Patricia Downs
I was born and raised in Plattsburgh, NY. I’ve loved creating my whole life. As far back as I can remember, I was digging through the art cabinet in the kitchen and finding materials I could transform into art projects. I was never satisfied with drawing and painting. I wanted to make things. In High school I reconnected with my love of creating artwork and I decided to build a portfolio to apply for art school. After much deliberation I decided to go to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.
In college I created a body of work based on the assignments given, but it wasn’t until I took my first abstract sculpture class that I got obsessed. From Fall 2017 through Spring 2019 I spent all my energy making sculptures, collages, and mixed media pieces. My college experience culminated in my senior year as I worked on my thesis project, a massive fiber sculpture I titled “Paralyzed in the Deep Dark.”
Since college I have been living and working back in my hometown of Plattsburgh, NY. I have been growing a substantial body of work in mixed, recycled media and fibers. Currently, I am creating sculptural wall hangings through processes like crocheting, weaving, and knotting.
My work is about process. I combine processes often thought of as “domestic” or “feminine” work, such as weaving, crocheting, knotting, embroidery, and sewing with contemporary art making. I am actively trying to reduce the stigma around craft processes by showing what’s possible with exploration and experimentation. I am honoring traditions while elevating the processes to fine art. The materials, processes and most of all my need to experiment have kept me curious, dedicated, and obsessed.
The initial inspiration for my work comes down to my experiences as a woman. It comes from living in a woman’s body, in my own body, in this world. This led to a reflective look at my own feelings, emotions, thoughts, memories, stories, and traumas. I am trying to communicate what it feels like to be inside my head and body. I would like the viewer to explore the result of the processes, engage with the layers of crocheted/woven fibers, and dig into themselves to ask what it evokes for them.I want the viewer to have an introspective reaction, to be directed to reach in and search for memory, emotion, and connection to their own relationship to their body.
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