Deidre Scherer

We are wrapped in cloth from birth through death. With its tactile associations and reference to our sense of touch, woven materials are the perfect means with which to translate human elements that are layered, complex, non-verbal, and often invisible. In revealing the inevitable progressions of life, my work opens a dialogue that embraces those transitions as a natural part of life, worthy of reflection.

I apply thread to layered fabrics such as linens, silks, papers, and printed cottons. By cutting freely into these fields of color, I draw directly with scissors. With layering, I modulate opaque and translucent cloth to create volume. Through extensive machine stitching, I draw, connect and define form. Lines of thread are my brushstrokes, both blending and emphasizing contours. The paper constructions are based on digital prints of my fabric work that I reconfigure in Photoshop. After printing, I rip or cut two prints-on-paper to create warp and weft, and then reintegrate them as woven forms.

This body of work expands my reflections on the opposites of tearing apart and piecing together, dividing and uniting, knowing and unknowing, and ultimately, changing self-perception. The visual shifts made by the interlocking surfaces embody a life force and movement throughout the woven image. The fragmentation and fusion of weaving reveals the human being in increments, which is how we get to know each other and ourselves.

My collaborations with Jackie Abrams were instigated by one of my woven works, Connecting To. Jackie responded with her exquisite eye, her skillful techniques, and her creative spirit. Together we envisioned how to meld our two art forms. Each three-dimensional vessel mirrors our working conversations and holds our attention.

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