​Two person show between Kathie Halfin and Elizabeth Tolson 

Presented at the Lakeview Gallery,

Appalachian Center For CraftTennessee Tech University 

2024

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In “Embodied Cosmos”, Kathie Halfin and Elizabeth Tolson delve into the intricate world of weaving, exploring its parallels with thriving and care in the realm of plants and motherhood. Through this journey, they highlight how weaving, an act of intertwining threads, mirrors the delicate interdependence between nature and nurture. By juxtaposing the nurturing process of weaving with the nurturing/tending role of caregivers, they illuminate the shared essence of growth, support, and sustenance.

 

Embodied Cosmos unites the delicate beauty of flowers with the intricate complexity of the female identifying body, both celebrating nature's resilience and strength of the life-bearing form. Through innovative artistry, Halfin creates paper weaving techniques, intertwining floral imagery with the contours of the human form. Tolson’s ceramic looms, uniquely constructed, symbolize the nurturing essence of motherhood, weaving stories of growth and connection.

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By highlighting the process of nurture in relation to humans and plants, Tolson’s and Halfin’s works raise vital questions. They ask: how to amplify “democracy of species” through the concepts of mothering and care and within the contemporary connection to the ancient forms of craft? What is the healing function of objects? How the act of care extends forward to nurturing human communities, plant species and beyond?