Jennie Frederick Studio ~ Kansas City, MO
Above: Jennie Frederick beats a kozo drawing. Look for her new book "Black and White: Paper, Wax, & Kozo Constructions" to be published in April. For further info. contact her at jennie@jenniefrederick.com
“My
current work utilizes techniques observed in the Mexican papermaking
village of San Pablito (Puebla State), and the Lacandon Maya villages of
Lacanhá and Nahá in Chiapas.
My
work holds influences, committed to memory, from my observation and
research during my travels to document indigenous fiber techniques.
These include Otomi lace amate, Lacandon hu’un (Mayan bark cloth) with
symbolic circular motifs, Ecuadorian Cuenca paños; observation of shigra
making from pita fiber in the Amazon jungle, and Peruvian Chancay
textiles, delicately woven and embroidered. All of these techniques use
natural fibers in multiple element constructions.
I
cook kozo (mulberry) fiber until pliable, then I create sub-structures
which appear linear, delicate, light, and open. These sub-structures are
lightly beaten with a lava stone and dried. Mulberry is tied onto this
base along with other materials.
I
am interested in the notion of textile structure as marker, using line,
repetition, texture and symbol, particularly the circle, to document
events in time. Light, delicate, open work structures become artifacts
of time, events, people, actions, and places.”
Below: It is 10” x 10”. Materials: paper, encaustic wax, kozo, graphite and charcoal transfer. Charcoal
transfer is accomplished by rubbing charcoal onto a piece of vellum
paper. It is then turned charcoal down onto a waxed surface and a stylus
tool is used to transfer it…you can get VERY deep black line quality
this way…but it has to be done on a waxed surface.
