Kara Patrowicz: Parallel Play

/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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