Run, run, run

I'm making very personal work right now. At least, I'm making work from a very personal place that I want to remain relevant to others. I love this quote from Emily Barletta about her art making practices:


"I have a spinal disease that has always been a present and physically painful force in my life. The majority of my art stems from this fact, but to say that I make artwork as therapy would be untrue. I make artwork and it is therapeutic. This is the same to say that I make art and I am in pain; instead of saying I make art because I am in pain. I cannot separate these ideas. The objects that result from this are the invented anatomical structures of my imagination and my biology. These structures relate to cells, veins, organs, skin, blood, and bones. But they tend to express themselves as flowers, plants, tubes, topography, diseases, bacteria, growths, mold, and organisms. They spread, spill, leak, and grow their way into existence through yarn and a crochet hook.”

Pelt and detail

Center

Her work challenges me: she makes pieces inspired by biology and the body, specifically her body. I struggle with her work: I'm not sure if I think her pieces are referential or illustrative, art or craft. The reasons that I struggle with her work are the same reasons I return to it again and again. If nothing else, I so greatly appreciate her craftsmanship and the endless hours she pours into her work. I like her process, the way she uses a crochet hook as a mark-maker, and the elements of time evident in her pieces.