Sophia DeJesus-Sabella

Name: Sophia DeJesus-Sabella

Pronouns: she/her

Studio location: Torrington, CT

Website / social links: sophiadejesussabella.com, @sophia_weaves

Loom type or tool preference: 4 harness Leclerc counterbalance, 8 harness Macomber jac

Years weaving: 6

Fiber inclination: Cotton/wool

Current favorite weaving book: Weaver’s Book of 8 Shaft Patterns

Contact information for commissions and collaborations: email address

 

 

1. How did you discover weaving and was what your greatest resource as a beginner?

I initially went to MassArt for graphic design but was placed in an Intro to Fibers class my freshman year. I learned how to weave in 2016 from Ann Wessmann, I was very fortunate to have learned to weave so young and from a weaver with such deep knowledge. The best part about learning to weave was the way the class was structured. We’d do round-robbin looms, with each student setting up a different pattern and everyone weaving a sample on each loom. I think just trying things out is perhaps the beginner’s greatest resource. I felt sort of afraid to do that while I was in school and am making up for it now.

2. How do you define your practice – do you consider yourself an artist / craftsperson / weaver / designer / general creative or a combination of those? Is this definition important to you?

I think my work interrogates why these distinctions even exist - while they hold real implications as cultural histories I question our tendency to categorize as a means of understanding. Categories imply a function, and the expectation of a function limits our ability to interpret objects, materials, bodies as anything but what we expect of them. That being said, I identify with all of those titles and am not particular about how people refer to me.

3. Describe your first experience with weaving.

Before I learned how to weave, I couldn’t comprehend how cloth was made. I took an intro to weaving class my second year of school, our first project was a 2 yard sampler. My warp was Barbie pink and I accidentally made it double the length. I used all different wefts in yellows, purples, pinks and metallics. I was so proud of this piece and it’s the reason I still weave today.

4. What is your creative process, from the initial idea to the finished piece? Are there specific weave structures, looms, or fibers that are important to your process?

I typically start with marker or colored pencil color studies. Then I figure warp stripe proportions, threading patterns, and fiber content. I weave sculptural pieces, tapestries, blankets, scarves, etc but I usually work in some sort of overshot or monks belt pattern. Currently, my studio is a section of my living room with two 48” looms and a corner wall with a warping board. All my yarn is mixed into my book shelves, and living with my materials and tools like that influences my creative process. I have a four harness counterbalance loom and an eight harness jack loom, truthfully I prefer the counterbalance loom because it’s easier on my body. For fibers, I love alpaca, mohair, angora, anything soft with a halo. I also work with a lot of cotton, chenille, and Lurex - Lurex has an interesting history in weaving/post-WW2 manufacturing that also influences that way I use it.

 5. Does your work have a conceptual purpose or greater meaning? If so, do you center your making around these concepts?

My work proposes questions and ideas by which I live my life; I feel that I live my values through my work. I look at the interaction of class, queerness, labor, and utility with an emphasis on celebrating hybrid states. I provide audiences with visual and material touchpoints - the pattern of wood grain, the invitation of blanket-sized cloth - that allow them to access ambiguous objects. Considering an object that embodies a nuanced or hybrid state requires a degree of patience as you cycle through possible interpretations of the thing in front of you. I want my work to be generous in exchange for a viewer’s time, to give as much as it is given to it. So I wouldn’t say my work has a conceptual purpose/greater meaning except to explore my values and beliefs.

 

6. What is your favorite part of the weaving process and why? What’s your least favorite?

My favorite part of the weaving process is actually threading the loom, which most people would not agree with! I find it meditative, and when I get into a rhythm it goes pretty quickly. My least favorite part is how hard it is on my body. I’m 4’10” so most looms are too big for me, including the two I work on now. My neck and back are strained the most and I can only weave for a couple hours at a time.

7. Do you sell your work or make a living from weaving? If so, what does that look like and how has that affected your studio practice?

I’ve figured out a way to work in my studio as a part-time job. I also work part-time at a gallery and serving tables. I spend most of the time I’m not at my two jobs in my studio, and while I’ve sunk a lot of money into my work over the past few months I’ve also sold a lot of work and plan to release a few collections of wearables and home goods that will continue to support my practice. Also, I love this question, because I’ve always found it helpful when artists are transparent about how they make a living.

8. Where do you find inspiration?

I take a lot of inspiration from my upbringing, my mom is a painter and my dad is an electrician. They both had their own spaces in my house growing up, my mom’s being her studio and my dad’s the basement. My mom loved abstract expressionism and midcentury modern furniture while my dad hoarded surplus construction materials and broken engines. Materially and conceptually, my work pulls from this childhood landscape to reference both personal memories and historical context. Some other places I find inspiration are science fiction, chairs, utopias, 50’s interiors and vintage clothing.

9. What other creatives do you admire – weavers, artists, entrepreneurs – and why?

One of the first that comes to mind is Erin Riley. Her technique and prolificness, along with her content, are stunning. I also love Jennifer Mao’s pay-what-you-wish structure, it’s such a smart way to make one’s work accessible. Also Diedrick Brackens, Ricki Dwyer, Sandy Lamb, Mima Eden, H. Mitsu Shimabukuro, Kira Keck, Amy Keeler, etc….

10. If you could no longer weave, what would you do instead?

I’d probably do a carpentry apprenticeship and work in custom cabinetry or furniture making. I love wood and woodworking and math and think it’d be really fun.

artist portrait taken by Amy Kim Keeler at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts