Meredith Bly / Fiber-ish

The loom that I began on has been a major inspiration point for me. I’ve worked with it for two years and discovered early on that one of the shafts stuck up while I wove. This used to cause quite a bit of frustration, but I learned to work with it well enough that I could anticipate when to push the shaft down. It became a part of the choreography of my weaving. With every piece I have made on this loom, I’ve forgotten to push the shaft down many times, lifting random warp strings just enough to interrupt my pattern. Sometimes it’s noticeable to the eye and sometimes it’s not. I’ve learned to love this interruption rather than argue with it. I’ve embraced the idea of interruption into my artwork and each piece is interrupted in a different way depending on the design and weaving technique that I use. I’ve always been someone who loses my balance or forgets my train of thought partway through a sentence. I used to view those as downfalls in my character, but as I’ve grown up I’ve learned they are what create my character. Falling off a beam can bring a new idea in choreography. Losing your train of thought can bring a new concept to a conversation. The innately human idea of distraction is often pushed down in order to increase production. But I find that my production is increased when I allow myself to go down the rabbit holes that my mind wants to explore. The processes and materials I’ve explored over the last two years have shown my increasing curiosity in what could happen if I let a glitch happen on accident and then continue to make it happen on purpose. The pieces shown in my exhibition are visual representations of the loss of balance, spring of conversation, startle of noise, and twitch of a pen.

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All pieces from top to bottom, left to right:
Cotton, overshot pattern, 2025.
Cotton and chenille, overshot, 2023.
Cotton, echo and iris, 2024.
Cotton, double cloth blocks, 2024.
Cotton, TC2 digital weaving, 2024.
Cotton, double cloth blocks, 2024.
Cotton and chenille, overshot, 2023.
Cotton and wool, twill pattern, 2024.
Cotton, double cloth pickup pattern, 2025.
Cotton, echo and iris, 2024.
Cotton, twill pattern, 2023

Top left: Cotton, double cloth pickup sampler, 2025.
Purple & white on left: Cotton, overshot sampler, 2025
Bottom left corner and top left corner: Cotton, echo and iris, 2024.
Top middle: Cotton, overshot twill sampler, 2025
Center tapestry: Cotton, tapestry weave, 2023
Center pink: Cotton, overshot sampler, 2025.
Bottom super skinny piece: Cotton and silk, overshot, 2025
Bottom center: Cotton, overshot twill sampler, 2025
Orange piece: Cotton, overshot sampler, 2025
Bottom blue piece: Cotton, overshot, 2025
White piece right: Cotton, overshot sampler, 2025
Bottom right corner: Cotton, overshot sampler, 2025

Cotton, double cloth pickup pattern, 2025.

Cotton, echo and iris, 2024.

First grouping from top to bottom, left to right:
Cotton, overshot pattern, 2025.
Cotton and chenille, overshot, 2023.
Cotton, echo and iris, 2024.
Cotton, double cloth blocks, 2024.
Cotton, TC2 digital weaving, 2024.
Cotton, double cloth blocks, 2024.
Cotton and chenille, overshot, 2023.
Cotton and wool, twill pattern, 2024.
Cotton, double cloth pickup pattern, 2025.
Cotton, echo and iris, 2024.
Cotton, twill pattern, 2023.

Second grouping from top to bottom, left to right:

Cotton, double cloth pickup sampler, 2025.
Purple & white on left: Cotton, overshot sampler, 2025
Bottom left corner and top left corner: Cotton, echo and iris, 2024.
Top middle: Cotton, overshot twill sampler, 2025
Center tapestry: Cotton, tapestry weave, 2023
Center pink: Cotton, overshot sampler, 2025.
Bottom super skinny piece: Cotton and silk, overshot, 2025
Bottom center: Cotton, overshot twill sampler, 2025
Orange piece: Cotton, overshot sampler, 2025
Bottom blue piece: Cotton, overshot, 2025
White piece right: Cotton, overshot sampler, 2025
Bottom right corner: Cotton, overshot sampler, 2025