Bobbye Jackson
Sometimes I Just Sit
Informed by a habit of doodling the same shape over and over again, my works are often made up of the same line-- whether it be drawn, sewn, or woven-- applied to the entirety of a surface. My drawing surfaces are limited to various handmade papers and fabrics. The repetition in each piece emphasizes the materiality of these drawing surfaces. The marks left behind during the labor of creating the work become a part of the imagery. The color of each piece is limited to tones that create a sense of calm in me: mostly earth tones and muted colors. This combination of line and color leads to planes of pattern that were soothing to make and are soothing to look at.
I use my work as an escape. The time-consuming and repetitive nature of the mark making gives me space simply to sit and exist away from the day to day. While the techniques used in the creation process are very mechanical, the flaws that naturally occur in them remind one of the inherent humanness that handmade objects often have. These irregularities are in conversation with the imperfections found in the works of traditional weavers, textile makers, and craft artists whose work I find most inspiring.
Thesis Committee Members
- Professor Ming Ying Hong, Chair
- Professor Rowan Haug
- Professor Joseph Morzuch
Daylight Streaming in Through Shades
Ink wash, natural dye, and holes on rice paper (various), 34”x 24 ½”, 2021, $800
Two layers. Burnt orange ink wash brush strokes in rows on bottom layer. Similar oval-shapes cut out of pink toned upper layer. Optically disconcerting combination.
Deep End
Gel pen on dyed muslin, 26”x 5”x 37”, 2021, $700
Muted, periwinkle blue fabric with white grid hand drawn across surface. Draped to create volume and abstract vertical and horizontal lines.
Before We Were Born
Dyed rice paper, embroidery, and spray paint on canvas, 25 ½”x 54”, 2021, $1200
Small, pale pink oval cutouts stitched onto central third of a tan-toned canvas rectangle to mimic fringe.
Thoughts, Like Rain
Ink on paper towel, 10’x 5.5”x 8”, 2021, $900
Rows of vertical, dark grey tic marks covering long strip of brown paper towels. Hung high on the wall and then pooled on the floor beneath.
Seldom If Ever
Embroidery on rice paper, 11”x 10 ¾”, 2021, $400
Continuous spiral of light green stitches on tan rice paper.
Interlude
Dyed cane reeds, 20 ½”x 34 ¾”, 2021, $900
Vertical oval-shaped. Tan and light mauve cane reeds woven together.
7:28 am
Holes on rice paper and ink wash on linen, 38”x 34”, 2021, $800
White paper punctured with holes over the surface. Strip of white linen to its right covered with green ink dots to match holes.