Nets & Flaps
Funded in part by a grant from the Idaho Commission on the Arts, Nets & Flaps is a current body of work in which I position cargo nets, mud flap systems, and other securement devices as cultural symbols of the West. Just as early settlers traversed the plains carrying goods in covered wagons, hauling items is a part of contemporary life. While modern hauling implements are utilitarian, I observe them being overused to the point of decoration: oversized mud flaps adorn pickups driving exclusively on pavement, heavy-duty straps hold down small objects. In Nets & Flaps I consider these practices as part of an underlying subconscious desire rooted in the regional history and promoted today by tough litter laws in the region. Working with large-scale hand-beaded cargo nets, hand-woven mud flaps, and steel sculptures I celebrate the emphatic use of these securement devices in the West, framing them as ritual objects. My repetitive processes such as stringing and connecting rows of beads speak to labor in the crafting of art objects and the industries from which they are sourced. I design and fabricate my sculptures to be configured, disassembled, and reconfigured into different positions to reference the venturous impetus of the West.