Statement   Susan Siefer  2024

I am a maker. My daily ritual acts of bringing disparate materials together are influenced by the traditions of women’s work. I transport the ancient lineage of handiwork into works of art. I weave, sew, paint, embellish. I trowel textures and plasters onto canvas to create painted tapestries.  I weave forms into intimate icons. I bind together small fabric books. I fabricate hanging veiled installations.

I am not interested in perfection. The edges are ragged as torn fabric, a reference to my years as a weaver of large-scale installations. The built-up layers of sand and plaster textures are rough and tumble like crumbling buildings, memories of my several trips to Morocco. The meditative process of laying gold leaf brings in light and reverence, a throwback to my career as a decorative painter and gilding conservator. These experiences bring me to my current studio practice.

As I push the boundaries of my materials, I think about the resilience of women. Emerging from the process and the materials are abstract, ethereal feminine forms. These repetitive forms serve as a devotional act, a gift to the viewer to reflect on their own stories and trajectories. The imagery came about during Covid, developed from my woven small-sculptured “shelters”. These embellished figures represent our physical and metaphorical individual journeys of healing and traveling from one place to another for safety, adventure, and ultimately finding identity and a collective community.

Given the daily chaos of world events, I continue to strive to create beauty and joy.