I am a fiber artist, clothing designer, and educator living in Detroit, Michigan.
I use garments to explore the capacity that clothing has to be agents of spiritual and social transformation. I am inspired by how sewing can act as a catalyst for personal and social change. On the deepest level, I create as a way to connect to the Divine, and am interested in making art as a spiritual practice on my journey of inner, communal, and land-based healing.
Making within a spiritual community context has had a profound impact on my work. I live in an intentional faith-based community of artists in Detroit, MI called the Selah House, where we share spiritual, artistic & communal rhythms. For the last three years, I've been taking art retreats at a monastery to explore ways to merge my love for fashion design with my fiber art practice. As I have explored merging my spiritual and art practice, I've asked questions such as, 'How does a garment embedded with hours of prayer affect the wearer as well as the environment?'
My current body of work is a collection of 50 outfits, embodying slow & sustainable fashion and exploring a spiritual art practice. These pieces submitted are a part of that collection. I've been hosting community ritual gatherings in nature, inviting folks to experience the clothing and an invitation to connect deeper to creation.
The piece 'How Do I Mend the Wounds of My Ancestors' is particularly interesting for this submission as it was created as I was processing the truth I found out about my ancestors who were enslavers in Asheville, North Carolina. The jacket was a beloved family piece from my father's mother, whose family line were a part of this tragic family history. I chose African-inspired colors & fabric from Nigeria to mend the jacket as I was dealing with this truth in my bloodline.