ARTIST STATEMENT
Sleep Eludes Me was created during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and represents the sleepless nights during this time. Fearful thoughts of loss of autonomy and basic human rights, specifically loss of women’s reproductive rights and the destruction of Roe v. Wade confronted my nightly meditations. Handwoven on a traditional tapestry loom, this piece reflects contrasts and chaos. Texture is created by knotting and use of my handspun yarn as well as sewn on chards of painted pottery.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Felicitas Sloves’ family escaped the post WWII genocide called Bersiap and fled their original homeland in the Dutch East Indies, now called Indonesia. Felicitas was born in the Netherlands, her family’s second homeland. As a child, Felicitas and her family emigrated to the United States and settled just outside of Boston. She was raised in a blend of European and Asian cultures in a home that displayed Javanese masks, shadow puppets and Indonesian batik textiles alongside Delft blue pottery and handwoven linens from the Netherlands. The exposure to handmade textiles drew Felicitas to the fiber arts including sewing, knitting, dyeing, spinning and weaving. While studying American Folk Culture at SUNY’s Cooperstown Graduate Program, Felicitas focused on her art and the creation of handwoven textiles.
Weaving since 1980, Felicitas is mostly self taught as a weaver. Since that time, she has sold her handwoven scarves, clothing, women’s accessories and decorative wall hangings at craft fairs, art festivals, shops and galleries along the East coast and in the Southeast. After moving to Memphis in 2000, Felicitas also wove liturgical commissions for churches, synagogues, clergy and private collectors. Additionally she taught weaving to older adults living in the community through the not for profit organization Creative Aging Mid-South. She weaves on upright tapestry looms and multi harness floor looms in her home studio. Felicitas has an A.B. from Smith College and an M.A. from Tufts University.
© Felicitas Sloves