My Basket Holds—Just—Firmaments
I'm an artist and designer living in Amherst, Massachusetts. My ongoing love affair with yarn, threads, and fabric finds expression in embroidered artworks and in my knitwear designs. You can follow my works in progress by subscribing to my Patreon feed.
Blue Peninsula is the name of my own line of knitwear patterns for women's garments and accessories. My designs have also been published by magazines and yarn companies, among them Brooklyn Tweed, Quince and Co., Interweave Knits, Knitscene, knit.wear, Green Mountain Spinnery, and Knitty. I earned an MFA from the University of Chicago and have exhibited my artwork at galleries and museums in Chicago, New York, and New England.
The name Blue Peninsula comes from a poem by Emily Dickinson that ends:
It might be easier
To fail—with Land in Sight—
Than gain—My Blue Peninsula—
To perish—of Delight
For me, "My Blue Peninsula" is a life dedicated to creativity. Real delight arises from taking risks—including the risk of failure—and being true to oneself. That's my goal as an artist and designer: to create work that's a source of meaning and delight for myself and others.
One of my first published patterns was a circular lace shawl inspired by a Dickinson poem. I designed it for an installation titled My Basket Holds—Just—Firmaments, as part of my 2007 solo show at Kingston Gallery in Boston (see photo above). Here's the poem:
Perhaps I asked too large—
I take—no less than skies—
For Earths, grow thick as
Berries, in my native Town—
My Basket holds—just—Firmaments—
Those—dangle easy—on my arm,
But smaller bundles—Cram.
I hope you'll join me on my creative journey in search of Firmaments and Delight!
