UnMasked
By Adrienne Sloane | October 5, 2020
In the beginning of the quarantine, I used my fiber skills in the way I thought most helpful while also keeping me a bit saner. It didn’t hurt that my neighbor is a quilter who offered up a wonderful fabric stash. The mask making started with a trickle, becoming a river and then a flood of masks that I gave away to organizations in need as well as to anyone who agreed to pay it forward with donations to food pantries and other worthy causes.
Further into quarantine, I responded to a call for art masks from the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco with the following:
“The Refreshing Peel & Wear Tutti Frutti,” mixed media (2020)
“Fourth of July,” mixed media (2020)
This then organically led me to papier maché mask making in order to take on some of the more serious issues we confront as a nation, most often the focus of my work.
100,000 & Counting
“100,000 & Counting,” papier maché, knitting height: 5″x8″x 3.25″ (2020)
“100,000 & Counting,” back-detail, papier maché, knitting, 5″x 8″x 3.25″ (2020)
A Nation Outraged
“A Nation Outraged,” papier maché, height: 4.5″x8″x3.25″ (2020)
A Nation Outraged,” back, papier maché, height: 4.5″x 8″x3.25″ (2020)
Demand Justice
“Demand Justice,” papier maché, knitting, 4.5″x6.5″x3.25″ (2020)
“Demand Justice,” papier maché, knitting, height: 4.5″x8″x3.25″ (2020)
Finally, to help support local arts administrators in their Herculean task of insuring continued funding throughout the pandemic and beyond, I am in the process of distributing these recent masks in the hope that the arts, such a critical expression of our humanity and resilience, will continue to thrive.
POSTSCRIPT
“200,000 & Counting,” cloth (2020)
Copyright © 2020 Adrienne Sloane
From her Lexington, Massachusetts studio, fiber artist Adrienne Sloane creates work that often has a political focus, even as she remains mindful of the rich historical context of her medium. Her practice reveals a deep dive into all forms of sculptural structures knit by hand and by machine while more recent pieces employ a broader range of fiber approaches and techniques. She has taught and exhibited internationally and shared her knowledge with indigenous knitters in Bolivia and Peru through work on various economic empowerment projects. Two of her pieces, “At the End of My Rope” and “The Unraveling” are included in the online exhibit Out of the Fray at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.