My Journey Into 3D Textile Art

Over the past five months, I’ve been able to give myself a gift that I’m finding so meaningful. A gift that I’ve been holding off of. It’s the gift of indulging my curiosity. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a couple of years. I dipped a toe into it in 2023, but never made the space to fully explore.  However, my creative brain will not let me be. The ideas kept swirling around in my head and the desire to test them out will not go away.

Eventually, I gave in. 

From Flat to Form (2D to 3D Textile Art)

I dropped everything to follow my curiosity. To push the limits of fabrics and threads. My quest?  To create sculptural forms from the materials I love and know so well.

And let me tell you – it’s vulnerable, it’s raw, it’s frustrating. To literally, start from scratch. And to move from 2D to 3D. To think in form and space when you’ve spent years thinking in line and plane. It’s not easy.

No. I’m not leaving my 2D work behind. Not at all. I’ll continue to create in two dimension, for sure. But this new 3D work requires a whole new way of thinking and I’m just beginning to build the muscle for that. 

The Burden of Potential

Starting anew is scary. To have nothing to stand on, requires courage. Because when in doubt, there’s no past work to look to. No finished reference. No validation to rest on. Just pure unfiltered bravery.

And still, not doing this feels worse.

That pressing desire to do more is always there in the back of my mind. It doesn’t let up. I’ve coined a term for it. I call it the “Burden of Potential”. It’s that feeling that you’re capable of more than you’re currently doing. That something inside of you is trying to emerge. And the unrelenting pressure inside of you to make space for it. And that, not giving it space is what really steals your peace.

So,I’ve jumped in. I’m creating space for experimentation.

A Messy Process of Experimentation

But let’s be honest—it’s messy.
Figuring out what supplies to use? It’s a full-blown expedition.
Every other week I’m testing new tools, materials, and techniques.
I place orders, experiment, then discard them. I fail very often.

But when something tiny works?
Oh, there’s joy.
Studio-dance joy.
You know, the kind that makes me forget the many failed attempts.

Only to be reminded that I’m nowhere near where I want to be. The work doesn’t yet look like what I envisioned. Not even close. But this is the process. Fail, Succeed, Fail, Fail. Fail. And for me, the lesson here is this:

Success is not a period. It’s a semicolon. And so is failure.

And now, there’s also this. I’ve got stuff everywhere.
My studio, once a neatly organized space for 2D work, is now bursting with new tools, unfamiliar materials, half-formed ideas. There’s hardly room to move some days. I’m constantly stepping over something. Rearranging all the time.

It’s part chaos. Part calm.
It’s uncomfortable—and yet it’s exactly where I need to be.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

A Long Journey to 3D Textile Art

I’ll keep sharing this journey.
Because the burden of potential doesn’t go away.
But walking through it, day by day, one experiment at a time that’s how it will eventually transform into something real. I know the road is long. I’ll have patience. And I’ll try to enjoy the journey. Resisting the urge to fixate on results.

Ultimately, this isn’t about switching from one way of working to another. It’s about honoring the quiet voice that whispers, “You can do more.”

Stay tuned.