Patricia Hooten
Pat has always been more comfortable with a pair of scissors than a pencil or a paintbrush. A Penland School of Crafts paper-cutting workshop with Beatrice Coron led her to modular Tyvek paper constructions. These in turn inspired her to experiment with a more compelling, tactile and ecologically responsible medium - 100% wool felt. Felt also provides acoustic and insulating benefits. Naturally renewable wool muffles sound and even absorbs air-borne toxins.
Pat transferred a tab and slot construction method to felt, replacing stitched seams with interlocking joints, and has been exploring this new textile genre ever since. It combines her graphic design sensibilities with an iconic fiber and an inventive construction technique to produce compelling dimensional patterns and textures.
The shapes of component elements are digitally designed and output, then cut by hand or by using custom dies and assembled. This age-old material is re-imagined through the fusion of her minimalist style and standard paper engineering methods. The result is what she has termed “textile joinery” - fresh fiber design with an edge, that appeals to the eye as well as to the touch.
