Stitch / Series: Held Together
$495.00
Artist: Tanya Smith
Medium: Hand-dyed reclaimed cotton muslin, hand stitching
Artist Statement:
Historically, the stitch is a fundamental human mark—evidence of mending, joining, and claiming a place. In Stitch, that action is stripped down to its absolute essence. By anchoring a single strip of hand-dyed black fabric into reclaimed white muslin at just one point, the work highlights the physical consequence of intersection. The theme of “Out of Place” is explored through this deliberate disruption: the single stitch creates a literal pucker and pull, distorting the surrounding material. It mirrors the relationship between mind, body, and land—how a single event, presence, or memory can shift the entire landscape of who and where we are. I hope viewers look past the simplicity of the gesture to feel the quiet tension of that single, permanent mark.
Artist Biography:
I find beauty in what most people discard. Reclaimed fabric, paper, and found materials are things that carry the distinct evidence of a previous life. Having spent over a decade working professionally as a photographer, my eye has always been drawn to the structural history of a space. It was the crumbling wall behind a subject, the peeling paint, or the worn edges that told the real story. That fundamental curiosity has not changed. I have simply transitioned from documenting that wear to manipulating it physically. Today, my practice is intentionally slow and tactile. Working with reclaimed textiles, I hand dye, hand stitch, and allow the material to guide the process. The rust, the fray, and the soft collapse of something used and set aside are not defects to work around. They are the work itself. I live and work in Niagara, Ontario, near the shores of Lake Erie, where the grit, debris, and weathered textures of the local beaches constantly inform the physical boundaries of my studio practice.
