ANN TILLEY

 In my work, I explore a personal inner voice dealing with, learning about, and experiencing love and life through fragmented text and domestically-personal symbology. I design much like any other visual artist but flourish within the structured world of fibers. The hand-techniques required for knitting and crochet have just the right amount of constraints to provide me with a channel for my creativity. Learning how to adapt existing fiber structures into new, original designs has been a source of powerful growth for my craft and my imagination. I enjoy the problem-solving aspects that come with figuring out how to execute each new idea, perfectly melding my artistic fantasies with my craftsman sensibilities.​

Thematically, this textile work has become a way to process events, large and small, that I’m experiencing in my daily life, in an attempt to make sense of them as well as to find a way to connect with others through these simple reflections. I especially like to represent small moments in the home that we are all experiencing universally, but separately -- the fibers help to further reflect that domestic perspective. The use of text plays upon my love for typography, lyrics, and poetic writing, as well as bringing a journal-like atmosphere to the work. In fact, most of the text I use comes directly from my personal journals. I also like to employ humor in a chance to connect with others in a positive way, and dust off any seriousness one might have upon entering an art space! There is such beauty in the simple, the intimate, and the everyday, least of which is the fact that we’re all experiencing it in our own way, together.