Nan Travers

Ibegan playing with fibers and dyeing at a very early age with my mother, who was a weaver. I have fond memories of the family mountain climbing to collect plants for her dyes. After trying many art media and different uses of fibers, I became fascinated with using paint brushes to apply dye to fabrics (especially silk) and experimented with creating layers of color and shapes, which I have done for the past 30 years. Over a decade ago, I began felting and fell in love with the sculptural qualities of felt while still being a fabric.

My latest work brings dyed fabrics and felting together. In the Archetype Tree series, I explore different archetypes through imagery of trees. Our relationships with ourselves and with others are complex. There are so many dynamics at play and one way to understand these is through patterns of human behavior, which can be characterized as archetypes. The Archetype Tree series has allowed me to explore underlying themes with each of the archetypes.

The Liberator: Life Upended, Rooted With New Possibilities represents one of my own archetypes. I think of the Liberator as a death/rebirth story. As the tree dies and becomes uprooted, what is beneath the surface is now exposed and allow to grow. We are liberated from our past as we cultivate the new. In my own life, not only have I had many opportunities to start anew, I have had opportunities to help others also grow and find new ways of approaching their lives. In this piece, I have liberated some older felted pieces and reconstructed them into the dying tree, its new growth, and the background, providing new life to old materials.

Liberator: Life Upended, Rooted With New Possibilities 2022 60” x 35” Felted 1800. nantravers@me.com www.woodsidepondstudios.com