The Ground you Walk On

Streets, Sidewalks, Floors, Tiles — we almost never look down to notice — but when we open up to their beauty and charm, they stop us in our tracks. The traces left from random footprints and traffic become a map, a history, a memory.

Corners are rounded, surfaces crackled, and patches are patched again…all creating patterns both random and unique—textures designed by time and the elements.  This Art is impossible to invent or reproduce. It has that timeless elegance — impermanent, incomplete and imperfect — as if it were made by nature.

For this reason it often inspires my textile designs.

The many variations on squares lead to silk scarves…

and lacquer ware trays.

The way these artisans fit the square tiles into a curved dome gave me the idea to make a Sufi-inspired sheer tunic.

The labyrinth, a familiar pattern from ancient Greece, can be found imbedded in many streets as man-hole covers or grates. Socrates described the labyrinth as: “…a confusing path, hard to follow without a thread, but…it leads surely, despite twists and turns, back to the beginning.

The many ways to use a circle divided into parts give inspiration to this silk fabric and its classical-inspired skirt.

Creating the illusion of space and volume is an age old way to make floors more interesting. The shadow box is having a resurgence now, and I used it a woven jacquard.

In the Mediterranean, Romans were master road builders—their sculpted cobblestones are still found everywhere.  These textiles were stitched or printed to the rhythm of Roman roads.

A masterpiece of pavement and tile design is San Marco’s Church in Venice. Each area has  its own pattern and color.  Following, the quilt I designed based on one pattern. The individual pieces are stitched and printed to resemble stones; their textures and irregularities is what gives the quilt its personality.

Both mediums share a piecing of small parts, and both are about stone textures.  They are both produced by artisans who improvise and create uniqueness as they fit together all of the parts of the puzzle.

I invite you to find art and inspiration in your everyday surroundings.
Look for beauty in something humble; find treasure in what you walk past everyday. The street was never so amazing as when you SEE it for the first time.