A Meditation On Textiles With Multi-Media Artist Andrea Kraybill
10/26/2017 | specs+spaces staff |
Andrea Kraybill breathes a deep breath in — taking in salt of the ocean air around her. She’s perched up on the mountains along the coast, north of Malibu. She glances down at the expansive body of water before her. From a distance, the ocean appears still, despite this, Kraybill still senses the constant movement within — the dynamic and meditative undulation of the ocean waves below her. The artist is at peace.
Image Credit: Jonathan Stoner
Kraybill is a multi-media artist with a focus in textiles, fibers, and watercolor. “My first mediums as a kid were watercolor, white office paper and tape. I have always been drawn both to painting and also more craft-oriented, hands-on art,” she explains. Kraybill has lived and worked in the Los Angeles area since 2014 but it is her travels abroad prior to arriving in Los Angeles — and her interest in other cultures — that have been formative in her work. While studying abroad in Egypt, she was struck by the beauty of abstract patterns in architecture, art, and textiles. During her time living in Nicaragua, Kraybill again was exposed to a different perspective on textiles. “I traveled around Central America, where there are rich traditions of weaving and textile art. Colors, pattern, and the intimacy of textiles--which enter our homes and cover our bodies — intrigue me,” she recalls.
IMAGE CREDIT: JONATHAN STONER
After her time in Central America, Kraybill began creating "sculptural paintings" as a way to bring the characteristics of textiles into paper. “I found a middle-ground between painting, craft,and textiles, which [...] reflect the whole being made greater through the individual pieces,” says the artist, who also recently showcased at Pasadena Art Walk.
Some of Kraybill’s most recent “sculptural paintings” include pieces crafted out of deconstructed Dunn-Edwards paint chips. Her work includes chips of our 2018 Color of the Year The Green Hour (DET544), Rainsong (DET541), Teal Waters (DEA131), Aquatic (DEA134) and more. The intricate work of assembling these 3-D forms is a process which Kraybill finds thoroughly meditative —like the dynamic energy of the ocean waves. Perhaps it is fitting then that the inspiration behind Kraybill’s Dunn-Edwards piece was the similarly meditative waves of the Pacific Ocean — the hike alongside which is Kraybill’s favorite thing to do on a day off.
Image Credits: Andrea Kraybill
You can look forward to seeing big things from Kraybill in the coming months — literally, the artist has large-scale “sculptural paintings” in the works. She also looks forward to the upcoming launch of her online shop.
Image Credit: Jonathan Stoner
To learn more about Andrea Kraybill visit www.andreakraybill.com or follow along with her exploration of textiles on Instagram at @andreajoyk.
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