Fibrousness

Although I am - and will always be - a painter first and foremost, I'll try my hand at makin' anything. So it shouldn't really come as a major surprise to anyone that my all-seeing eye has landed on fiber arts.

My main interest, however, is in the fiber itself, not so much creating cutesy stuff out of it. Armed with an arcane medieval torture device known as a Drum Carder, I create fiber "batts", which are cotton candy-like spun loaves of mohair, merino, silk, angora, camel and whatever I can find laying around. These batts are then utilized by hipster Etsy chicks to make their own handspun yarn from, either on a wheel or by drop-spinning with a spindle.

I've always been intrigued by textiles, fabrics, sewing, yarn, fibers, and such. To me, it's no different from carpentry or bricklaying, or sculpture, in that you're taking raw materials and smushing them together by any means necessary. As with my painting, my music, and practically everything else I've ever done in life, my fiber-art pursuits are raw, primitive, expressionist, and more about immediacy and results than the sort of finesse and grace one normally expects from the genre.

Plus it's a great way to meet ladies.

I don't venture too deep into the waters of knitting or crocheting (I've tried), not because it's girly-girly, but because it's a royal pain in the ass and takes way too long. I'm currently developing a new textile technique for lazy louts who ain't got no patience for anything that involves hooks and needles. Sort of like caveman-tatting. You'll see. All in time.

- - JSH