Natalie Sullivan

Always a fan of landscape and the amazing details of plants, my work aims to celebrate the beauty of nature while also acknowledging the uneasy feeling of living in our current climate crisis. Visually beautiful elements like flowers and vibrant colors bring the viewer in, while roots and mushrooms speak to the search for nutrients, lifecycles and regeneration. Hand bent wood frames push the work off the wall to create crevices and pockets, a play of what we can see and what is hidden. I aim to land in a place of tension, drawing the viewer in with wonder and delight, but revealing moments of unease and the ominous feeling of the unknown.

Through the use of upcycled materials, specialty fibers and handspun yarns I create unique woven textures that evoke nature. In addition to woven elements, I’m also incorporating botanically dyed cloth. Creating color and imagery through the dye process of eco-printing allows me to capture detailed prints of leaves and flowers foraged or grown in my garden. This process serves as a Memento Mori, capturing a moment in time, and is in conversation with the long relationship of humanity using resources and learning from the natural world.