Drifting (2018)
12 x 14 x 8 ft
knotted fibers
ERICA GREEN
The Embers (2020)
14 x 5 x 5 ft
knotted fibers and felt
Passages (2019)
12 x 50 x 2 ft
knotted fibers on wood
A Moment Please (2020)
72 x 105 x 12 inches
knotted felt and fibres
Drifting (2018)
12 x 14 x 8 ft
knotted fibers
A Moment Please – detail (2020)
72 x 105 x 12 inches
knotted felt and fibres
Ties – detail (2020)
41 x 70 x 12 inches
knotted fibres and felt
Moments Held (2018)
102 x 100 x 64 inches
knotted fibers on wood
Parting Ways (2019)
12 x 50 x 2 ft
knotted fibers on wall
American textile artist Erica Green is based in Colorado. She uses wool yarn and industrial felts to create tactile art installations and each piece is designed for the specific space. “I love to create intimate areas where people can experience their surroundings in a different way.”
What is your background in textile art?
I received a BFA with an emphasis in Ceramics from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. When I graduated, I moved to Boulder and completed a two-year post-baccalaureate program at the University of Colorado. During my time at CU, I began integrating fibers into my ceramic work. For the last seven years or so, fibers have been an important part of my work.
How do you describe your work?
Currently, I’m mostly working on fiber installation art. I generally allow the architecture or gallery space where I am installing to inspire me and guide the work. I love to create intimate areas where people can experience their surroundings in a different way.
What is it about knotting that appeals to you?
Working and reworking knots is almost a meditation for me. I love the softness of the yarn, the simple, repetitive act of knotting, and the unfolding of the work as the knots accumulate. Knots also have a deeper meaning in my work. My work symbolises the seemingly unending process of repairing and rebuilding one’s self. The knot represents the process of mending. Each knot builds on the one before and sets the framework for the knots to come. With time, the knots accumulate, becoming a visual record of the healing process.
What type of yarn / fibres do you use and why?
I’m currently using wool yarn and thick industrial felts. I’m defiantly a materials person. I have to really love the material or the piece won’t work. When I was working with clay, I loved the tactile nature of the material. Fiber provides the same rewards. In retrospect, it was a natural move for me. Pulling the fiber apart and knotting it back together again is very meditative for me.
Where do you work?
I am currently a resident at the Boulder Creative Collective that includes studio space at their art facility. I also have a studio space at home. Because of the pandemic, I have been using my home studio much more frequently.
Can you talk us through designing a piece of work?
As I mentioned above, I generally begin with the architecture of the space. I conduct several site visits where I take pictures, make notes, and draw out plans in my sketchbook. I try to focus on what I believe makes the space special or unique. From there, I begin to hone in on what I want to emphasise. I will then make small maquettes before I install the work in the gallery space.
I know it’s a hard question but how long does a piece generally take to make?
Most of my larger installations take months of planning and prep work and then I usually have three to five full days to install the work.
This is a very practical question but how do you clean your installations?
Usually, they don’t take much maintenance, but works that are permanent sometimes require treatment with a lint roller or air spray can.
What has been your proudest career moment so far?
Hmm, this is a hard one. I feel very fortunate to have been part of many well curated shows. However, what really stands out for me is the first time I felt “seen” or recognised as an artist. This happened a few months after I finished my education. I had been working but had not been invited to any shows or exhibitions. I was beginning to wonder if I should take my career in a different direction, when I received an invitation to show at local art space in Boulder along side an established artist. It was the confidence I needed to continue, and I will never forget the moment.
What advice can you give aspiring textile artists?
Follow artists whom you admire and figure what path they took to get there and build a plan focused on how to get where you’d like to be in a few years.
Would you like to add anything?
As part of my residency at the Boulder Creative Collective, I have a solo show in December at the AKA gallery in Boulder. In addition, I am going to be a resident at Breck Create in Breckinridge, Colorado.