This series was inspired by a Fulbright Fellowship in Turkey from 2013 to 2014. I set out to study the oldest surviving textiles in the country—eighteen fragments from the 11th-century known as the “Konya Carpets.” Drawing from these artifacts, I created paintings that imagined what other textiles from the period may have looked like, had they not been lost to time. Over the course of my grant year, my focus expanded to village weaving practices, where I was especially moved by the ways women use color and symbolism as forms of personal expression.

My paintings incorporate traditional motifs and designs, but they are not copies of existing carpets. To echo the intricate and time-intensive nature of weaving, I use tiny interlocking shapes to build expansive fields of color. Some works are rendered in black and white to focus attention on design and symbols.

This is a limited series completed in the years surrounding my fellowship, when I was able to conduct onsite research and receive guidance from working weavers. Most of the paintings have since entered private collections. Fifteen percent of sales were donated to women weavers and artisans in Turkey through the Turkish Philanthropy Funds.

Scroll to the bottom of the gallery for a behind-the-scenes look at the series.