After completing Suspended Noise as a flat piece of lace, the next step was fitting it onto the aluminum pipe form and placing it outdoors. This piece was made for my dad and is installed on his land in Warner Robins, Georgia. What began as an idea we talked about for years is now a permanent part of the landscape.

The structural form was a collaboration. Before I made the trip to Georgia, my dad bent two aluminum pipes and sent me photos and videos showing how they fit next to each other. I would stare at the images and send back suggestions like bend the top to the left or open the lower section a little more. Eventually, the structure matched our idea of what the lace should look like.

Transporting the lace across the United States required some planning. I rolled it carefully around a pool noodle and packed it in my carry-on luggage, surrounded by clothes. I expected TSA to question the hundreds of feet of copper wire, but it passed through security without a second glance.

The installation took place over eight days. My dad, uncle, and I worked together to assemble the structure, prepare the site, and position the sculpture. Seeing the lace installed for the first time was surreal. We talked about this piece for years, and finally seeing it in place was more than I could have imagined.

The morning after the installation was complete, I noticed dew collected along the wire. Later in the day, there were birds perched on the sculpture. These things may seem small, but to me, I felt like the lace was part of the outdoors it now inhabited. I also loved to see the lace shadows move throughout the day, creating wonderful patterns on the ground.

This lace exists because of collaboration. My dad kept insisting he was not an artist, but working together to make this sculpture proved otherwise.

Check back here on the blog to see what comes next, and follow along on Instagram and TikTok, where I share new pieces, installations, and ongoing experiments with lace.