Integrating local and global systems is critical to a thriving environment, culture, and economy. In this series I explore local systems through the design and creation of textiles, incorporating material, data, and iconography associated with specific communities. While this series focuses on local textile systems, many of the ideas apply to contemporary systems design of all kinds.
This project is the first in-depth study in a series on local systems. After weaving a variety of plants and grasses, I began scanning the world around me for more fibrous materials. I found what I was looking for while roasting corn one night. After this re- alization, I began reaching out to local restaurants in search of excess corn silk and finally found a partner - Savannah, GA’s Bull St. Tacos. I crafted a spindle from a fallen branch and my roomate’s disposable honey mustard container. I made a loom from a cardboard box that had come in the mail. I spun the corn silk into yarn and wove it with itself and, in the second sample, with a weft of wool yarn unspun from a salvaged sweater.
