For my project, I planned to return to working with the fiber techniques that I had used when I first started making art in undergraduate and graduate school, but taken in a new direction. I used stitching techniques to emulate the velvety surfaces of mosses and lichens on the volcanic rocks and tombstones in the area, and worked with draped fabric in layers to represent the veiled nature of time and memory.
Three themes came out during my work, represented by key animals in the area: the eider duck (the source of great comfort and luxury, yet constantly under attack by the predatory arctic fox); the raven (who represents both a threat to the eider duck and also stands as a guardian figure in mythology); and the arctic fox (another predator who at the same time is under attack by humans who hunt them to protect their eiderdown industry).
I also returned to basic landscapes to explore the sublime nature of the landscape in the region, in particular, I was drawn to the stories and traces of avalanches in the area and how such natural disasters can represent the unpredictable events that can happen that are out of our control. I have so much more work I plan to do with the photographs, memories, and experiences I collected, but this is a wonderful start!