Stitch. Pattern. Repeat.
The display of your artwork in an international airport intersecting with the height of a pandemic, with travel restricted in cities around the world, might strike you as a bit of bad luck.
For Jamie Lynn Williams, it was perfect timing— intentional in a way she could never have planned for.
It was through meditation that “In An Instant,” the ten foot wide needlework that is the central piece in her current show, came to her. The art that Williams had been creating, however, initially had no final resting place. She says: “I felt strongly that if I just began to work on the project, that a site-based opportunity would show up of its own accord, and it did.”
Side view of “In An Instant” Yarn on plastic canvas. 66” x 120”
The title of the show, “Stitch. Pattern. Repeat.” refers to this intentionality. For Williams, this body of work was as much about the process of creation as it was about the end product. As she immersed herself in hundreds of hours of needlework— she estimates 364.5 on the largest piece— she focused on the stitch in front of her, seeking to trust the process and dedicate herself to it. “In An Instant,” refers to the present moment of being with each individual stitch and its potential for expansion.” This mindset allowed her to create “in a state of awareness” and “from a place of inner connectedness.”
“Amidst the collective energies of loss, despair, and fear of the unknown,” Williams sought a sense of groundedness through her own spiritual practices and through continuing to create. She credits her graduate advisor, Diana Guerrero-Macia, at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where Williams is currently a student in the fiber and material studies program, with “helping [her] to remain authentic to [her] art practice throughout this experience.”
When the opportunity came, then, to display “In An Instant” in the Indianapolis International Airport, Williams desire “to catch the viewer in a moment where they felt rushed, anxious, or were otherwise in a state of disconnection” found its ideal intersection with an audience, able “to bring them back to the present moment.” Williams believes that her work achieved its purpose “if even one solitary traveler or airport staff member was inspired to tune into the infinite possibilities that exist within the present” upon viewing the piece.
Likewise, showing in the Harrison Center’s Speck Gallery felt like another perfect fit. The former chapel is “suggestive of experiences of prayer, meditation, and deep contemplation,” which have been integral in Williams’ own spiritual and artistic practices.
“In An Instant: Amalgamation (4)” Yarn on plastic canvas. Framed. 9” x 9.”
Williams has used various techniques in embroidery in her past work and in her studies. The textile pieces in this show, however, are created using needlepoint, that is, constructed on plastic canvas with acrylic yarn using “variations of a “slant stitch” or “tent stitch” across a grid structure.” Drawing out of the fabric’s orientation itself, the patterns used in “Stitch. Pattern. Repeat.” follow predetermined order to achieve balance and resolution in a way that the eye is never bored nor overstimulated.
Pattern, in a conceptual as well as physical form, inspired Williams’ body of work in the deepest sense. The patterns have a direct tie to Williams’ spiritualism and Kabbalistic heritage, as she recognizes repetition, order, and polarity in sacred geometry. The large-scale format of the show’s most formidable piece, “In An Instant,” allowed her to explore these ideas more fully, showcasing vibrant colors constrained within needlepoint grids.
The smaller, accompanying pieces, “In An Instant: Amalgamations” are iterations of the same ideals. The larger and smaller pieces can be viewed as one cohesive body, as they are currently displayed, though they exist as physically and commercially separate entities.
The other pieces included in this show are prints that transform the medium of fiber works done by Williams while capturing the textural qualities of each thread in two-dimensional form. The fronts and backs of hand-stitched needlepoints were scanned and then altered, as Williams “digitally mirrored and tessellated the images into new patterns.” The prints, like the fiber works, reflect order, opposition, and adherence to patterns.
“Stitch. Pattern. Repeat: VIII” Inkjet on Bond Paper. Framed. 8” x 10.”