/PARALLEL PLAY
Kara Patrowicz
ArtsWorcester East Gallery
November 16 - December 17, 2023
Parallel play is the developmental stage in which toddlers play side-by-side without interacting with each other. In Patrowicz's richly textured fiber works, the ancient techniques of wool felting and weaving are used to represent contemporary motherhood and the isolation of parenting small children during a pandemic.
/ABOUT THE ARTIST
Kara Patrowicz
Kara Patrowicz lives and works in Maynard, MA with her husband and two young children. She has exhibited throughout the U.S. and abroad, including the U.S. Embassy in Geneva, Switzerland, and a solo show at Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, MA in the Wayside Gallery. She has been a Fulbright Grant recipient in Painting to Ireland, and a Finalist in Crafts for the Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellowships Program. She has taught art courses at the university level and served as an Artist-in-Residence at Boston Children’s Hospital. Her academic achievements include an M.F.A. (2-D Media) from MassArt, a Post-Baccalaureate (Studio Art) from Brandeis University, and a B.F.A. (Painting) from Boston University.
/STATEMENT
Parallel Play (def.): A stage of development where toddlers play side-by-side, before learning to engage in interactive activities with other children.
My son was 6 months old when the pandemic began, and my daughter was born two years later at the height of social distancing. The concept of parallel play resonates with my experience as an isolated “pandemic parent,” and also describes my life as an artist-mother of two young children. I am often observing and inspired by the explorative, sensory-based play of my children— in tandem and in tension with my own creative practice.
Wool felting has become my primary medium, after years of studying painting and mixed-media. It is the oldest form of textile production and has surprising links to motherhood. Ewes are sheared in the spring right before giving birth, and lanolin, an ointment used by nursing women, comes exclusively from sheep’s wool. I also incorporate domestic detritus such as dryer lint, hair clippings, and clothing scraps. Some pieces are felted in my washing machine, to acknowledge the “invisible” labor that accompanies my role as homemaker, and “make seen” the efforts of parents who are primary caregivers to young children.
I want to treat mothering as a serious subject for art-making, and expand the maternal lens beyond its carefully curated forms found on social media. Messy playpens, laundry mountains, and crawling babies fill my work. Through these everyday subjects and materials, my work hints at the intersection of ritual, play, monotony, and delight in fundamental human relationships.
/FROM THE ARTIST: A BACKGROUND OF WOOL FELTING
Felting is a technique that blends animal fibers (typically sheep’s wool) into dense fabric or 3-D forms. The process involves barbed needles (“dry felting”) or hot water, soap and agitation of the fibers (“wet felting”). Classic examples include shrinking a sweater in the laundry, and crafting decorations with wool and needle tools.
Felting is the oldest method of creating textiles, with documented examples from 6500 B.C. Wool yurts have been used by nomadic tribes in Mongolia for thousands of years, and there are diverse narratives for the origins of felting. My favorite tale is that pilgrims discovered felting while walking through Europe. They stuffed their shoes with wool to soothe their aching feet, and the sweat and friction of walking felted it. This poetic connection between felting and pilgrimage, flesh and spirit, resonates with my faith as a Catholic. The nurturing aspects of wool, historically used for warm clothing and a source of breastfeeding ointments, also appeals to my work.
Supporting a sustainable fiber economy is important to my creative practice. My materials include fiber from the following local sheep farms and organizations:
Wild Air Farm, Bolton, MA
Western Mass Fibershed
Bloom Woolen Yarns, MA
Blue Heron Farm, VT
Iris Creek Farm, CT
/EXHIBITED WORKS
NICU (Orange)
wool felting
14″ x 22″
2022
After her birth, my daughter spent a month in the NICU. The time of separation was very diffcult, but she came home to us healthy and happy. These two works are based on my view through her NICU bassinet. Creating these pieces helped me to connect with my daughter, and process and heal. They are included in this exhibit to share a full spectrum of experiences that can be faced after childbirth.
Tilly Rose
wool felting
10″ x 11″
2022
Off the Beaten Path
felting with wool and mulberry silk
18″ x 15″
2023
Womb Portrait
wool felting
12″ x 11″
2022
Parallel Play (Nest)
needle felting on felted panel with wool, yarn, fabric, dryer lint, steel wool
12″ x 8.5″
2023
Paulie Drawing
wool felting
13″ x 12″
2021
Playpen (In The Trenches)
felting with wool, dryer lint, yarn, fabric, socks, steel wool, mulberry silk, hair, and embroidery
38″ x 24″
2023
Playroom
wool felting
18″ x 26″
2021
Playroom study
wool felting
5″ x 6.75″
2021
Playsilks series
wool felting
2 “x 4″ to 8″ x 8” each
2023
Playtime (Foot)
wool felting
2′ x 4′
2021
Playtime (Hand)
wool felting
45″ x 50″
2021
Postpartum Sketchbook I
watercolor marker, pencil on paper
8″ x 8″ (8″ x 16″ open)
2022
Postpartum Sketchbook II
watercolor marker, pencil on paper
8″ x 8″ (8″ x 16″ open)
2022
Rearview Mirror
wool felting
12.5″ x 17″
2021
Sabbath
felting with wool, steel wool, dryer lint
22″ x 28″
2023
Self/Quarantine series
wool felting on velvet
8″ x 6.5″
2020
Seraph
wool felting
16″ x 17″
2022
Bucket Seat
wool felting
12.5″ x 13.5″
2021
Bucket Seat study
wool felting
7.5″ x 7.5″
2021
Building Blocks
wool felting
9.5″ x 9.5″
2021
Crouch
wool felting on vintage kerchief
15″ x 15″
2023
Felting example (for touching)
wool felting
24″ x 24″
2023
Hands and Feet
tapestry weaving, embroidery, felting in washing machine
8″ x 9″
2023
Lap
tapestry weaving, embroidery, felting in washing machine
7″ x 9″
2023
Laundry Feltings: Tantrum (L), Self-portrait (R)
l: wool felting in washing machine and embroidery, r: wool felting in washing machine
L: 7″ x 8″ R: 7″ x 7″
2023
Laundry Feltings: Vignettes (L-R), Floor Jumble (Ctr)
wool and yarn on wash cloths, felted in washing machine
vignettes: 8 ” x 8″ each, Floor Jumble: 7″ x 11″
2023
Laundry Mountain
felting with wool and dryer lint, embroidery
16″ x 18″
2023
Learning Curves
tapestry weaving, embroidery
16″ x 16″
2023
Lunchtime
wool felting
20″ x 28″
2021
Apology Eggs I
wool felting
11″ x 13″
2021
Mama’s Lap
wool felting on velvet
7″ x 8″
2021
Apology Eggs II
wool felting
13″ x 20″
2021
Milk Coma
felting with wool, hair, and embroidery
13″ x 16″
2023
Big Belly I
wool felting
7″ x 8″
2021
Mother, Child, Mask
needle felting on velvet with wool, yarn, hair, dryer lint, steel wool
15″ x 10″
2023
Big Belly II
wool felting
8″ x 14″
2021
NICU (Cocoon)
wool felting
18″ x 22″
2022
After her birth, my daughter spent a month in the NICU. The time of separation was very difficult, but she came home to us healthy and happy. These two works are based on my view through her NICU bassinet. Creating these pieces helped me to connect with my daughter, and process and heal. They are included in this exhibit to share a full spectrum of experiences that can be faced after childbirth.
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