QUIET TIME : String Games

Stories, loops, focus, time.
2024

This project centered around string figures - a game and meditative tool which arose independently in indigenous communities all around the world.

Participants experimented with string figures by the sound and light of two super 8 projectors.

June 29 2024
Hosted by Zuhaus Kiosk as part of 48Hrs Neukolln

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Tablecloth Embroidery
Meeting around the tablecloth

2024

Over a decade ago I found a vintage pattern for an embroidered tablecloth at a flea market in my birth city of Łódż, Poland. The pattern for the embroidery is screenprinted on linen, and has been partially filled in by some unknown stranger. The residents of the AIR Zusa program agreed to use this cloth as a starting point for the process of sharing and exploring our stories at a public event that was held as part of the residency in April 2024.

We drew on the traditional form of the tablecloth, the domestic and gendered associations of embroidery, and the unknown story of the cloth’s original owner to guide our conversation about identity, memory, place, and the things that are important to us now. 

Looking at tradition vs. what we choose to do and how we respond to and reinterpret these traditions.

Making safe exploratory spaces together, which are grounded in shared craftwork, conversation and exchange that could also bring people outside of the Zusa residency into the circle.

A week after the public event, the residents closed out our residency with a meal and meeting during which we also worked on the tablecloth. Our residency was focused on rest and mental health, and connection to the body, so doing this meditative group action together made sense, and led to some pretty interesting conversations.

April 24
ZUSA residency central in Lichtenberg, Berlin

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The Trzepak*
A social sculpture and workshop-based project about community, place, and imagination. Based in Łódż, Poland.

2023

*A trzepak (CHEH-pock, carpet-beater) is a monument to a communist past that still exists in the urban landscape of former Eastern Bloc countries and regions. Neighbors hung their household carpet over their closest trzepak, beat the dirt and dust out of it and brought it home. Trzepaki were usually placed in central, semi-public spaces such as in the courtyards of apartment complexes. Although intended to serve a specific function, the tzrepak soon also became a community meeting place. Children in surrounding buildings used it as a makeshift playground and climbing structure, and local teens used it as a place to hang out. The trzepak was a place where the private and public met.




Part 1:
The Workshops

This project started as a workshop series with textiles students at the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódż, and eventually grew to include the tenants of Piotrkowska 36/38 (a building complex in the city’s downtown), and Stowarzyszenie dla Rodziny, a non-profit organization that was housed in the complex, which supported eldercare, people with physical and intellectual disabilities, and those experiencing mental illness.

Inspired by its role in play and as a meeting place, the students chose to create a set of floor cushions that could be placed around the trzepak to facilitate conversation. Over the course of the academic year, I led six textile workshops during which students, tenants, and the non-profit’s clients and staff created fabric elements based on the project themes, which were used to create fifteen large floor cushions. These were freely used by the community as extra seating at dinner parties and events, and reflected their makers as well as Polish folk art and craft traditions. The cushions officially debuted during a neighborhood celebration in the courtyard of Piotrkowska 36/38. There, the different groups of students, residents, and other participants had a chance to meet, and the project was widely shared on social media. Afterwards, the cushions continued to be used as seating in the courtyard and at a neighboring cafe.

Above: Cushions in use at a community celebration.
The Trzepak as social sculpture / play structure.

Residents and Stowarzyszenie dla Rodziny staff choosing a spot to place the Trzepak in their courtyard. We later learned that this location was used by Nazis for executions. 


Donated trzepak delivery

The Trzepak and the final communnity textile installed in the courtyard.

Part 2
Social Sculpture

This project began with the idea of exchange, around the shared experiences and associations of the Trzepak - a monument to personal stories, memories, and the transformation of something cold and functional into a meeting place and playground. With the help of the community, this idea became a physical reality which brought many people together in its realization.

Over the course of working together, the Stowarzyszenie and neighbors used the ongoing project documentation to receive a development grant for improvements to the courtyard, including the install of a physical trzepak. Installation took place over several months and engaged many building residents, bringing some into community for the first time. One elder had first lived in the courtyard cellar as part of a group of homeless child war orphans. 

The Trzepak was completed in advance of an annual celebration on September 30, 2023 during which we officially cut the ribbon on the project and presented it to the community and the local press. 


In cooperation with the following:
Zygmunt Łukasiewicz, Stowarzyszenie “Dla Rodziny”( staff, volunteers, and clients), residents of Piotrkowska 36/38, and students in the textile design workshop of Izabela Walczak, Academy of Fine Arts. Łódż, Poland.

Special thanks to Piotr and Izabela Chuchler of Stowarzyszenie “Dla Rodziny”.
Cushion sewing and construction: Beata Kośka and Oksana Mikheienkp.
Trzepak transport: Tomasz Zawadowski
Project documentation: Klaudia Borzęcka and Mike Seely

Student participants:
Marta Bartel
Klaudia Boręcka
Karolina Chyc
Wojciech Gomularz
Karolina Kara
Karolina Kędzia
Aleksandra Kropidlowska
with Paulina Soltyszewska

Made possible through a 2022/23 Poland / USA Fulbright research grant.

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Project Background

The presentation I made introducing participants to the project included references to other textile-based, socially engaged work. This included The Names Project (AIDS Quilt) and work by artists Tanya Aquińiga and Pia Camil along with a quick primer on socially engaged practice.

We Can Be Heroes:
Cape Making and Wearables at 48HRS Neukolln

2023

In dressing up we create and embody a character of our choosing- we can celebrate our community, show a bit of our hidden self, or take on the identity of a superhero. 

This workshop– based on the festival's theme of play as a metaphor for social life, rules, and roles– is the first project I presented in Berlin. I provided a collaborative and exploratory space for participants to play with identity by making and wearing capes and creative garments. I also provided participants with sewing tools and trims, various fabrics and pre-cut capes to use as stencils.

Participants experimented with, altered, and combined these materials. They then took photos in their creations or even wore them out into the city when they were done creating.

Held on June 24 beside the Kindl art museum during the Berlin public art festival 48Hrs Neukolln

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Story Quilts with Unhoused Communities

2020-2022

Left: Workshop documentation. Here/There Camp on the Berkeley/Oakland border. February 2020

Right: Kit distribution in Oakland 2021.
Hosted by partnerPunks with Lunch.


This work was made possible with the generous support of crowdfunded donations alongside an Artist Grant from the City of Berkeley

Story Quilts Documentation

1. Unititled (Story Quilt 1). Feral Fabric and South County Homeless Project, Hayward. 2020-2022. Mixed textile media. Approxiamtely 305 x 366cm (10 x 12’)
2. Unititled (Story Quilt 2). Feral Fabric and Here/There Camp, Berkeley/Oakland. 2020-2022. Mixed textile media.Approximately 62 x 90cm (24 x 36”)
3. Unititled (Story Quilt 3). Feral Fabric and Women’s Daily Drop-In Center, Berkeley. 2020-2022. Mixed textile media.Approximately 60 x 60cm ( 24 x 24”)
4. Workshop Flyer
5. Untitled (Tarp). Feral Fabric 2022. Industrial tarp. 305 x 366cm (10 x 12’)
6-8. Installation at ProArts Gallery, Oakland (interior, detail, and exterior view)

Documentation of Mending and Applique DIY kits for distribution: Kits contained a mix of fabrics, needle and thread, glue, sewing instructions, project description, and a fabric pach advocating for housing rights. They sometimes also included scissors and embroidery materials

Textile-Based Workshops

2018–2022

I have led workshops and small participatory projects using textiles as a primary medium since 2015. From 2018-2022 I also co-led many backpatch, banner, quilt, and wearable making workshops as part of my collaboration Feral Fabric with artist Amanda Walters.

My site-specific workshops have been held in California with JTLab and High Desert Test Sites, and I have hosted workshops in Łódż, Poland and in Berlin.

Feral Fabric has led workshops in traditional art spaces such as Berkeley Art Museum, in Bay Area community arts organizations including NIAD Art Center and Southern Exposure, and as pop-up street events in support of gay pride, workers’ rights, and immigration reform. 

The following is a selection of workshop-based projects

We Can Be Heroes:
A Cape Making Workshop in Berlin

In dressing up we create and embody a character of our choosing– we can celebrate our community, show a bit of our hidden self, or take on the identity of a superhero. festival’s theme of play as a metaphor for social life, rules, and roles

2023

This workshop was held in Berlin as part of the public art festival 48Hrs Neukölln, on the festival’s theme of play as a metaphor for social life, rules, and roles. I provided sewing tools, fabrics, and an exploratory space for participants to play with identity by making and wearing capes and creative garments. Participants experimented with, altered, and combined these materials into capes, then wore their creations out into the city.

The Trzepak
A workshop-based project about community, place, and imagination in Łódż, Poland.

2023

As part of this mutli-faceted project, a diverse group of participants created fabric elements which were used to create fifteen large floor cushions. These were freely used by the community as extra seating and for lounging in the central courtyard, and reflected their makers as well as Polish folk art and craft traditions.

See more about this project >

Story Quilts with Unhoused Communities in the San Francisco Bay Area

2019-2022

This Feral Fabric project archived participants’ individual narratives and stories of temporary communities to gain visibility for housing rights in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. In workshops, people experiencing homelessness made drawings and crafted textile panels to self-represent, tell the story of temporary community, or process their experience.

See more about this project >

Community Snake Banner and The Workshop at Berkeley Art Center

2020

In 2020, Berkeley Art Center commissioned Feral Fabric to lead a participatory project. Because of covid, Feral Fabric distributed and mailed craft kits to participants, then led a virtual workshop. Participants created elements that were combined into the shape of a snake: a symbol of regeneration.

The finished 30’ long banner was exhibited outside the Art Center, The accompanying video The Workshop was shown through a window.
This project was commissioned by Berkeley Art Center.

See more on the BAC website > Check out The Workshop video >

Back Patch Workshops : Berkeley Art Museum

2018-2021

Feral Fabric led Back Patch workshops twice in Berkeley Art Museum – initially in person in 2018 and then virtually through Zoom in 2021. Feral Fabric led back patch workshops both virtually and in person hosted by art organizations including NIAD Art Center, Southern Exposure, and Scrap Creative Reuse as well as Figment Art Center.

Read about the first Back Patch Workshop at Berkeley Art Museum >

Banner Workshop at Oakland Pride Parade

2018

Early on, Feral Fabric led free workshops as Pop-up and street events. This included a banner-making workshop at the Oakland Pride Parade and in support of workers’ rights at May Day. Through Sunday Streets, Feral Fabric also led a series of textile-based workshops focused on community pride in San Francisco’s Tenderloin, Mission, and Western Addition neighborhoods.

Site-Specific Work in the High Desert

2015-2021

I have led site-specific, textile-based workshops in the desert, mostly with High Desert Test Sites and JTLab in the desert outside Joshua Tree, California. These workshops have included a Story Quilt, A Community Banner, Being There (a work about presence), and two wind and landscape-responsive works.

See some of these projects >

Photo Gallery

1-4  Berkeley Art Museum
5-9  Pop-up and Street Workshops
10  Encounters Participatory Weekend
11  NIAD Art Center
12  Figment Art Festival
13-15  The Trepak
16  Wind Blanket
17-18  We Can Be Hoeroes
19-20  Screenshots from Virtual Workshops

Being There

2017

In this participatory project, I used textiles and direct printmaking as a way to talk about presence and absence, ephemerality and c
Participants were invited to make rubbings either of their surroundings at the Sky Village Swap Meet, or of objects that I had collected in the area. 

Rubbing (or Frottage) is one of the oldest forms of print-making. Using pigmented wax, graphite or similar media, one transfers the shape and texture of the item being rubbed onto fabric or paper. The rubbing reveals minute details and intimate nuances of the chosen object or place, and can only be done in person, on site. By mindfully and repeatedly passing the hand over a surface, one engages with the object or place, and describes its features in a direct, physical way. It is a tactile memory, rendered by hand.

In the US, this printmaking method is most often used in gravestone rubbings, either to make a permanent record of gravestones that are deteriorating, or as a type of souvenir. This work was inspired by both of these uses. The project was based near Joshua Tree California, a well-known, bohemian tourist destination in the desert, often visited on a surface level. As Joshua Tree gains in popularity and visitors, the area is also rapidly gentrifying and faces growing environmental challenges. This project provided participants with a physical connection to the site, and a tool for seeing the environment in a deeper and more personal way.

Presented Through High Desert Test Sites at Sky Village Swap Meet in Yucca Valley, California.

Wind Blanket

2017

An experiment about landscape, wind, and perspective.
After a prompt to consider our individual perspectives on the desert landscape, participants cut holes into a length of fabric.
I had originally intended to construct a free-standing PVC structure, like a greenhouse frame, to hold up the finished work. However, the wind was intense, so in the end the participants came together to hold up our finished work, so that everyone could look through it to the other side.

Polyester lining fabric. Dimensions variable.
Presented through JTLab in Joshua Tree National Park.
Video documentation by Mike Seely

Flag Zine

2015

In this plein-air participatory artwork, each person was given a textile object that they could use to alter their perception of and experience in the immediate desert landscape. Each object consisted of an “arm’s length” of translucent neon fabric, sandwiched between simple chipboard covers. Participants experimented with looking through the zines and eventually worked together to form a structure by entwining the fabric together. The title of this work refers to zines both formally, as content between covers, and also the zine as a site for self-expression and the building and re-enforcing of communities. 

Green River Utah. During Cabin Time Sleepout at High Desert Test Sites, Epicenter. Photography by Carson Davis Brow