I have always been compelled to create through craft. From the time I was a child, I loved making small things with yarn, string and cloth. After years of experimenting with different methods of creation – music, drawing, photography, writing, I decided to teach myself how to knit to combat the cold of our slum apartment. It grew into a constant companion activity: I knit whenever my hands were free, creating everything I might need from looped yarn and straight sticks.
Through knitting, I came to understand the versatility of wool. I love how it can be made into anything – any type of cloth, for any function: from the most delicate knitted lace to solid felted forms. Even as yarn waiting to be worked, it is strong and yet soft, a form of cloth unto itself. I find it comforting to be around, its soft strength and natural appeal, its animal smell.
I am inspired to create by the world around me. The simplicity of my chosen medium is well suited to inspiration through the everyday. The plants and animals that inhabit my world, the turn of the light at different times of the day and the year, the comfort of familiar surroundings, and the primal excitement that grows out of finding new and unexpected elements in your world. Through my work I seek to strike a balance between the traditional, comfortable and functional elements of craft and the playfulness and delight in the unexpected and unconventional. It is important to me that my pieces are both functional and beautiful. I want people to touch my work, to use it and to feel involved with it. I strive to create with precision and quality, but also to preserve a sense of wonder and spontaneity.
