Beth Blankenship

Beth
Blankenship
Juried Artist Member (JAM)
Location

Anchorage, AK
United States

Region
Artist Statement
I use stitch to examine the world around me. Telling stories that focus on the fragility and resilience of the natural world and our place in it—how all earthly things are linked, sometimes by the slimmest of threads, and how we humans can alter those connections.

I draw with my sewing machine on water-soluble fiber. This approach requires an unsettling leap of faith because, in the end, the foundation will be washed away, and only the connected threads will remain.

I’m never sure if the final result will be the artwork I imagined or an unrecognizable jumble. It’s a wonderful risk, though, because a successful piece is a perfect metaphor for what I want to say—one thread is fragile, but many threads, holding together, make the world.

Humankind dominates and destroys this magnificent planet, often blindly. My hope is that my work shines a light on the effect humans have on the natural world——to inspire reflection and reform.