For Sunday Visit, Botanical Colors sits down for an interview with a luminary in the natural dye, textile and art world. This week we visit with the inimitable Jody Alexander who has an upcoming workshop with us! Grab a cup of tea and settle in to learn about someone you never knew! Catch up on all our Sunday Visits here.
We are so excited to host you this October! Can you tell us a little bit about the origin of the Studio Storyteller Coat? I love the ethos of mending and repair as a thread that ties your work together. We would love to know about the origins of this piece and your intentions for the Journey of this piece.
The Studio Storyteller Coat was born out of my love for Japanese textiles. I had been studying Japanese mending techniques for years and in doing so I became aware of Japanese Noragi coats which are work coats that are usually made of cotton and are mended and repaired as needed to keep them going. I have a few examples in my collection and I found myself wearing a couple of them in the studio because they are so comfortable. After studying these coats, I decided to make my own pattern that is an amalgamation of the coats I own plus a few Western style sewing construction additions. The Studio Storyteller Coat is intended to be added onto for years to come as it lives with you, travels with you, and changes with you. It will tell your story.
How has craft and art been a part of your life, were you always an artist? When did you know this was the path you wanted to take?
I have always enjoyed making things. As a kid I drew, painted, made ceramics, and did needlepoint and sewed. As an adult, in my early 20s, I had dropped all of these things but still had an urge to create. When I was in graduate school for Library Science I discovered the book arts: paper making, printing, and bookbinding, and realized that making was what I wanted to be doing. That was my entry back into a creative life, and then about 15 years ago textile arts started consuming my interests. I still make books, usually with fabric lately, and work with paper occasionally. However, fabric is my main medium along with what I can do to it to make it unique to me: natural dyeing, printing, transferring, working with earth pigments, etc.
What feeds your creative practice?
My environment – whatever that may be. Looking back at the series’ that I have worked on in the last 15 years, that is quite evident. When I was working in a college library that withdrew over 10,000 books they became my materials and my muses. What we keep and what we discard became the concept for my KEEP: Modern Library series, and the Bibliomuse subseries. When the pandemic hit, just as I returned from a trip to Japan, I looked back on all four of my Japan travel adventures for the content and concept for my What it Was series that explores the power of memory and experience. Currently, I’m spending most of my time in the Sierra Nevada Foothills and one project that I am working on involves the effect of hydraulic mining on the local landscape (What it Is series). And, my most recent series, Aqua Lab: In Search of the Third Thing, records my open water lake swimming adventures in an attempt to define the allure of water.
Are there any rituals, or practices outside of your hand work that are a part of your routine?
Collecting. That includes whatever I come upon in my travels (interesting thread, fabrics, imagery), visits to the local thrift shops (interesting objects and textiles), and my outdoor adventures on trails, driving mountain roads, swimming in lakes (data, earth pigments, dye stuff, sticks, lichen, etc.)
Your recent installation and artistic project, Aqua lab ties in your love for swimming. What does water mean to you?
Everything! We all know that we need water to live, but I seem to take it to another level: I need to be IN it to live. It is something I crave, and need, and it brings me great joy, emotional calm, and physical well being.
How did workshops become an integral part to your work? What can we expect for your upcoming workshop at Botanical Colors?
Teaching workshops is a large part of how I make a living but beyond that it feeds me in many ways. It takes me out of my routine, exposes me to new places, and most importantly introduces me to new people – my students are wonderful people who inspire me – I always learn from them! I am really looking forward to my Studio Storytelling Coat workshop at Botanical Colors. I will take students through the process of creating a Studio Storytelling Coat that is unique and personal to them. It will not only be a reflection of their experience in Seattle and at Botanical Colors, but it will also continue to evolve for years to come.
