ARTIST STATEMENT
This series of 24 weavings were created in the depths of the pandemic while undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Inspired by Sheila Hicks’ small weavings, I had, by chance, begun a weaving experiment on a cardboard loom a few days before my cancer diagnosis in August of 2020. I decided to continue working on these abstract weavings throughout the course of my treatment which included 16 rounds of chemotherapy, surgery and 4 weeks of radiation. My treatment encompassed nine months. I finished the last weaving on my last day of radiation.
I worked on these weavings in the evenings at the very end of each day. Each piece began with no preconceived notion of an outcome. I choose the colors that appealed to me that day from small balls of yarn in my stash. Each warp has a different color. The weavings are loose and somewhat crude, not perfectly square or finely finished. The work was slow, soothing and methodical.
All along I felt that the weavings were a visual representation of my inner psyche during my treatment. Having a healing project to sink into each evening was a lifeline during the long, dark months of the pandemic, made even darker with my diagnosis.
My diagnosis going forward is very positive. I look at this work knowing I did my best to fight the good fight.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Laura Morrison combines traditional fiber art techniques such as felting, embroidery, weaving crochet and knitting to create mixed media sculptures, assemblages, installations and wall hangings.
Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, Morrison learned how to sew from her mother, an accomplished seamstress who created beautiful clothes for her two daughters. “”Sewing with my mother and playing with the materials in the sewing room was a large part of my childhood and filled with special memories.””
Morrison attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she studied graphic design. After graduation, Morrison worked as a designer in the Chicago. During that time, she became fascinated with the needle arts and worked on embroidery projects during her train commute into the city.
Her move to New Hampshire was the catalyst that changed her life. It was then that she decided to concentrate her creative energy more fully on her art. “Moving to New Hampshire opened my eyes to the beauty of nature with its wild spaces. Here, I can truly breathe deeply and be the artist and person I want to be. Nature is my muse.” She began with creating collages and assemblages, often incorporating fiber into the work. Over time, fiber has become the main focus of her process driven work.
She has exhibited her work in galleries throughout the New England and has installed two public art commissions for The NH State Council on the Arts Percent for Art Program. Morrison is the gallery manager at Twiggs Gallery in Boscawen, NH. She volunteers her time serving as the President for the National Women’s Caucus for Art and the gallery coordinator for Red River Theatre’s Community Gallery in Concord, NH.
© Laura Morrison