fate itself is like a wonderful, wide fabric...

One of the artists that submitted to Play whose work I loved, loved, loved but did not end up being a good match for the show was artist Paula Stebbins Becker.


Paula lives in Rhode Island and teaches in Umass dividing her time between her family, studio, teaching art, and designing woven Jacquards & embroideries for the textile industry. Therefore it seems to me what she has quite a full life and her work is indeed full of beauty.

In her statement she says:

I am drawn to objects and textiles that have a physical and personal history.

For me, experiences with cloth connects with memory. Over time through use and wear a fabric or photograph fades and collects the visible evidence of daily life. In my artwork I search to discover this personal history as I unravel the threads of a cloth fragment. Through the process of weaving, stitching, darning, I merge the past with the present. Often another layer is added with embroidery, applique or beading. A cloth fragment, a vintage photograph, an object merge together to tell a story about people or a place in time.

To me her work is just gorgeous evoking so much memory in my own life and reminding us how prevalent fabric and textiles are in the making of our memories and our lives.

Her statement ends with this amazing quote:

“...no experience has been to unimportant, and the smallest event unfolds like fate,....fate itself is like a wonderful, wide fabric in which every thread is laid beside another thread and held and supported by a hundred others” Rilke