s a little peek at where I am so far—more to come soon!

5 Things I Loved This Month

1. Eating: The Oven

While I was in Lincoln I had a perfect meal at an Indian restaurant called The Oven. Highly recommend if you’re in the area—especially the spinach bread 👀

2. Reading: The Work of Art by Adam Moss

Been feeling very inspired by this book! It features lots of little interviews with different artists about their process and the path they took to make their work, which is something I’m always so curious about.

3. Watching: The Leftovers

I loved this show so much!!! It explores the idea of “what would happen if a portion of the population disappeared one day, with no explanation?”. Crazy!!!! Also has such a great cast

4. Shopping: Unlucky Soldiers

New toys from friend of the newsletter Unlucky Toys !!!!!!!!! Been waiting on this release for a minute 😤

5. Listening: American Recordings by Truman Sinclair

After stumbling upon his song pale horse on a Discover Weekly a little while back I’ve been very excited for this album! He does such a great job of capturing a certain vintage americana sound that I’m obsessed with.