♪♪ >>> MY TRAINING IS IN FIBERS.

WEAVING, COILING AND PAPER MAKING, AND I ALMOST ALWAYS TRY TO GET ALL OF THOSE ELEMENTS IN MY WORK, BUT THEN I'M AN ENVIRONMENTALIST, SO IT IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE I BRING IN THOSE NATURAL MATERIALS AND THAT COULD BE ANYTHING FROM SEED PODS TO TREE BARK TO JUST STEMS OF WEEDS THAT I'M WEAVING WITH.

SO I WOULD DESCRIBE IT AS THREE DIMENSIONAL NORMALLY, SCULPTURE, AND START WITH A LOOM AND I'LL START WITH A PIECE THAT I'LL WEAVE THREE DIMENSIONALLY AND SOMEHOW ATTACH IT TO THE NATURAL ELEMENT AND INCORPORATE THE NATURAL ELEMENT WITHIN THE SCULPTURE ITSELF.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> I HIKE EVERY DAY, AND I HAVE SINCE I WAS A KID.

SO I'M OUT IN THE WOODS MOSTLY.

I'M RECENTLY FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, SO WHEN I MOVED HERE THERE WERE WOODS AND WOW!

TREES!

I THINK AN IMPORTANT PIECE THAT REALLY GOT ME ON THIS PATH IS WHEN I NOTICED THE EMERALD ASH KILLING ALL OF OUR TREES, OKAY?

AND AS THE TREE DIES THE BARK SHEDS OFF IN THESE BEAUTIFUL LONG PIECES AND ACTUALLY THE PIECE BEHIND ME IS AN INSTALLATION I DID ABOUT THE EMERALD ASH BORE.

SO I STARTED COLLECTING THIS BARK AND NOTICING THE PATH OF THE BARK IS REALLY, REALLY BEAUTIFUL THAT I WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THESE TREES AND WHAT'S HAPPENING, SO I WANTED TO RE-CREATE THE SHAPE OF THE TREE WITH HANDMADE PAPER AND THEN HANG THEM.

SO THEY HANG AS IF THEY'RE GHOST TREES AND YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE IDEA THAT WE LOST ALL OF THESE TREES WERE INSPIRATIONAL TO ME, BUT ALSO PRETTY SAD.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> THIS IS HEMP.

UNSPUN HEMP.

IT'S BEEN CARDED, CLEANED, CARDED, IT'S READY TO STEM INTO RAW OR THREAD, BUT I PUT IT IN RAW, AND I PUT IT IN HERE JUST FOR TEXTURE.

THE WHOLE IDEA OF THE WEAVING IS YOU'RE STANDING BY THESE TREES AND THEY'RE KIND OF SET UP A LITTLE EXPERIMENT FOR MYSELF THAT THESE ARE ALL FORGED MATERIALS OR MATERIALS THAT I ALREADY HAD, NOTHING NEW.

I WANTED TO SEE WHAT I BEING USE, AND AGAIN, I'M REFERENCING TREES AND ALL THEIR VARIETY AND FUNGI.

THAT'S WHY I HAVE ALL OF THESE LITTLE THINGS WITH WHAT GROWS ON THE TREES, THE TREE TRUNKS.

THAT I OFTEN WILL JUST GO OUT IN THE YARD OR TO THE WOODS AND GRAB STICKS AND THINGS TO WEAVE IN.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> I WANT PEOPLE TO NOTICE NATURE AND HOW WE REACT TO IT, THAT IT'S A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP THAT WE HAVE TO NURTURE, THAT WE'RE CARETAKERS.

WE'RE NOT HERE USE THINGS AND I WANT PEOPLE TO LOOK AT IA SIMPLE SEED POD AND I'LL ENCASE IT IN A WEAVING SO THAT YOU NOTICE IT AND YOU THINK THIS IS SOMETHING SPECIAL OR BARK OFF OF A TREE THAT I'VE USED FOR A SCULPTURE AND PEOPLE WILL NOTICE IT AND SAY WOW, THERE IS A REAL BHUTTO THIS AND A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE WILL WALK OVER IN THE FOREST AND NEVER NOTICE, BUT I'M TRYING TO ENHANCE SO THEY DO NOTICE AND REALLY THINK ABOUT THAT, HOW BEAUTIFUL IT IS AND HOW IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO US AS THE HUMAN RACE, YOU KNOW, IF WE DESTROY THEN VIERN THERE'S NO HOPE FOR ANY OF US, SO -- THAT WOULD BE THE CRUX OF IT.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> JUST THE ACT OF CREATING IS REALLY IMPORTANT.

I MEAN, MY MIND IS ALWAYS GOING A MILE A MINUTE ON WHAT CAN I DO WITH THIS OR HOW CAN I EXPRESS THAT?

THAT, TO ME, IS VERY REWARDING AND WHEN THAT COMES TO FROM YOU FRUITION THAT HAPPENS WITH A LOT OF TRIAL AND ERROR AND ENGINEERING WITH FIBER AND HAVING THAT REALIZED IN THE WAY I HAD WANTED AND SAY WHAT I WANTED, THAT, I THINK, IS SO REWARDING.IN THE WAY I HAD WANTED AND SAY WHAT I WANTED, THAT, I THINK, IS SO REWARDING.

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