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Tenderly Crocheted Sculptures by Caitlin McCormack Contend with Existential Dread

by Aurelia Butler 10 July 2025, 14:15

“Let’s Get Demonized (Instructional Polyhedron).” Photos by Jason Chen. All images courtesy of Caitlin McCormack, shared with permission

Tenderly Crocheted Sculptures by Caitlin McCormack Contend with Existential Dread

July 10, 2025

ArtCraft

Kate Mothes

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Caitlin McCormack is known for her crocheted, skeletal animals and otherworldly plants that nod to a speculative future in which the earth has endured environmental catastrophe. Motifs of skeletal baby birds and mammals read as cautionary tales about the human relationship with nature today and how much more disconnected—and disastrous—it could become.

Through crochet, with which we often associate domestic comfort and even quaintness, the artist channels a nostalgic medium to peer more closely at what we ignore in the present. Bundles of stones and knick-knacks encased in lacy fibers are complemented by skeletal specimens and strange botanical sculptures.

“Never Let the Party Die”

A new body of work that goes on view this weekend in There You Will Find the Stone at Harman Projects. The show includes a nebulous, blue wall sculpture titled “Earth Before Eyeballs Existed,” containing niches for tiny bundles of found objects. Pairing a slightly unnerving hue and a collection of tenderly crocheted packets, McCormack illuminates a reverence for tiny overlooked or discarded items.

Many of the titles of the artist’s pieces express a sense of dread, tension, or excess. A series of bundles titled They Come Back But They’re Never the Same and sculptures like “Don’t Let the Party Die” hint at a human crisis of control. “You Picked the Wrong One,” with a nest of unsettling, skeletal baby birds, brims with foreboding.

McCormack’s recent work emerges also from her attempts to process loss and illness in her family, including her own medical diagnoses. “These experiences have catalyzed a reevaluation of deep-rooted existential positions, specifically those grounded in skepticism, atheism, and a lifetime of anxiety,” she says in a statement. These pieces “serve as manifestations of an evolving worldview shaped by grief, loss, and an obsessive search for meaning.”

There You Will Find the Stone runs from July 12 to August 2 in New York City. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

“Earth Before Eyeballs Existed”

Detail of “Earth Before Eyeballs Existed”

“Milkvetch, How Much More Can They Hold”

Detail of “Milkvetch, How Much More Can They Hold”

“They Come Back But They’re Never the Same V”

“You Picked the Wrong One”

Detail of “You Picked the Wrong One”

Detail of “Never Let the Party Die”

“I Came Here to Try to Have a Good Time”

Detail of “I Came Here to Try to Have a Good Time”

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Wood and Ceramic ‘Guardian’ Assemblages by Expanded Eye Emphasize Earthy Materials
by Aurelia Butler 9 July 2025, 18:52
Casa Mahala installation. All images courtesy of Expanded Eye, shared with permission
Wood and Ceramic ‘Guardian’ Assemblages by Expanded Eye Emphasize Earthy Materials
July 9, 2025
ArtCraft
Kate Mothes
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Blurring the distinction between abstraction and figuration, Expanded Eye’s recent works explore themes of the divine feminine and “the peaceful power of the Earthmother,” the duo says. Comprising Lisbon-based artists Jade Tomlinson and Kevin James, Expanded Eye is known for characteristically geometric, figurative tattoos and assemblages (previously) that incorporate wood and repurposed materials into bold compositions. Through large-scale installations and framed pieces, the artists explore the possibilities of texture, pattern, and color.
Tomlinson and James have put their tattoo practice on hold to focus on sculptural reliefs. Ceramic, in particular, has become a central tenet of their practice, inspired by the rich tile tradition of Portugal, known as azulejo—an exemplification of cross-cultural exchange. The artists are interested in “using this grounding, ancient material from the earth to depict serene guardians in earth tone colors, to evoke stillness and calm in this fast-paced world.”
“Earth Flow” (2025), glazed hand-cut tiles in wooden tray frame, 58 x 48 centimeters
Past and present converge in Expanded Eye’s compositions, channeling an interest in timelessness and the continuum of clay, carving, and building methods. The graphic elements and fragmented features also call to early 20th-century art historical Modernism, especially the Cubist movement. It’s this “fusion of traditional materials with a unique modern approach that excites us—connecting the past to the present,” the artists tell Colossal.
Expanded Eye is currently working on their largest tile commission to date and plans to further merge ceramics with other facets of their practice. Explore more on the artists’ website and Instagram.
Casa Mahala installation
Detail of Casa Mahala installation
“Earth Mother” (2024), glazed and hand-cut tile panel in wooden tray frame, 117 x 71 centimeters
“Lunar Guardian” (2024), glazed and hand-cut tiles in wooden tray frame, 34.5 x 24 / 13 x 24 centimeters
“Guardians series 3” (2024), glazed and hand-cut tiles in wooden tray frame, 54.5 x 24 centimeters
“Earth Dance” (2025), glazed ceramic tile panel in wooden tray frame, 128 x 71 centimeters
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Blackburn’s National Festival of Making Celebrates Collaborations Between Art and Industry
by Aurelia Butler 9 July 2025, 14:32
Morag Myerscough in collaboration with Crown Paints. Photos by Robin Zahler. All images courtesy of the artists and the National Festival of Making, shared with permission
Blackburn’s National Festival of Making Celebrates Collaborations Between Art and Industry
July 9, 2025
ArtCraftDesign
Kate Mothes
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Every year, in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire, a vibrant festival erupts with creativity in a celebration of art, craft, and industry. This year marked the seventh edition of the National Festival of Making, organized along the theme of “Art in Manufacturing.” Acclaimed artists and designers teamed up with industry leaders to create works using a variety of materials, from Morag Myerscough’s collaboration with Crown Paints for a vibrant new mural to Liaqat Rasul’s partnership with textile producer Herbert Parkinson for an optical installation.
Locality played a central role in the festival, as artists were paired with manufacturers in Lancashire. Matter at hand, the design practice of Lewis Jones, teamed up with Darwen Terracotta and Faience, which focuses on traditional glazed earthenware for home products and restoration (faience is a type of tin-glazed pottery).
Liaqat Rasul in collaboration with Herbert Parkinson, “Umeed (Oh-meed) امید – Gobaith – Hope”
Matter at hand created a large-scale installation titled “Poured Earth,” which takes an architectural approach to materials in the northern transept of Blackburn Cathedral. The piece invites visitors to walk through an archway of wooden crates and around cast elements in various shapes and sizes, emphasizing the timelessness and continuity of earthen building materials and styles.
Morag Myerscough transformed a corner building into a characteristically vivid, geometric floral mural with complementary garden boxes and a water tank. Rasul’s piece, a multifaceted textile assemblage suspended in the Blackburn Cathedral crypt, features a friendly face made of independent elements that merge into a full visage when viewed from the front.
Titled “Umeed (Oh-meed) امید – Gobaith – Hope,” the piece was created from scraps salvaged from Herbert Parkinson’s factory floor in addition to the artist’s own archive. Rasul tenderly embroidered the Urdu, Hindu, and Welsh words for “hope” amid various found elements like cord and safety pins.
The National Festival of Making features a program of more than 100 workshops, performances, artist talks, markets, and more across more than 20 Blackburn venues. Emphasizing the power of collaboration, cross-disciplinary exploration, and community, the festival aims to empower people of all ages to lean into curiosity and get making.
Rasul and Lewis’s work will be on view through July 12, with Myerscough’s mural intended for long-term display. Find more on the festival’s website.
Matter at hand in collaboration with Darwen Terracotta, “Poured Earth”
Matter at hand in collaboration with Darwen Terracotta, “Poured Earth” (detail)
Morag Myerscough in collaboration with Crown Paints
Liaqat Rasul in collaboration with Herbert Parkinson, “Umeed (Oh-meed) امید – Gobaith – Hope” (detail)
Matter at hand in collaboration with Darwen Terracotta, “Poured Earth” (detail)
Detail of a mural by Morag Myerscough in collaboration with Crown Paints
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Site-Specific Textiles by Rachel B. Hayes Radiate Within Vast Landscapes and Sunlit Interiors
by Aurelia Butler 7 July 2025, 17:29
Mirror Lake, Bottomless Lakes State Park, New Mexico, 2015. All images courtesy of Rachel B. Hayes, shared with permission
Site-Specific Textiles by Rachel B. Hayes Radiate Within Vast Landscapes and Sunlit Interiors
July 7, 2025
ArtCraftDesign
Kate Mothes
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From myriad swaths of vivid, translucent fabric, Rachel B. Hayes conjures striking installations that transform our experiences of both interior spaces and expansive natural landscapes. The Tulsa-based artist suspends large-scale patchwork compositions in spaces ranging from barns and greenhouses to open fields and lakes, experimenting with scale, color, pattern, light, and movement in joyful installations.
Hayes’ works have been exhibited extensively around the U.S. and Europe, often stretched like quilted sun sails over courtyards. Her recent piece “Horizon Drift,” in collaboration with Black Cube in Denver, comprises a series of overlapping triangular elements that cast colorful shadows onto the pavement, similar to “A Moment in Time” in Capri.
“Horizon Drift” (2024) Denver, Colorado. Photo by Third Dune, courtesy of Black Cube Nomadic Art Museum
Usually installed for just a few weeks or months, Hayes’ installations temporarily merge with their surroundings, a nod to Jeanne-Claude and Christo’s monumentally ambitious fabric interventions. Richly patchworked or woven, the pieces also emphasize a joyful experience of light, breeze, and time-honored American quilting practices.
Hayes always enjoys looking back at earlier works and in situ experiments to inform new pieces. “I still get so much inspiration and energy from my temporary experiments…I keep coming back to my favorite sites that I know like the back of my hand but also learn and see new things every time I visit,” she says. She often returns to various sites in South Dakota, Missouri, and New Mexico to document work multiple times. The light, weather, and changes in the landscape always “read” differently, and she thinks of many of these pieces as part of a “long vision” within her practice.
Sometimes, Hayes’ works remain installed for a while longer, and she has embraced becoming something of a “fabric engineer.” Several long-term projects will likely be installed outdoors for at least five years, challenging the artist to select materials that will be both visually effective and endure the elements. “It is truly exhilarating to try and find ways to make my outdoor experiments last for longer periods of time,” she says.
Light, especially sunlight, plays a significant role in Hayes’ compositions and site selection, particularly indoors where architecture and prescribed routes influence how people move around and can view the work. “I am usually chasing the sun to see where it peeks through the space and plays with reflections and color-casted shadows, so it’s really important that I make the appropriate choice for the site,” she says. While the artist uses software like Photoshop or Procreate to compose the overall pattern, she primarily focuses on the physicality of the material and its unique interactions with different places.
Installation at Foreland, Catskill, New York. Photo by Adam T. Deen
Hayes’ installations are on view in Patterned by Nature at the Chicago Botanic Garden throughout the summer. You can also see her work in Soft Structures through August 8 at Jane Lombard Gallery in New York City and Body’s First Architecture through August 10 at Ely Center of Contemporary Art in New Haven, Connecticut.
Her semi-permanent exhibitions can be seen at the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska, and The Gathering Place in Tulsa. And if you find yourself in West Texas, Hayes’ flag is currently flown outside Ballroom Marfa during the gallery’s opening hours. Explore more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
You might also enjoy Wally Dion’s translucent quilts that honor Indigenous traditions.
Fruitlands Museum, Harvard, Massachusetts, 2023
“Garden Loom” (2015), Roswell, New Mexico
Menlo Park, California
“A Moment in Time” (2022), Capri, Italy. Photo by Istanbul’74
Detail of installation at Mirror Lake, Bottomless Lakes State Park, New Mexico, 2015
“Cloud Report” (2021), South Dakota
South Dakota
Fairfield, Iowa
Flint Hills, Kansas
Greenwood, Missouri
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From Velvet and Vintage Textiles, Larysa Bernhardt Embroiders Otherworldly Moths
by Aurelia Butler 7 July 2025, 14:47
All images courtesy of Larysa Bernhardt, shared with permission
From Velvet and Vintage Textiles, Larysa Bernhardt Embroiders Otherworldly Moths
July 7, 2025
ArtCraftNature
Kate Mothes
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“Mythology and folklore surrounding moths and butterflies carries complex and sometimes contradictory symbolism,” artist Larysa Bernhardt says. “I was always attracted to their paradoxical nature.” While on one hand, she dreads certain types of the winged creatures turning up in her house because of the risk they pose to textiles, she is fascinated by their variations and loves to see them thrive.
Dualities abound in Bernhardt’s sculptural, embroidered textile moths. Her creative process begins outdoors in a seemingly unrelated aspect of the studio—her garden. The artist tends to a “moon garden” every summer, comprising fragrant botanicals like tobacco, moonflower, datura, and jasmine that perfume the air and blossom with small white flowers that “glow in the dark like stars,” the artist says. Sphinx and luna moths often visit, accompanied by thousands of fireflies.
When the sun comes up, the garden transforms into a riot of color, with zinnias, poppies, and roses attracting daytime pollinators like butterflies and bees. “It’s the duality of it—night and day, sun and moon, moths and butterflies” that fascinates Bernhardt. She adds, “It’s an incredibly complex balancing act I am forever mesmerized by.”
Mirroring the supple fuzziness of the insects’ wings, the artist enjoys working with velvet to achieve the moths’ elegance and whimsy. It’s a challenging material because the pile can be unforgiving; make a mistake and the ghost of the stitch will remain as a mark on the fabric. Bernhardt stitches freehand when applying motifs to the wings, starting with a loose sketch but allowing intuition to guide her in creating star-like patterns and symbolic objects like vases or eyes.
Bernhardt also loves working with vintage needlepoints and old tapestries. “I find textile pieces in dusty corners of antique stores; I love these discoveries,” she says. “And I love giving them another chance to go back up on a wall and be admired again, cherished.”
The artist’s work is currently included in Daughters of Eve at Quirky Fox in Taranaki, New Zealand, and Beyond the Sea at Nanny Goat Gallery in Petaluma, California. In August, Bernhardt will be part of a show with Beinart Gallery in Melbourne, and she’s currently working toward a solo exhibition at Haven Gallery in Long Island, New York. Find more on her website and Instagram.
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Vibrant Patterns in Frances Priest’s Ceramics Emanate Historical and International Influences
by Aurelia Butler 3 July 2025, 16:00
“Byzantine.” Photos by Shannon Toft. All images courtesy of Frances Priest, shared with permission
Vibrant Patterns in Frances Priest’s Ceramics Emanate Historical and International Influences
July 3, 2025
ArtCraft
Kate Mothes
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In vibrant effusions of color, Frances Priest creates ceramic vessels, tiles, and sculptural forms that explore the possibilities of pattern. The Edinburgh-based artist’s interest in decorative motifs stems from a book she received as a child, The Grammar of Ornament by Owen Jones, originally published in 1856.
Jones compiled elaborate documentation of decorative motifs around Europe, the Middle East, and other regions represented in British museum collections of the time. An international focus has long inspired Priest, who incorporates a wide range of visual languages into her pieces.
Jar with a chevron pattern
Priest (previously) emphasizes geometry and color, merging ideas of precision with organic movement—some of the elements appear to be floating away or overlapping playfully with others rather than remaining in perfect alignment. She also continues the patterns across the bottoms of the pieces, emphasizing an all-around completeness.
Recent works include a series of cylindrical vessels with lids influenced by Chinese ginger jars. The artist recently completed a large-scale tile commission for Theatre Clwyd in North Wales titled “Stellar,” and a series of encaustic floral tiles dotted the floor of a garden at London’s 2025 RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
If you’re in Edinburgh, see Priest’s work at &Gallery in the forthcoming group exhibition Fragments, which runs from July 5 to 30. Find more on the artist’s Instagram and website, where some of the pieces shown here are available for purchase in her shop.
Jars with (L-R) triangle, chevron, and bow patterns
Detail of the triangle-patterned jar
“Wait”
Installation view of “Byzantine”
Detail of “Byzantine”
“Pace”
Jar with a bow pattern
Detail of “Byzantine”
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Explore Storytelling Through 300 Years of Quilts in ‘Fabric of a Nation’
by Aurelia Butler 25 June 2025, 18:38
Bisa Butler, “To God and Truth” (2019), print and resist-dyed cottons, cotton velvet, rayon satin, and knotted string, pieced, appliquéd, and quilted; 117 1/2 x 140 5/8 inches. Photos © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. All images courtesy of Frist Art Museum, shared with permission
Explore Storytelling Through 300 Years of Quilts in ‘Fabric of a Nation’
June 25, 2025
ArtCraftHistory
Kate Mothes
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While we often associate quilts with their function as bedspreads or an enjoyable hobby, the roots of the craft run very deep. The art form has long been associated with storytelling, and numerous styles have enabled makers to share cultural symbols, memories, and autobiographical details through vibrant color and pattern.
African American quilters have significantly influenced the practice since the 17th century, when enslaved people began sewing scraps of fabric to make blankets for warmth. Through artists like Harriet Powers in the 19th century or the Gee’s Bend Quilters, this powerful mode of expression lives on in rich tapestries and textile works being made today.
Civil War Zouave Quilt (1863–64), wool plain weave and twill, cotton plain weave and other structures, leather; pieced, appliquéd, and embroidered with silk. Photo © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
A new exhibition titled Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston opens this week at the Frist Art Museum, surveying nearly 50 quilts from the MFA’s collection. Works span the 19th through 21st centuries, with bold textiles by contemporary artists like Bisa Butler included alongside Civil War-era examples and commemorative album quilts.
Stories play a starring role in Fabric of a Nation, which delves into the socio-political contexts in which the pieces were made and how narrative, symbolism, and autobiography shaped their compositions. For example, a unique Civil War quilt completed by an unknown maker in 1864 repurposes fabric from Zouave uniforms. Small panels featuring birds, soldiers on horseback, and the American flag transport us to a time when the U.S. had been at war for three years.
Another fascinating piece is another flag composition in which the stripes have been stitched with dozens of names, including Susan B. Anthony near the top of one of the central columns. Known as the “Hoosier Suffrage Quilt,” it’s thought to chronicle suffrage supporters.
More recently, Michael C. Thorpe’s untitled work features the bold appliquéd words “Black Man” over pieced batik fabrics. Butler’s large-scale “To God and Truth” is a colorful reimagining of an 1899 photograph. She transforms a black-and-white image into a vibrant, patterned portrait of the African American baseball team of Morris Brown College, Atlanta.
Fabric of a Nation opens on June 27 and continues through October 12 in Nashville. Find more and plan your visit on the museum’s website. You might also enjoy exploring more quilts by Black Southern makers or Stephen Townes’ embroidered tableaux of leisure in the Jim Crow South.
Michael C. Thorpe, Untitled (2020), printed cotton plain weave and batting; machine quilted, 20 x 16 inches
Hoosier Suffrage Quilt (before 1920), cotton plain weave, pieced, embroidered, and quilted. Photo © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Unidentified maker. Peacock Alley Chenille Bedspread (1930–40s), cotton plain weave, embroidered with cotton pile; 99 x 88 1/2 inches. Photo © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Baltimore album quilt (c. 1847–50), cotton plain weave, pieced, appliquéd, quilted, and embroidered ink. Photo © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
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Ireland’s Oldest and Largest Medieval Book Shrine Goes on Public View for the First Time
by Aurelia Butler 24 June 2025, 21:41
Book shrine discovered at Lough Kinale, Tonymore North, County Longford, Ireland. All images courtesy of the National Museum of Ireland, shared with permission
Ireland’s Oldest and Largest Medieval Book Shrine Goes on Public View for the First Time
June 24, 2025
ArtBooksCraftHistory
Kate Mothes
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In an unassuming lake in Ireland’s northern County Longford, an unprecedented find emerged in 1986. Thanks to the sediments in the body of water, pieces of a unique, highly decorated metal object dating to the 9th century were remarkably preserved. And now, after a 39-year conservation project, the nation’s oldest and largest medieval book shrine is now on view.
Known as the Lough Kinale Book Shrine after its namesake lake, the object features a series of medallions with precious stone inserts, along with embellished metalwork in the form of a cross. Part of the exhibition Words on the Wave: Ireland and St. Gallen in Early Medieval Europe at the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, the stunning artifact is complemented by a number of pieces contemporary to its day.
Detail of the Lough Kinale book shrine
The shrine’s metal is bronze and encompasses an oak container, which would have held a treasured manuscript associated with a Christian saint. Used to convey the volume to various ceremonial activities, it also would have originally featured a leather strap to make it easier to transport.
Words on the Wave also includes a Viking sword uncovered in the River Shannon in Limerick and a beautiful example of a medieval brooch-pin, the Ardshanbally Brooch, which dates to the 8th or 9th century.
Thanks to scientific analysis, manuscripts on loan from the Abbey Library in St. Gall, Switzerland, have also been confirmed to have originated in Ireland. Researchers determined that the vellum pages were made from the hides of Irish cattle, and monks traveled with the books to Switzerland more than a thousand years ago. This exhibition marks the first time in more than a millennium that the illuminated tomes have resided in Ireland.
Words on the Wave continues in Dublin through October 24. Learn more and plan your visit on the museum’s website.
Irish Evangelary from St. Gall (Quatuor evangelia), Cod. Sang. 51, p. 78. © Stiftsbibliothek, St. Gallen
Detail of the Lough Kinale book shrine
Detail of the Lough Kinale book shrine
Detail showing St Matthew applying a scribal knife or scraper to a page and dipping his pen in an inkwell (Cod. Sang. 1395, p. 418). © Stiftsbibliothek, St. Gallen
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Sculptural Embroideries on Wood by Nosheen Iqbal Translate Architectural Motifs into Thread
by Aurelia Butler 18 June 2025, 21:17
“Botanical Allegory 11.” All images courtesy of Nosheen Iqbal, shared with permission
Sculptural Embroideries on Wood by Nosheen Iqbal Translate Architectural Motifs into Thread
June 18, 2025
ArtCraft
Grace Ebert
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Semicircles notched into smooth wooden panel structure Nosheen Iqbal’s floral embroideries. Laying colorful lines with impeccable precision, the Dallas-based artist (previously) creates vivid arabesques and geometric motifs that resemble those of her Pakistani and Islamic heritage.
Iqbal is interested in the interplay of light and shadow, which tends to be most prominent in the sunless sides of the three-dimensional forms. Delineating petals and leaves with small beads bolsters, their surfaces glimmering when illuminated. “As light moves across my pieces, it enhances the saturation of colors and emphasizes the intricate threadwork, shifting and revealing new dimensions,” she says.
“Botanical Allegory”
Evoking architecture, her series Botanical Allegory features several works with rounded edges and arch-like shapes. Blending ancient design and craft traditions mirrors the artist’s desire to bring seemingly disparate mediums, techniques, and ideas together. “Living in the West while holding Eastern heritage has driven me to innovate—merging elements from different art movements to create a blend that honors my roots while embracing new influences,” she adds.
Galleri Urbane in Dallas will show a collection of Iqbal’s works in the group exhibition roll the windows down from June 21 to August 8. Find more from the artist on Instagram.
Detail of “Botanical Allegory 5”
“Botanical Allegory 15”
Detail of “Botanical Allegory 14”
“Botanical Allegory 1”
Detail of “Botanical Allegory 1”
“Botanical Allegory 5” in progress
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Latest story

Tenderly Crocheted Sculptures by Caitlin McCormack Contend with Existential Dread

More stories

Wood and Ceramic ‘Guardian’ Assemblages by Expanded Eye Emphasize Earthy Materials

Blackburn’s National Festival of Making Celebrates Collaborations Between Art and Industry

Site-Specific Textiles by Rachel B. Hayes Radiate Within Vast Landscapes and Sunlit Interiors

From Velvet and Vintage Textiles, Larysa Bernhardt Embroiders Otherworldly Moths

Vibrant Patterns in Frances Priest’s Ceramics Emanate Historical and International Influences

Explore Storytelling Through 300 Years of Quilts in ‘Fabric of a Nation’

Ireland’s Oldest and Largest Medieval Book Shrine Goes on Public View for the First Time

Sculptural Embroideries on Wood by Nosheen Iqbal Translate Architectural Motifs into Thread

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