Justin R. Cockrell
is a contemporary craftsperson, and educator using the language of fiber to produce textiles, support structures, and objects. They were born to freedom in Columbus, Ohio and now live, and love, in the former capital of the confederacy, Richmond, Virginia. Their practice seeks to manufacture objects capable of fighting opression that contain tangible proof of their joy and grief as a Queer, Black, Mexican, american.They believe that when we approach our material as an equal, we can discover ways of collaboration that will bring us to a future beyond the current crisis. They have exhibited work at The Virginia MOCA, The Appalachian Center for Craft, The Bascom, ROY G BIV Gallery, The Anderson Gallery and has participated in craft workshops in various capacities at Penland School of Craft, Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Interlochen arts center, Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, and The Crafting the Future Teen Takeover. They are pursuing a BFA in Craft/Material studies and a BA in Foreign Language at Virginia Commonwealth University and are alumni of the Yale Norfolk School of Art.
fiber
Granny Square
2022
34” x 34”
Cut, hemmed, 4 layer linocut on cotton
Mardi gras beads, old earrings, fake pearls
Photo by Jacob Wall
Kiss me thru the phone (pieced and quilted REMIX) (quilt Top)
2023
70" x 90"
Scoured, Mordanted, Chemically and naturally dyed, printed, cut, pieced, and quilted cotton
logwood, indigo, and black eyed Susans, iron,
Machined, milled, cut glued sanded ebonized and finished pine,
nude of the artist mordant printed and dyed with black eyed Susans
Photo by Jacob Wall
A Candle of Peace (REMIX)
2023
~34” x ~42”
Hand woven image of a candle, lotus, and rocks from my mom’s online obituary,
industrially and manually spun wool yarn made with fiber from Santiago the alpaca, George the goat, Possum the sheep, and silk hankies
mohair curly locks, silk,
indigo, walnut, cochineal, madder root, marigold, hibiscus,
Photo by Justin Cockrell
Kiss me thru the phone (pieced and quilted REMIX) (quilt back)
2023
70" x 90"
Scoured, Mordanted, Chemically and naturally dyed, printed, cut, pieced, and quilted cotton
logwood, indigo, and black eyed Susans, iron,
Machined, milled, cut glued sanded ebonized and finished pine,
nude of the artist mordant printed and dyed with black eyed Susans
Photo by Jacob Wall
The Fools Journey
2023
32” x 32”
Cut, hemmed, 4 layer linocut on cotton
Spun and plied wool, dyed clothes pins, indigo
Prop made for short film made in collaboration with Jacob Wall
Photo by Jacob Wall
Kuguri sashiko bandana
2023
24” x 24”
Cut, hemmed, scoured, mordanted, soy and mordant printed cotton
Madder root
Photo by Jacob Wall
Lawnmower
2024
18” x 20”
Cyanotype and van dyke brown photograph of lawn clippings on cotton paper
Scan by the artist
Interlacements (sweeping, retting, and stick figures)
2024
Dimensions variable, each figure ~3’ tall
Milled, machined, steam bent, and finished poplar, scoured, mordanted, and dyed linen and raffia,
Lashed and cinched, tall grass lawn clippings from Norfolk, Connecticut, Indigo and weld
Netted, plaited, and wound jute holding paper mulberry bark from my backyard in Richmond, Virginia, milled, turned and finished poplar, various textile tools from needles to shuttles
Found, drilled, sawn, dyed and rejoined stick from Norfolk, Connecticut, cleaned fleece from a goat named george.
As an object maker I struggle with the double consciousness of knowing I am a craftsperson, but the world interprets my work as sculpture. Starting from the action of piercing, I asked my material what the craft intervention is instead of the sculptural intervention. The resulting figures are a tool for retting ( breaking down) mulberry fiber, a hanger for a broom, and an attempt at arboreal necromancy.
photo jacob by jacob wall
a Safety Net, to Reach Across the Atlantic
2023
Dimensions variable, each blanket ~60”x ~80” before manual distortion
Cleaned, mordanted, resited, printed, naturally dyed, cut, pieced, quilted, bound, netted and industrially and manually woven cotton
cut, pieced, and wet felted silk gauze and merino wool given to me by a Black woman born by the ocean in Virginia
Indigo and madder root like the original american flag, Black tea, rhubarb, and lac
What would happen if I could cast a safety net across the Atlantic? Could I catch the wayward ancestors who choose the sea floor over servitude? Would the cotton of my clothes unspin itself and slip back into the ground where we will both eventually return? Would I remember everything that happened before Elmina castle? This triptych celebrates Black southern quilting, reflects on the traumatic water based transition of wet felting, and the middle passage, and reaches to the textiles deep in my dna from an ocean away.
Photo by Jacob Wall
Fraternal figures
2024
105” from one end to the other, about 40” when they balance each other out
Cleaned, Mordanted, Naturally dyed, twined, and woven round and flat second hand basket reeds, and sisal from lowes, glass trade beads,
sunk, raised, planished, hammered, separated, and patinated copper, riveted brass, and a really big sienna pigment rock from the bottom of a lake in Connecticut.
Fresh and reduced indigo, osage, annatto, a little bit of copper pickle in the dye pot to change the colors
When I look at the mythology of brotherhood, I am struck quickly over the head with the violence, specifically in the founding of Rome. I don’t want to alienate myself from my brother, my mother gave her children the namesakes of Justice and Truth, and I want the world to hold us close. The inception of this piece was a copper pitcher, raised from a flat disk to a level of use, then separated and rejoined through the intervention of my language of serenity - fiber.
photo by jacob wall
& for a second she turned the sky pink
2024
18 x 18 x 32
Milled machined, glued, cut, sanded, painted, sanded, dyed and sanded again ash wood
Cut, pieced, stitched,stuffed, and tufted scrap denim
Photo by jacob wall.
Diva down
2025
40” x 50”
Scoured, Mordanted, naturally, and chemcially dyed, woven and knotted sisal and wool
Photo by Jacob Wall
A Candle of Peace was posted for Cynthia Ann 'Cindy' (Flores) Flores-Cockrell
2023
~34” x ~42”
Hand woven image of a candle, lotus, and rocks from my mom’s online obituary,
industrially and manually spun wool yarn made with fiber from Santiago the alpaca, George the goat, Possum the sheep, and silk hankies
mohair curly locks, silk,
indigo, walnut, cochineal, madder root, marigold, hibiscus,
and acid dye that glows in the dark if I try hard enough
I don’t have many memories or images of my mom, I was too young when she died for me to have ever known Cindy. However, I do have google, my name, and a digital footprint of the people who survive by me. My mom’s obituary is full of people’s memories of Cindy the stranger and it makes me feel closer to her. With every comment the website lets me know that a candle of peace was posted for her with the image seen in this tapestry accompanying the text.
Photo by Jacob Wall
FlamBOYant
2025
Ring
Cut and tangled polyester thread
Photo by the artist
Carpetbagger (I dream of rivers of molten bronze, and a city of sleeping giants.)
2024
28” x 28”
Woven excerpt from Lee’s Surrender overshot coverlet, chemically and naturally dyed cotton, hand spun yarn made with fiber from santiago the alpaca, george the goat, possum the sheep, and silk hankies,
acid dye that glows in the dark if I try hard enough and a paper mulberry branch from my back yard.
Photo by Jacob Wall
Zeal? Zealot? Zealous? Prefix? Suffix!?????
2025
34” x 70”
Cleaned, PrEPd, Naturally dyed, Knotted, netted, looped, twined, woven, and draped sisal modano lace, raffia, and polyester of different industrial origins
Hot and cold forged, filed, & planished copper netting needle
Lace, and poetry are sisters, perceived as frivolous, they are forms that strive to use the least amount of material expertly arranged into emotional and breathy forms. Zeal? Zealot? Zealous? Prefix? Suffix!????? Is my call to advocacy for both forms and their uses when pushed to monumental scale. This lace curtain is a technique called Modano lace, which is a net substrate with needlework pattern fills dancing across it in a wall of troy twill pattern that dissolves into pink tassels. This piece was made with tools I made to accommodate its creation.
Photo by Justin Cockrell and Emily Silverd
Gutted
2025
About the same height as the artist (5’10”) from horn to tail
Wet and needle felted unicorn pelt from wool industrially and manually processed feat. cleaned, and carded fiber from Santiago the alpaca, George the goat, Possum and Poppy the sheep, and a chorus of many unnamed merino sheep and a few goats,
dyed and woven basket reeds
hot fuchsia, turquoise and chartreuse acid dyes
Textiles are unfortunately shackled to the majesty of tapestry, I am no doubt a disciple of them, but I wonder about the fate of the unicorn after the hunt? This piece lives in a body of work concerned with rugs and being thrown on the floor and the roughness of wet felting on the body.
Photo by Justin Cockrell
Server
2025
Dimensions dont really matter tbh but the carpet is 39” x 48”
Chemically and naturally dyed cotton, sisal, silk, and secondhand basket reeds feat some wool from @hautbeau
Photo by the artist
Illuminating figures (sentinel & paragon)
7' x 14" x 21"
2025
milled, laminated, carved, steam bent, sanded, painted, and sanded white oak
sunk, angle raised, fold formed, hammered, coined, and fabricated, brass, white quartz
cleaned, mordanted, naturally, chemically dyed, twined, woven and knotted basket reeds, sisal & silk gauze, nylon covered electric cord, filament light bulb
a lamp as tall as my brother with a light bulb at the height of my heart. The lamp functions as a pendulum. Pendulums are simple divination tools where a crystal is suspended in space and then can answer yes or no questions by swinging one way or another. This lamp feels like the logical result of making furniture to answer questions and bring the spirit of the trees into my home.
photo by jacob wall and david handforth
& Only the Wise Can Undo the Knot
2025
23” x 23” x 29” 17” seat height
Milled, machined, joined, power carved, hand shaved, sanded, painted, and sanded again ash wood
cleaned, PrEPd, naturally dyed, wound, warped, threaded, sleyed, woven and brocaded sisal rope, and twine
hand spun, scoured, mordanted, naturally and chemically dyed, caked, wound, and woven linen yarn
Synthetic pink polyester thread
Marigold yellow, julep, and bayberry milk paint
Indigo, logwood (campeche), cochineal (cochinilla), myrobalan, achiote (annatto), hibiscus
Turquoise and Fuschia mx dyes
A chair made in response to the wisdom knot Akan power stool meditating on doing and undoing. As a spinster, weaver, dyer, etc where does that leave me? This chair was made through faith in the natural world being able to support my weight at the end of the day. My reality is a marvelous one and I just want to make folkloric objects from my personal mythology. I am imperfect so why would u ever demand the same from my material or my objects?
Photo by Jacob Wall and David Handforth
2022
34” x 34”
Cut, hemmed, 4 layer linocut on cotton
Mardi gras beads, old earrings, fake pearls
Photo by Jacob Wall
2023
70" x 90"
Scoured, Mordanted, Chemically and naturally dyed, printed, cut, pieced, and quilted cotton
logwood, indigo, and black eyed Susans, iron,
Machined, milled, cut glued sanded ebonized and finished pine,
nude of the artist mordant printed and dyed with black eyed Susans
Photo by Jacob Wall
2023
~34” x ~42”
Hand woven image of a candle, lotus, and rocks from my mom’s online obituary,
industrially and manually spun wool yarn made with fiber from Santiago the alpaca, George the goat, Possum the sheep, and silk hankies
mohair curly locks, silk,
indigo, walnut, cochineal, madder root, marigold, hibiscus,
Photo by Justin Cockrell
2023
70" x 90"
Scoured, Mordanted, Chemically and naturally dyed, printed, cut, pieced, and quilted cotton
logwood, indigo, and black eyed Susans, iron,
Machined, milled, cut glued sanded ebonized and finished pine,
nude of the artist mordant printed and dyed with black eyed Susans
Photo by Jacob Wall
2023
32” x 32”
Cut, hemmed, 4 layer linocut on cotton
Spun and plied wool, dyed clothes pins, indigo
Prop made for short film made in collaboration with Jacob Wall
Photo by Jacob Wall
2023
24” x 24”
Cut, hemmed, scoured, mordanted, soy and mordant printed cotton
Madder root
Photo by Jacob Wall
2024
18” x 20”
Cyanotype and van dyke brown photograph of lawn clippings on cotton paper
Scan by the artist
2024
Dimensions variable, each figure ~3’ tall
Milled, machined, steam bent, and finished poplar, scoured, mordanted, and dyed linen and raffia,
Lashed and cinched, tall grass lawn clippings from Norfolk, Connecticut, Indigo and weld
Netted, plaited, and wound jute holding paper mulberry bark from my backyard in Richmond, Virginia, milled, turned and finished poplar, various textile tools from needles to shuttles
Found, drilled, sawn, dyed and rejoined stick from Norfolk, Connecticut, cleaned fleece from a goat named george.
As an object maker I struggle with the double consciousness of knowing I am a craftsperson, but the world interprets my work as sculpture. Starting from the action of piercing, I asked my material what the craft intervention is instead of the sculptural intervention. The resulting figures are a tool for retting ( breaking down) mulberry fiber, a hanger for a broom, and an attempt at arboreal necromancy.
photo jacob by jacob wall
2023
Dimensions variable, each blanket ~60”x ~80” before manual distortion
Cleaned, mordanted, resited, printed, naturally dyed, cut, pieced, quilted, bound, netted and industrially and manually woven cotton
cut, pieced, and wet felted silk gauze and merino wool given to me by a Black woman born by the ocean in Virginia
Indigo and madder root like the original american flag, Black tea, rhubarb, and lac
What would happen if I could cast a safety net across the Atlantic? Could I catch the wayward ancestors who choose the sea floor over servitude? Would the cotton of my clothes unspin itself and slip back into the ground where we will both eventually return? Would I remember everything that happened before Elmina castle? This triptych celebrates Black southern quilting, reflects on the traumatic water based transition of wet felting, and the middle passage, and reaches to the textiles deep in my dna from an ocean away.
Photo by Jacob Wall
2024
105” from one end to the other, about 40” when they balance each other out
Cleaned, Mordanted, Naturally dyed, twined, and woven round and flat second hand basket reeds, and sisal from lowes, glass trade beads,
sunk, raised, planished, hammered, separated, and patinated copper, riveted brass, and a really big sienna pigment rock from the bottom of a lake in Connecticut.
Fresh and reduced indigo, osage, annatto, a little bit of copper pickle in the dye pot to change the colors
When I look at the mythology of brotherhood, I am struck quickly over the head with the violence, specifically in the founding of Rome. I don’t want to alienate myself from my brother, my mother gave her children the namesakes of Justice and Truth, and I want the world to hold us close. The inception of this piece was a copper pitcher, raised from a flat disk to a level of use, then separated and rejoined through the intervention of my language of serenity - fiber.
photo by jacob wall
2024
18 x 18 x 32
Milled machined, glued, cut, sanded, painted, sanded, dyed and sanded again ash wood
Cut, pieced, stitched,stuffed, and tufted scrap denim
Photo by jacob wall.
2025
40” x 50”
Scoured, Mordanted, naturally, and chemcially dyed, woven and knotted sisal and wool
Photo by Jacob Wall
2023
~34” x ~42”
Hand woven image of a candle, lotus, and rocks from my mom’s online obituary,
industrially and manually spun wool yarn made with fiber from Santiago the alpaca, George the goat, Possum the sheep, and silk hankies
mohair curly locks, silk,
indigo, walnut, cochineal, madder root, marigold, hibiscus,
and acid dye that glows in the dark if I try hard enough
I don’t have many memories or images of my mom, I was too young when she died for me to have ever known Cindy. However, I do have google, my name, and a digital footprint of the people who survive by me. My mom’s obituary is full of people’s memories of Cindy the stranger and it makes me feel closer to her. With every comment the website lets me know that a candle of peace was posted for her with the image seen in this tapestry accompanying the text.
Photo by Jacob Wall
2025
Ring
Cut and tangled polyester thread
Photo by the artist
2024
28” x 28”
Woven excerpt from Lee’s Surrender overshot coverlet, chemically and naturally dyed cotton, hand spun yarn made with fiber from santiago the alpaca, george the goat, possum the sheep, and silk hankies,
acid dye that glows in the dark if I try hard enough and a paper mulberry branch from my back yard.
Photo by Jacob Wall
2025
34” x 70”
Cleaned, PrEPd, Naturally dyed, Knotted, netted, looped, twined, woven, and draped sisal modano lace, raffia, and polyester of different industrial origins
Hot and cold forged, filed, & planished copper netting needle
Lace, and poetry are sisters, perceived as frivolous, they are forms that strive to use the least amount of material expertly arranged into emotional and breathy forms. Zeal? Zealot? Zealous? Prefix? Suffix!????? Is my call to advocacy for both forms and their uses when pushed to monumental scale. This lace curtain is a technique called Modano lace, which is a net substrate with needlework pattern fills dancing across it in a wall of troy twill pattern that dissolves into pink tassels. This piece was made with tools I made to accommodate its creation.
Photo by Justin Cockrell and Emily Silverd
2025
About the same height as the artist (5’10”) from horn to tail
Wet and needle felted unicorn pelt from wool industrially and manually processed feat. cleaned, and carded fiber from Santiago the alpaca, George the goat, Possum and Poppy the sheep, and a chorus of many unnamed merino sheep and a few goats,
dyed and woven basket reeds
hot fuchsia, turquoise and chartreuse acid dyes
Textiles are unfortunately shackled to the majesty of tapestry, I am no doubt a disciple of them, but I wonder about the fate of the unicorn after the hunt? This piece lives in a body of work concerned with rugs and being thrown on the floor and the roughness of wet felting on the body.
Photo by Justin Cockrell
2025
Dimensions dont really matter tbh but the carpet is 39” x 48”
Chemically and naturally dyed cotton, sisal, silk, and secondhand basket reeds feat some wool from @hautbeau
Photo by the artist
7' x 14" x 21"
2025
milled, laminated, carved, steam bent, sanded, painted, and sanded white oak
sunk, angle raised, fold formed, hammered, coined, and fabricated, brass, white quartz
cleaned, mordanted, naturally, chemically dyed, twined, woven and knotted basket reeds, sisal & silk gauze, nylon covered electric cord, filament light bulb
a lamp as tall as my brother with a light bulb at the height of my heart. The lamp functions as a pendulum. Pendulums are simple divination tools where a crystal is suspended in space and then can answer yes or no questions by swinging one way or another. This lamp feels like the logical result of making furniture to answer questions and bring the spirit of the trees into my home.
photo by jacob wall and david handforth
2025
23” x 23” x 29” 17” seat height
Milled, machined, joined, power carved, hand shaved, sanded, painted, and sanded again ash wood
cleaned, PrEPd, naturally dyed, wound, warped, threaded, sleyed, woven and brocaded sisal rope, and twine
hand spun, scoured, mordanted, naturally and chemically dyed, caked, wound, and woven linen yarn
Synthetic pink polyester thread
Marigold yellow, julep, and bayberry milk paint
Indigo, logwood (campeche), cochineal (cochinilla), myrobalan, achiote (annatto), hibiscus
Turquoise and Fuschia mx dyes
A chair made in response to the wisdom knot Akan power stool meditating on doing and undoing. As a spinster, weaver, dyer, etc where does that leave me? This chair was made through faith in the natural world being able to support my weight at the end of the day. My reality is a marvelous one and I just want to make folkloric objects from my personal mythology. I am imperfect so why would u ever demand the same from my material or my objects?
Photo by Jacob Wall and David Handforth
wood
Wonder Woman Spoon
2022
26” x 6”
Milled, machined, carved, sanded, and dyed poplar
Cleaned, dyed, knit, and knotted cotton
Metal finding
Photo by Jacob Wall
Anansi Stool
2023
17” x 23” by 17”
Milled, laminated, power carved, textured, and painted cherry
Photo by Jacob Wall
Interlacements (sweeping, retting, and stick figures)
2024
Dimensions variable, each figure ~3’ tall
Milled, machined, steam bent, and finished poplar, scoured, mordanted, and dyed linen and raffia,
Lashed and cinched, tall grass lawn clippings from Norfolk, Connecticut, Indigo and weld
Netted, plaited, and wound jute holding paper mulberry bark from my backyard in Richmond, Virginia, milled, turned and finished poplar, various textile tools from needles to shuttles
Found, drilled, sawn, dyed and rejoined stick from Norfolk, Connecticut, cleaned fleece from a goat named george.
As an object maker I struggle with the double consciousness of knowing I am a craftsperson, but the world interprets my work as sculpture. Starting from the action of piercing, I asked my material what the craft intervention is instead of the sculptural intervention. The resulting figures are a tool for retting ( breaking down) mulberry fiber, a hanger for a broom, and an attempt at arboreal necromancy.
photo jacob by jacob wall
Fraternal figures
2024
105” from one end to the other, about 40” when they balance each other out
Cleaned, Mordanted, Naturally dyed, twined, and woven round and flat second hand basket reeds, and sisal from lowes, glass trade beads,
sunk, raised, planished, hammered, separated, and patinated copper, riveted brass, and a really big sienna pigment rock from the bottom of a lake in Connecticut.
Fresh and reduced indigo, osage, annatto, a little bit of copper pickle in the dye pot to change the colors
When I look at the mythology of brotherhood, I am struck quickly over the head with the violence, specifically in the founding of Rome. I don’t want to alienate myself from my brother, my mother gave her children the namesakes of Justice and Truth, and I want the world to hold us close. The inception of this piece was a copper pitcher, raised from a flat disk to a level of use, then separated and rejoined through the intervention of my language of serenity - fiber.
photo by jacob wall
& for a second she turned the sky pink
2024
18 x 18 x 32
Milled machined, glued, cut, sanded, painted, sanded, dyed and sanded again ash wood
Cut, pieced, stitched,stuffed, and tufted scrap denim
Photo by jacob wall.
Carpetbagger (I dream of rivers of molten bronze, and a city of sleeping giants.)
2024
28” x 28”
Woven excerpt from Lee’s Surrender overshot coverlet, chemically and naturally dyed cotton, hand spun yarn made with fiber from santiago the alpaca, george the goat, possum the sheep, and silk hankies,
acid dye that glows in the dark if I try hard enough and a paper mulberry branch from my back yard.
Photo by Jacob Wall
& Only the Wise Can Undo the Knot
2025
23” x 23” x 29” 17” seat height
Milled, machined, joined, power carved, hand shaved, sanded, painted, and sanded again ash wood
cleaned, PrEPd, naturally dyed, wound, warped, threaded, sleyed, woven and brocaded sisal rope, and twine
hand spun, scoured, mordanted, naturally and chemically dyed, caked, wound, and woven linen yarn
Synthetic pink polyester thread
Marigold yellow, julep, and bayberry milk paint
Indigo, logwood (campeche), cochineal (cochinilla), myrobalan, achiote (annatto), hibiscus
Turquoise and Fuschia mx dyes
A chair made in response to the wisdom knot Akan power stool meditating on doing and undoing. As a spinster, weaver, dyer, etc where does that leave me? This chair was made through faith in the natural world being able to support my weight at the end of the day. My reality is a marvelous one and I just want to make folkloric objects from my personal mythology. I am imperfect so why would u ever demand the same from my material or my objects?
Photo by Jacob Wall and David Handforth
Sankofa table
2025
28” x 18” x 12”
Milled, machined, textured, glued, sanded, painted, and sanded again maple
Hot forged, formed, chased, repousséd, and patinated copper
Illuminating figures (sentinel & paragon)
7' x 14" x 21"
2025
milled, laminated, carved, steam bent, sanded, painted, and sanded white oak
sunk, angle raised, fold formed, hammered, coined, and fabricated, brass, white quartz
cleaned, mordanted, naturally, chemically dyed, twined, woven and knotted basket reeds, sisal & silk gauze, nylon covered electric cord, filament light bulb
a lamp as tall as my brother with a light bulb at the height of my heart. The lamp functions as a pendulum. Pendulums are simple divination tools where a crystal is suspended in space and then can answer yes or no questions by swinging one way or another. This lamp feels like the logical result of making furniture to answer questions and bring the spirit of the trees into my home.
photo by jacob wall and david handforth
2022
26” x 6”
Milled, machined, carved, sanded, and dyed poplar
Cleaned, dyed, knit, and knotted cotton
Metal finding
Photo by Jacob Wall
2023
17” x 23” by 17”
Milled, laminated, power carved, textured, and painted cherry
Photo by Jacob Wall
2024
Dimensions variable, each figure ~3’ tall
Milled, machined, steam bent, and finished poplar, scoured, mordanted, and dyed linen and raffia,
Lashed and cinched, tall grass lawn clippings from Norfolk, Connecticut, Indigo and weld
Netted, plaited, and wound jute holding paper mulberry bark from my backyard in Richmond, Virginia, milled, turned and finished poplar, various textile tools from needles to shuttles
Found, drilled, sawn, dyed and rejoined stick from Norfolk, Connecticut, cleaned fleece from a goat named george.
As an object maker I struggle with the double consciousness of knowing I am a craftsperson, but the world interprets my work as sculpture. Starting from the action of piercing, I asked my material what the craft intervention is instead of the sculptural intervention. The resulting figures are a tool for retting ( breaking down) mulberry fiber, a hanger for a broom, and an attempt at arboreal necromancy.
photo jacob by jacob wall
2024
105” from one end to the other, about 40” when they balance each other out
Cleaned, Mordanted, Naturally dyed, twined, and woven round and flat second hand basket reeds, and sisal from lowes, glass trade beads,
sunk, raised, planished, hammered, separated, and patinated copper, riveted brass, and a really big sienna pigment rock from the bottom of a lake in Connecticut.
Fresh and reduced indigo, osage, annatto, a little bit of copper pickle in the dye pot to change the colors
When I look at the mythology of brotherhood, I am struck quickly over the head with the violence, specifically in the founding of Rome. I don’t want to alienate myself from my brother, my mother gave her children the namesakes of Justice and Truth, and I want the world to hold us close. The inception of this piece was a copper pitcher, raised from a flat disk to a level of use, then separated and rejoined through the intervention of my language of serenity - fiber.
photo by jacob wall
2024
18 x 18 x 32
Milled machined, glued, cut, sanded, painted, sanded, dyed and sanded again ash wood
Cut, pieced, stitched,stuffed, and tufted scrap denim
Photo by jacob wall.
2024
28” x 28”
Woven excerpt from Lee’s Surrender overshot coverlet, chemically and naturally dyed cotton, hand spun yarn made with fiber from santiago the alpaca, george the goat, possum the sheep, and silk hankies,
acid dye that glows in the dark if I try hard enough and a paper mulberry branch from my back yard.
Photo by Jacob Wall
2025
23” x 23” x 29” 17” seat height
Milled, machined, joined, power carved, hand shaved, sanded, painted, and sanded again ash wood
cleaned, PrEPd, naturally dyed, wound, warped, threaded, sleyed, woven and brocaded sisal rope, and twine
hand spun, scoured, mordanted, naturally and chemically dyed, caked, wound, and woven linen yarn
Synthetic pink polyester thread
Marigold yellow, julep, and bayberry milk paint
Indigo, logwood (campeche), cochineal (cochinilla), myrobalan, achiote (annatto), hibiscus
Turquoise and Fuschia mx dyes
A chair made in response to the wisdom knot Akan power stool meditating on doing and undoing. As a spinster, weaver, dyer, etc where does that leave me? This chair was made through faith in the natural world being able to support my weight at the end of the day. My reality is a marvelous one and I just want to make folkloric objects from my personal mythology. I am imperfect so why would u ever demand the same from my material or my objects?
Photo by Jacob Wall and David Handforth
2025
28” x 18” x 12”
Milled, machined, textured, glued, sanded, painted, and sanded again maple
Hot forged, formed, chased, repousséd, and patinated copper
7' x 14" x 21"
2025
milled, laminated, carved, steam bent, sanded, painted, and sanded white oak
sunk, angle raised, fold formed, hammered, coined, and fabricated, brass, white quartz
cleaned, mordanted, naturally, chemically dyed, twined, woven and knotted basket reeds, sisal & silk gauze, nylon covered electric cord, filament light bulb
a lamp as tall as my brother with a light bulb at the height of my heart. The lamp functions as a pendulum. Pendulums are simple divination tools where a crystal is suspended in space and then can answer yes or no questions by swinging one way or another. This lamp feels like the logical result of making furniture to answer questions and bring the spirit of the trees into my home.
photo by jacob wall and david handforth
metal
2024
Sunk, formed, chased, repousséd, Hot and cold forged,planished pierced, pressed soldered, and polished copper
Sawn, formed, soldered, pierced, and riveted brass
Glass trade beads knotted on ankara with a forged closure
Photo by the artist
2024
Made to fit in your hand.
Lost wax cast, cut, polished, and water patinated bronze
Dyed and woven basket reeds
Indigo
Photo by the artist
2024
Made to fit on ur wrist
Lost wax cast, cut, polished, and water patinated bronze
Scoured, dyed, and knotted notted silk, glass
fresh leaf indigo,
Photo by the artist
2025
Sizes 10-11
Cast, cut, filed, polished, and hammered sterling silver
Clear quartz
Candy wrapper from Untitled (portrait of Ross in L.A.) by Felix González Torres
Latex by ellie lore
Photo by the artist
7' x 14" x 21"
2025
milled, laminated, carved, steam bent, sanded, painted, and sanded white oak
sunk, angle raised, fold formed, hammered, coined, and fabricated, brass, white quartz
cleaned, mordanted, naturally, chemically dyed, twined, woven and knotted basket reeds, sisal & silk gauze, nylon covered electric cord, filament light bulb
a lamp as tall as my brother with a light bulb at the height of my heart. The lamp functions as a pendulum. Pendulums are simple divination tools where a crystal is suspended in space and then can answer yes or no questions by swinging one way or another. This lamp feels like the logical result of making furniture to answer questions and bring the spirit of the trees into my home.
photo by jacob wall and david handforth
2024
Hot and cold forged, formed, planished pierced, pressed soldered, and polished copper
Photo by the artist
2025
Sizes 10-11
Cast, cut, filed, polished, and hammered sterling silver
Clear quartz
Candy wrapper from Untitled (portrait of Ross in L.A.) by Felix González Torres
Latex by ellie lore
Photo by the artist
2024
19”
Fresh water pearls, glass beads, fake pearls knotted on dyed silk and polyester thread
Cut, fabricated, hammered, and stamped sterling silver
Photo by the artist
paper
2024
Dimensions variable, each figure ~3’ tall
Milled, machined, steam bent, and finished poplar, scoured, mordanted, and dyed linen and raffia,
Lashed and cinched, tall grass lawn clippings from Norfolk, Connecticut, Indigo and weld
Netted, plaited, and wound jute holding paper mulberry bark from my backyard in Richmond, Virginia, milled, turned and finished poplar, various textile tools from needles to shuttles
Found, drilled, sawn, dyed and rejoined stick from Norfolk, Connecticut, cleaned fleece from a goat named george.
As an object maker I struggle with the double consciousness of knowing I am a craftsperson, but the world interprets my work as sculpture. Starting from the action of piercing, I asked my material what the craft intervention is instead of the sculptural intervention. The resulting figures are a tool for retting ( breaking down) mulberry fiber, a hanger for a broom, and an attempt at arboreal necromancy.
photo jacob by jacob wall
2024
18” x 20”
Cyanotype and van dyke brown photograph of lawn clippings on cotton paper
Scan by the artist