In my current project, Wearing, I unravel the braided rugs common in old houses, to make them into what they may have been. Through this work I acknowledge the labor of anonymous women makers through time. Braided rugs were made by working class women from moth-eaten coats, worn blankets and clothing; their wear reveals the imprint of humanity going about their daily lives. I unbraid each rug, then press and sew the strips into cloth. The unbraiding reveals a myriad hidden patterns and exuberant hues. Lines of dotted holes indicate the years of tread marks eroding the fabric. Leopard-like spots of dirt pressed into the exposed parts of the braids reveal human movement through time. The process of making these is something like an excavation, uncovering what the rugs hide in between their braids, and admiring the craft and labor of each anonymous maker. I keep the remaining original rug tethered to the object, to allude to the cyclical nature of materials and shifting boundaries of the objects and their lives. Often I make pieces with specific women in mind, from historic to contemporary, and I invite contemporary artists to model the pieces, connecting and listening to voices past and present — fragile and strong, loud, seething and quiet; no longer invisible.