Clare Nicholls

Clare, it was great to chat with you about the intersection of the internet & digital weaving + making! We are happy the DWL was able to aid in your research.

Weaving on: Collin
Joining us from:  Baltimore, MD

Tell us about yourself and what led you to the residency?

I'm an artist exploring the textual nature of textiles. Textiles contain a record of their own making, an inscription of the values held by their maker and beholder. Stories change with every writer and with every reader. Right now I'm investigating how the internet plays a role in this game of telephone. Jacquard weaving is closely related to computers-- not only is the process computer-driven, but the Jacquard loom's punch cards informed the first computers. I figured if I want my research to expand to digital spaces, using a digital way of making follows.

Have you had any previous experience with Digital Weaving or Jacquard?

I initially explored Jacquard weaving during my MFA at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. Since then I've been building weaving files and dreaming about weaving them! Praxis is a great opportunity to put all of this research together.

Any goals for the residency you'd like to share?

I'm currently exploring how the infinite scroll of the internet relates to the finite scroll of a woven object. I'm interested in how the internet relays and transforms information. My research is grounded in the Antique Pattern Library, a digital archive of pre-internet hobby craft instruction books, and Susan Howe's /Spontaneous Particulars/, a poem/essay/manifesto about irl archival research. I'm interested in the friction between the material and digital worlds, and how that friction can emerge in the world as poetry, as objects.

Check out Clare's website www.clare-nicholls.com or on Insta @clarenicholls