Climbing Rope Forms and Structures

The purpose of a climbing rope is to protect its’ climbers from harm, or even death, under stressful conditions. This function creates a bond between the climber and their equipment. A climber’s gear is like a friend that has traveled with them and kept them safe. This attachment makes it difficult for one to just discard a rope, or any gear for that matter, once it has surpassed the point of being safe for climbing. My current body of work began out of the simple desire to create something from these rich materials.

 

I focus on materiality as a vehicle for representing my view of femininity within the larger context of the relationship between art and extreme sport. Using various craft processes with retired extreme sport gear I support my belief the femininity does not imply weakness. Gear plays an imperative role in participation of an extreme sport much in the same way materials do for artists. My intent is to draw on human instincts to cultivate a space between art, mindfulness, and risk by combining marginalized processes with retired extreme sport gear. I breathe new life into once lifesaving gear by constructing various forms and structures thereby creating an experience where maybe time slows down, or stops for a moment, to locate and preserve a place of wonder and sublimity. A place where femininity, ruggedness, memory, materiality, risk, and mindfulness coexist in what I refer to as rugged femininity.

​

(click on individual images for more information about the piece)