Labor Of Love

February 2025, Deadstock yarn, brass wire

This piece highlights process, craft, and women's work through history and in my own studio practice. Making filet lace stitch by stitch was a rejection of the speed of mechanization, and a practice in taking care of myself. Machine-knitting with brass wire is also a means of emphasizing the craft of knitting, bringing focus by changing the medium, the visual effect of metal making the object less familiar and necessitating more investigation. Working with chronic pain is a constant struggle to not push myself past what I can handle, and the slow process of making this banner was a constant reminder to be kind on my hands. I repeated over and over that I am making the work because of my love for the medium and the process. This also allowed me to think about the many generations of women who have been overlooked and their love, labor, and time forgotten. Filet lace is seen as antique, dowdy, grandmotherly, yet the incredible skill and patience it takes isn't understood at a base level. Including the swatch and creating a brass frame for both the final piece and the swatch highlights steps in the process of making a piece that go unseen. There are innumerable incredibly talented, dedicated women who have spent their lives making fiber arts and yet the effort and value of these skills is so easily forgotten and misunderstood. The garment industry is the largest employer in the world, and roughly 70% are women. Of those employed in factories, less than 2% earn a living wage. This piece highlights their skill and the work of women making at home through all of history.