Hope Balloons, 2023, reclaimed fabric, yarn and found objects on plastic fencing, wire, dimensions variable

Statement for Hope Balloons for Terrain Biennial 2023

As a teaching artist, I have the privilege of visiting public school environments and learning from  communities of students. I spent the summer of 2023 working with Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) students who were required to attend summer school in order to continue in subsequent K-8 grade levels. These students were struggling… academically, emotionally and linguistically. We spent the summer exploring different methods of weaving and ultimately installed a collaborative fiber artwork at Rousseau McClellan School (#91), where we were working. At the end of six weeks I collected the remnants of student work and created five suspended sculptures. I’ve titled them “Hope Balloons,” to reference both the floating hollow vessels exhibited here, and to call on my desire that our collaboration grows a culture of hope and empowerment among our youngest and most vulnerable citizens.