Dawn Standera
Summation
Knotting
10" h x 8" w x 1" d
2019
$390
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Description: Knotting is my voice and this piece is a summation of the most difficult part of my experience after a tumor was removed from the inside of my spinal cord. I see myself in the railroad spikes, once perfect, now damaged.They frame the message of my recovery.
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Artist Statement
I am a knotter living in the woods on Northern Minnesota. My work ranges from knotted tapestries to sculptural knotting to architectural knotting. My materials range in size from 1 mm cord to 1/2 inch rope. In all my work, the knot is the focus.
The theme of my latest work is the pulling together of damaged pieces. I pull the damaged pieces together with swaths of knotted color because knotting is the way I understand how things can be different. I choose found railroad spikes because I see myself in the railroad spikes that unearth themselves during my walks on an abandoned railroad bed near my home. Once perfect, now made more interesting because they are damaged. They are a reflection of my experience during cancer recovery. While I never intended to focus my work on the cancer diagnosis I now understand that sometimes in life a topic chooses us.