Working on FeatherWork #1, 2022

Impermanence Series: FeatherWorks

New York, 2022–Present

Found feathers on Amate paper, hand-embroidered French knots
Diptych, 15.5” x 23” each

This project is composed of Amate paper panels with found feathers secured with an embroidered French knot.

It is inspired by research at The Hispanic Society during 2021–2, where I focused particularly on their 16th century Featherwork Miter, done with the PreHispanic technique Amantecayotl (feather mosaic) by the indigenous Amantecas artists in Mexico. The Miter motivated me to work with feathers, a material I had briefly worked in the past, as I’m interested with working with unconventional and sometimes ephemeral materials.

My intention with this work is not only to honor the lives of birds and to appreciate their beauty and their struggles of living among humans, but also to make visible the exquisite PreHispanic technique.

As an opponent of animal cruelty, the provenance of feathers is very important to me. All the feathers are found feathers, collected by friends, family, and myself since 2014, making this project a truly collaborative endeavor between humans and our beloved birds.

Under the theme of “impermanence” as a connective thread I think of FeatherWorks as a meditation on our own mortality (after having an open-heart surgery in 2020) and a reflection on our current environmental crisis.

This project along with Mantón de plumas / Feathered Shawl was supported by a FY2022 NYSCA Grant for Artists for the creation of new work, sponsored by The Hispanic Society.

This page was created with the support of a CERF+ Get Ready Grant from 2023.
The Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+) serves craft artists across the United States and territories by providing education programs, advocacy, network building, and emergency relief. www.cerfplus.org

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FeatherWorks #1 and #2

Found feathers on Amate paper, hand-embroidered French knots (Perlé floss)
Diptych, 15.5” x 23” each

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FeatherWorks #3 and #4

Found feathers on Amate paper, hand-embroidered French knots (metallic thread)
Diptych, 15.5” x 23” each

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FeatherWorks #5 and #6

Found feathers on Amate paper, hand-embroidered French knots (silk and polyester thread)
Diptych, 15.5” x 23” each

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