Horses are social creatures capable of joy, but also loneliness, anxiety, fear, and sadness. Their worn fly nets can hold that emotion, hinting at past lives in a way that draws out my own stories.
When I first began weaving on vintage nets, I’d been caring for an elderly father in significant decline. In that, I felt a parallel to the careful but imperfect tending of worn objects that had outlived their use. The slow motion of weaving allowed me space to begin to process a lifetime of memories, and to consider my own
changing use.
Though autobiographical, these fly nets speak more broadly to histories, to loss and longing, and to the dissonance of nostalgia.
left to right:
And Through the Wood
cotton, hemp, leather, linen, wool on
leather horse fly nets with hames
90” x 56” x 17”
To Grandmother’s House
cotton, hemp, leather, linen, paper, wool, caned seat on on leather horse fly nets with hames
85” x 35” x 18”
below:
Down Canyon
wool on rope horse fly net
32.5” x 22” x 5”
left to right:
Anymore
cotton, linen, silk and wool on
canvas/rope horse fly nets
56” x 42” x 5.5”
Withers
linen, silk and wool on
rope horse fly nets
75” x 30” x 12”
below:
Length Behind
cotton, linen, silk and wool on horse fly net
52” x 18” x 8”
below:
Dismount Left
cotton, linen, paper, silk, and wool on
rope horse fly net
31” x 15” x 6”
right:
Portrait of a Woman in Love
wool on canvas /rope horse fly net
54” x 17” x 6”
left to right:
Horse to Water
waxed linen on rope horse fly net
54” x 30” x 4”
Thoughts and Prayers
cotton and sisal on
rope horse fly nets
64” x 23” x 20”
below:
The Weight of It
cotton, paper, silk and wool on
rope horse fly nets
75” x 24” x 7”
The Weight of It
cotton, paper, silk and wool on
rope horse fly nets
75” x 24” x 7”
Of Burden
cotton, wool, and recycled fibers on vintage rope horse fly nets with singletree, the wooden bar connecting horse to cart
38 "x 46" x 90"