new measures of "progress"

recorded in a journal entry from july 31, 2025.

I was moving forward steadily on a few weavings, hoping to put them in a dye bath by tomorrow. But Frankie woke quite early from her nap. She’s having her first real rough bout of teething and is all out of sorts. Had to put the work aside and lay in bed with her until she fell back asleep. Hate to see her hurting but it’s also so rare to cuddle her for extended periods, she’s always on the move these days. Now reading alongside, lulled by her little breaths. Learning that this is a part of the work too, these pauses, these in-between moments. Love the idea of these being woven into my practice and each individual piece. Looking back and remembering these sweet and very fleeting pieces of our life together.

to be "in new time"

these works are about being in time differently. slow and steady weaving, hours of mixing pigments, steeping dyes and paper. letting the sun make images. homemade colors from the kitchen.

after having Frankie, stepping back into my art practice was difficult. not only because doing anything extra on top of having a newborn is hard, but because motherhood demanded more honesty and clarity with myself in my practice. it meant letting the emotional and tangible aspects of art-making flow at a different pace. like motherhood, my practice needed to evolve into something that embodied the unpredictable, the tender, the mess, the body, the softness.

these works were made during my (current) second pregnancy, which has also been a new experience of time and growth and progress. this time around I’m not tapped into weekly fetal developments or the to-dos of preparing to bring a baby home. there is more natural space for me to be attuned to the ways that growing a little human now feels familiar in this skin, and to appreciate all the stillness in time that it takes.

like pregnancy and motherhood and this skin, these works have come about as I exist in new measures of time. my practice has shifted into more time sensitive mediums — weaving, dyeing, cyanotypes — to reflect the way time is available and malleable (or not) for me as a mom. and more sustainable materials — like handmade papers and botanical dyes— because motherhood has pushed me to align my ways of making with my values.

doing my best to learn from and observe the many mother artists who came before me and who also maintain their practice today. centering awe and patience and the “letting go” that this transition has had and will forever have on my art-making.