REDWOOD FOREST WEAVINGS AND THE WATCHING WOODS
Welcome Shoshana Zambryski-Stachel’s ‘Redwood Forest Weavings’ and ‘The Watching Woods’ to the Larry Spring Museum's window.
Redwood Forest Weavings and The Watching Woods are both a continuation and extension of Redwood Time and a nod to the playful creativity of Larry Spring's Little Woods Creatures. All of the works on display began in the forest, whether by collecting dyestuffs and objects of inspiration or twisting cordage during endless walks through nature.
The Redwood Forest Weavings are a combination of handwoven tapestries and continuous strand squares woven into stick frames and trees to represent the interconnectedness of the forest and the natural dye sources that grow and thrive within the redwood forests of the Mendocino coast.
The Watching Woods is an ongoing preoccupation which is inspired by and rooted in the medieval drawings by Hieronymus Bosch and others. The series began by discovering bits of bark and wood that appear to have eyelids. As time has passed the Watching Woods have grown into a collection of anthropomorphic objects, returning the gaze of the viewer so that viewer becomes viewed. The woods are always watching…
“I’ve always had the tendency to pick up and pocket treasures or pieces of nature, and since moving to the Mendocino coast that tendency has only increased. Nature often finds its way into the art that I create; at times it is the source of inspiration and other times it becomes part of the physical media, such as my ongoing series AB OVO where photographs are printed directly within eggshells.
The Mendocino coast introduced me to the greater world of foraging, and deepened my understanding of and passion for natural dyes which has ultimately led me to begin learning to weave. Weaving is an extension of my natural tendencies, at the end of the day I empty my basket and find ways to incorporate the items that I’ve collected and created in nature.”
—Shoshana Zambryski-Stachel
