Weaving together the lines of art, craft, and design, the common thread in my work is thread. From hand-sewn drawings to sculptural pillows to social projects, I explore the thread’s visual, poetic, and emotive powers.
My main process is hand-sewing thread into paper, creating intimate works that play with thread as line, and invite us to see thread in new ways. Threads and textiles have been at the center of human creation for centuries. From Neolithic baskets to the clothes on our back, textiles have enabled humans to catch, carry, shelter, and bind. From Arachne to Sleeping Beauty, myths and fairytales ‘spin’ stories where textiles transform and transport, cure and curse, and protect and send secret messages. Powerful in myth and integral to daily life, textiles are still unseen, derided as “feminine,” and associated with domestic labor. Stitch by stitch, I expand upon the feminist activities in the 1960’s and 70’s that repositioned fiber into the art sphere and unraveled the patriarchal bias for its exclusion. I honor handwork, intuition, and play, and through the language of thread, hope to offer more joy and presence with the sensual world around us. Like the spider, I am forever weaving her world into existence, and discovering what is possible one thread at a time.
BIO
Nora Grant is a visual artist living in Marin, CA. She has completed art residencies at Haystack Mount School of Crafts, Penland School of Crafts, Cahoots Press, and Arequetopia Foundation in Oaxaca, Mexico. Nora received her B.A. in English from the University of California, Berkeley with an independent study in Printmaking. With a professional background in museum exhibitions and education, she finds purpose in creating environments for play and learning. Nora currently designs exhibitions for children at the Bay Area Discovery Museum and sews drawings into the wee hours of the night.
