A dear friend once referred to me as a bricoleur (pronounced brik uh leyr), one who evolves the meaning of things by reinterpreting them in the context of one’s life story. Bricolage is a complex assemblage of embedded memories, meanings, and everyday stuff.
For me, textiles, in all their tactile and visual beauty, have so long been part of my soul that I cannot recall life without a loom.
Over time, every aspect of weaving—from tools and materials to physics and design- has deeply influenced how I think about “the web of life.” Several conventional looms occupy corners, continuously cycling through various stages of warping and weaving. I see all around obsolete and discarded objects that are potential looms, looms that become an integral part of the art. Weaving and the loom itself have become my language of choice, a freeform crucible where the warp and woof of life gain voice within creative tension.
For every media and technique I’ve learned and enjoyed, there are still so many that I want to try. My work allows me to draw, paint, print, sculpt, and to weave these media into my pieces. Our society’s steady stream of discarded materials draws me in effortlessly and provides an endless supply of new media. Seeing things with new eyes, I eagerly combine materials and techniques to express a new idea. To salvage, to recycle, to weave a new purpose into the detritus of society, epitomizes my dream of fully-integrated, lifelong growth.
Jenny (Johnston) Rieke
June 2008