Jean Hess
Thread Map 14, 2022 and ongoing
Old Japanese Boro mended workwear, Victorian and vintage cotton prints, recycled silk, linen and blends, ribbon and thread on vintage linen handkerchief. 13.5 x 14.5"
THREAD MAPS Fabric as subject, as template, as material and unifying presence. Warp, weft, grid. Map, river and trail. Some reference night skies in whole or in part. Those are the passages with very tiny white stitches on darker indigo or black fabric. These works also suggest maps or aerial landscapes – garden layouts, villages cross-cut by streams and paths. The perspective of a flying bird. Textiles that are found, salvaged, pieced together. Recycled clothing from my own closet, from family and friends, and from thrift stores. Scraps combined to form new tableaux. I like the serendipity of it all – one never knows what will appear in a trunk, box or drawer, in a junk shop, or in a friend’s collection. One may discover something new and surprising, and run with it, not knowing where that first scrap will lead. That is to say, there is never a plan – one just begins. I want these to be inexplicable – a thing or fragment of a thing that is hard to place or explain. While they may seem old – worn – discarded – they also surprise with the tiniest stitches, especially on the more-vast expanses of cloth that need to be “filled” to resonate. Labor-intensive -- suggesting that the thing being made has value. Mysterious -- so context-free as to be timeless.
Jean Hess
Thread Map 20, 2024 and ongoing
Old Japanese Boro mended workwear, vintage cotton prints and embroidered tape, recycled silks and blends, thread on vintage linen handkerchief. 19 x 20"
THREAD MAPS Fabric as subject, as template, as material and unifying presence. Warp, weft, grid. Map, river and trail. Some reference night skies in whole or in part. Those are the passages with very tiny white stitches on darker indigo or black fabric. These works also suggest maps or aerial landscapes – garden layouts, villages cross-cut by streams and paths. The perspective of a flying bird. Textiles that are found, salvaged, pieced together. Recycled clothing from my own closet, from family and friends, and from thrift stores. Scraps combined to form new tableaux. I like the serendipity of it all – one never knows what will appear in a trunk, box or drawer, in a junk shop, or in a friend’s collection. One may discover something new and surprising, and run with it, not knowing where that first scrap will lead. That is to say, there is never a plan – one just begins. I want these to be inexplicable – a thing or fragment of a thing that is hard to place or explain. While they may seem old – worn – discarded – they also surprise with the tiniest stitches, especially on the more-vast expanses of cloth that need to be “filled” to resonate. Labor-intensive -- suggesting that the thing being made has value. Mysterious -- so context-free as to be timeless.
Jean Hess
Thread Map 19, 2024 ongoing
Old Japanese Boro mended workwear, Victorian cotton prints, recycled silk, linen, blends, embroidered tape, thread on vintage linen handkerchief 20 x 20"
THREAD MAPS Fabric as subject, as template, as material and unifying presence. Warp, weft, grid. Map, river and trail. Some reference night skies in whole or in part. Those are the passages with very tiny white stitches on darker indigo or black fabric. These works also suggest maps or aerial landscapes – garden layouts, villages cross-cut by streams and paths. The perspective of a flying bird. Textiles that are found, salvaged, pieced together. Recycled clothing from my own closet, from family and friends, and from thrift stores. Scraps combined to form new tableaux. I like the serendipity of it all – one never knows what will appear in a trunk, box or drawer, in a junk shop, or in a friend’s collection. One may discover something new and surprising, and run with it, not knowing where that first scrap will lead. That is to say, there is never a plan – one just begins. I want these to be inexplicable – a thing or fragment of a thing that is hard to place or explain. While they may seem old – worn – discarded – they also surprise with the tiniest stitches, especially on the more-vast expanses of cloth that need to be “filled” to resonate. Labor-intensive -- suggesting that the thing being made has value. Mysterious -- so context-free as to be timeless.
Jean Hess
Thread Map 17, 2024
Hand-stitched tapestry: Found fabrics on linen. 7x17"
An aerial view of landscape at night. Old Japanese Boro fabrics -- already lovingly mended – add resonance to this piece along with my own tiny stiches on colorful found ribbons, trims and fabrics.
Jean Hess
Thread Map 10, 2022
Hand-stitched tapestry: Found fabrics on linen. 18x19"
A night sky map. Vintage Japanese Boro fabrics – work wear already mended – add resonance with my own stiches in threads of various colors with found ribbons, trims and fabrics.
Jean Hess
Laboratorium, 2024
Mixed media: collage, acrylic, resin on board. 12x12"
A night skyscape with flying circles suggesting celestial motion and figures that appear to be moving in a dreamscape but are actually emerging from a coal mine.
Jean Hess
Dusk, 2024
Mixed media: collage, acrylic, resin on board. 10x10"
Contining a signature theme of starry night skies and floating circles that mimic map lines a background suggesting diaphanous fabric
Jean Hess
Night Chart, 2025
Mixed media: collage, acrylic, resin on board. 12x12"
Contining a signature theme of starry night skies and floating circles that mimic directional map lines and suggest tiny stitches frame a central opening into light
Jean Hess
Trees, 2025
Mixed media: collage, acrylic, resin on board 12x12"
An aerial map, cloudy night sky, a flying banner over a moving boat contrast wih a delicate nest full of eggs – motion and stasis
Jean Hess
Sojourne, 2024
Mixed media: collage, acrylic, resin on board. 12x12" 12x12"
An aerial map, cloudy night sky, a flying banner over a moving boat contrast wih a delicate nest full of eggs – motion and stasis
