JOAN LIVINGSTONE

Installation, Laura Russo Gallery, Portland. Left to right: Doppelganger, Phiale, Skew, 1996.

Variable dimensions; felt, thread and epoxy resin. Photo: Bill Bachhuber.

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I first came across the work of Joan Livingstone in the early 1990's while reading American Craft magazine. I was immediately struck by the organic nature of each piece, along with the method of construction. Joan uses industrial felt and stitches the pieces together, then often uses resin to coat each piece. The resin imparts hardness to the felt, transforming it from flexible to fixed—a metamorphosis of sorts.

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Lured, six parts, 2004, 80" x 2" x 2" each, felt, thread, epoxy rubber, glass and lead,

Photo: Bill Bachhuber.

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Mace, 1990, 82" x 26" x 35", felt, suture thread and epoxy resin,

Detroit Institute of Arts, Photo: Lewis Toby.

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. Ochre Lotus, 1995, 36" x 18" x 20", felt, suture thread, epoxy resin and pigment,
Photo: Lewis Toby.

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Joan Livingstone is currently Professor and Chair in the Department of Fiber and Material Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. More of her work can be seen at her website: joanlivingstone.com.

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A great resource for more fiber arts is a blog titled Wool Felt and Textiles, with more examples of textiles as sculpture.