Emma
Hodges

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within reach

dear you, dear me

more visual art

writing - coming soon

artist statement

Dear you, dear me,Do you know I love you?I’m writing to tell you it will be alright. Maybe you know that now, but you won’t always. You’ll need to be reminded.Trust yourself. Trust your neighbors. You will come to know unfathomable kindness—a depth of kindness that saves lives, that does good and righteous work. The words “love” and “help” are interchangeable.You must also learn to be strong, though we both know it’s unfair. Sometimes being a person will hurt. I will not always be kind to you, either. I’m sorry for that. You are learning, and I am learning, too.This world is relentless, but there is also ease.Allow yourself to imagine a community that is soft, and a life that holds you gently. Perhaps it is not so far away.Take care,
Harper & Emma

artist statement

I imagine and create homescapes using fiber materials and techniques. My practice prioritizes found, foraged, and secondhand materials to demonstrate that things needn’t be expensive or hard to come by in order to be special. Rather, good and special things are abundant and ready to be reimagined and transformed by the artist’s hand. I collect, crochet, arrange, needle felt, and sew found fibers and objects together and transform them into compositions that emphasize color.Humans have the power to imagine and create softer, lovelier, and healthier futures. We have this power because the divine makes its home among us. There is nothing we have to do to earn or deserve good, lovely, and special things—only trust, accept, and take hold of them. Good things are within reach.^{This work was shown alongside Harper Folsom's exhibition, compedium.}

About

Emma is a sewist, fiber artist, poet, and copyeditor in Iowa City. They graduated in 2022 from Coe College with a degree in Studio Art and Creative Writing. When she's not sewing or crocheting, Emma may be found outside birding or hiking.