About Me
My Background
My name is Alexandria, I am a mother and wife and weaver. I've been weaving for about 9 years now. I started weaving when my son was only a year old. Weaving was medicine for my mind and heart while I navigated my family's and my own mental health and those things that just happen in life. Along the way weaving helped me find fulfillment by working with my hands and have built a world of function and imagination. As a virgo I give attention to detail but it's mixed with my neurodiversity's inability to keep order so I like to think I reflect organized choas.
My Baskets/Weavings
No two weavings are the same. I dye all of my material myself. My primary medium at the moment is rattan. How to care for a basket I have made is to condition it with butcher block oil whenever the material seems to feel dry. keep it out of direct sun light (prevent brittleness and color fade) and never store it in a damp environment (prevent mold). I use commercial dyes. I would love to use natural dyes but I am not set up for that yet in life.
What’s Happening
This year is a different year for me. I’m taking 2023 to do some research and development which means fewer baskets made and I won’t make it to the market. However, I am taking commissions starting this Fall and I am still instructing a few workshops. Also, if you are wanting to browse some of my work in town there's a selection of my work at The Cotton Wool. If you are looking to register for a class go to https://www.refineryww.com/register
my art
My art centers around mental health awareness. I come from a family with special needs and have produced my own family who have some special needs. I grew up undiagnosed ADHD. It was very challenging, very lonely and a lot of the time I found myself in some dark places. But I remain determined to translate my interpretation of it all, and do my best to keep it positive. My weavings are a direct correlation to the overwhelming dialogue that runs constantly in my head. It's a bit of a mess. It lacks so much fundamental structure yet some how forms these giant clouds that starve or produce the drought or the flood of dopamine. My art, through the use of fiber arts, is the closes translation of my mind.