Since the removal of most of my right arm to cancer, I have had to change the focus of my artwork from the metalsmithing in which I was trained to easier materials. I have therefore begun using soft clays and, in a move that surprised even me, dryer lint.
I had washed some material a few years ago and noticed the color and texture. I started arranging the patterns and was pleased with the result.
I now very carefully sort my laundry, and admittedly will sometimes buy colorful throws and towels in order to get the lint I want. None of the lint is dyed (how can you dye what is essentially dust?) and I have shelves full of sorted lint to choose from when creating a new piece.
I tend to choose animals as my subjects because it makes the work feel more alive to me; I am really not interested in doing landscapes or still lifes because they don’t laugh at the material.
After so many years of sadness with my cancer treatments, I like to laugh; it pleases me when people say “dryer lint?” It’s definitely funny to consider what the art is made of, and my work has always had that thread of humor throughout it. The laughter I feel in making the art is felt in the viewer, I believe, and sometimes that is enough.
The dryer lint pictures that are $250 are 16 by 20 inches. The ones that cost $195 are 11 by 14 inches.
I draw the picture out on heavy poster board first. Sometimes I use a photograph as a reference, and sometimes I just draw what I like (such as the more fantasy oriented works). I will do a number of pieces at once, going through each color very carefully.
The pictures below show me working on a piece based on a photograph of a friend's daughter and her cat. Because of my limitations, I can only work so many hours per day, so each piece takes many days to complete.
Sometimes people send me their dryer lint, which I really appreciate! I always need bright colors. It's best when it's sent flat, like the ones I received in the picture below. I sort it all by color and then store it in the hundreds of containers that line the stairway to my basement!
