Welcome to BorderWeave.

My work explores borders, edges, and boundaries. I weave with hand-pounded black ash, English willow, birch bark, honeysuckle, and other natural materials. Sculptural forms turn and twist on frameworks of gnarly roots, twisted vines, and naturally shed deer antlers. Traditional vessels merge new materials with time-honored techniques and colored borders punctuate complex twills to highlight the mathematical formulas that lie within.

At the heart of my work is black ash, Fraxinus nigra. I make good use of a degree in botany, as one must know how something is constructed in order to take it apart. Each summer, I select an ash tree from a northern cedar swamp and remove its growth rings, one at a time. Each ring encircles the tree with a border that takes a full year to create. It takes me two months to separate the rings into narrow, flexible strips that are ready for weaving. One tree provides enough ash splint for a full year of creativity.

Borderweave. Must a border be solid, or can it be textural? What if negative space IS the border? What if borders overlap and turn different directions? What if they are woven and pierced with light? What if the entire piece is entirely comprised of borders? What if...

Photography by David Dickey, Jr and Marcia Morse Mullins