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In 2020 when the pandemic hit and the world turned upside down, I began to focus on a very specific set of goals as an artist and educator. Although the world slowed down, there was an urgency to somehow rise above this absurdity of teaching art online and still make sense out of what was happening in the world. As 2021 rolled in and blurred into 2022, there was a new pressure to now catch up on everything that was set aside while living in the virtual world. There was an overwhelming feeling that there was always more to do; that something was left undone; that I should be accomplishing an insurmountable goal. My creativity was somehow heightened and crushed at the same time. I was exhausted.
In July 2022, I was scheduled for the ÓS Textile Residency at the Icelandic Textile Center in Blöndóus, Iceland. This residency had been postponed for two years because of the pandemic and, despite my exhaustion, it was now time to go. I arrived in Iceland with fifteen pounds of hand-dyed yarn to start a month of weaving on the TC2 hand-jacquard loom but without a single idea of what to weave. I decided that I was going to let the experience of just being there influence my designs and what I created. I spent many days walking the mountain trails and the black sand beaches, taking pictures of the landscape, the flora, the rocks, the ocean tides, and the incredible sunsets. I breathed in the crisp air, listened to the waves crashing onto the rocks, and every night watched the sun barely rest on the horizon before rising again. I immersed myself in simply being present.
Giving myself this time to decompress from the last two years and reorganize my priorities and goals, I decided that I wanted to create work that just made me happy. This body of work is both a reflection on my time in Iceland and on what is most important to me, my family. Each piece is from an original photograph. The more recognizable images are designed from photographs taken while in Iceland. The abstract images are from blurry photos my granddaughter takes as she playfully runs around with my phone. Using photographic imagery has allowed me to mark this time, this experience, and these memories.
Techniques:
Handwoven, hand-dyed yarn. Some weave structures were created based upon research of traditional Icelandic knit and embroidery patterns.
Dimensions:
14″ x 18″ x 1″
Materials:
10/2 cotton; 8/2 rayon
Loom:
TC2 hand-jacquard loom
- Robin L. Haller