ARTIST STATEMENT
My mission is to make visible the often-invisible realities that quietly sustain life around us. Through my tapestries, I reveal vitality and hope emerging from overlooked places—good details of daily life that give strength and joy. A stone wall seldom endures without a small plant pushing through a crack, reaching toward light and life.
I am creating a series of stone wall tapestries inspired by a tiny plant that grew through a split in rusted steel at a nearby park and by Leonard Cohen’s lyric: “There is a crack in everything. That’s where the light comes in.” Viewers of these woven walls often tell me they begin to notice bits of life they once missed—a sprig growing from a sewer lid, a green shoot pressing through concrete.
The varied colors, textures, and shapes of the woven stones invite touch and evoke the irregular beauty of real walls. Each small plant, fragile yet determined, reaches through the cracks toward light— reminders of the power of persistent striving for life.
Winter Sky Snowy Beach, the first in a series, offers harmony and light emerging from the gray cold.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
As an artist returning to exhibition submission after a significant hiatus, I bring decades of experience creating tapestries and textile-based wall pieces. My practice has been shaped by coursework at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Weaving School, as well as years of independent studio work. This re-entry into the art world marks a new chapter in my artistic journey. My focus is on sharing work that reflects the richness of accumulated practice
© Carroll Cradock