"Searching for Connection" by Emily is woven photography. 17.25" W x 21.25" H.

Artist Statement:
"Woven: Art for me has always been an outlet and a coping mechanism for grief, anxiety, and depression. The slow process of weaving has been therapeutic to me in times of my life when I was struggling. 

Now I realize that in the past I have created art as a way to escape reality and manage my addiction, and that way of making art can be helpful at times, but also isolating. Since being sober, I have noticed a shift in perspective. Being in recovery, art feels like it is more about healing and connection rather than just a way to manage pain and suffering. In sobriety, having a community is extremely important in being successful in a recovery process and I think art can be a window of opportunity to meet new people, and share stories and life experiences, while also being creative and expressing yourself. 

In my work, I break down and distort multiple photographs or images to create art objects that I often refer to as “woven photographs”. I use a variety of digital and analog techniques to create these art objects using my own photographs as well as found imagery. Two of the three woven photographs are in collaboration with another artist who has been an inspiration to me and allowed me to use their collages to create new work from my own perspective. The collages were made up of found imagery so not only does this work connect the two of us as artists, it also connects us with creators beyond ourselves. I dissect each image and meticulously put the pieces back together using a traditional weaving process. Weaving in itself is a form that requires multiple pieces to be interlocked to create an object bonded together that could not exist on its own without unraveling. These woven photographs can be seen as a metaphor for a community that only becomes stronger with many bonds and layers."