Ruxandra (Rux) Guidi

Notes about content: These abstract stitched pieces using recycled fabric and thread are appropriate for any and all audiences.

About the Process

I consider myself a writer and storyteller whose practice extends to stitched mapmaking. My sewn objects are abstractly narrative, relating to my writing on nature or landscape, among other things. My stitched maps represent the relationship between performance-of-the-everyday, generational embodied practices, and the non-verbal yet narrative relationship that comes to reside in the objects of creative labor. All my materials are either second-hand or found--from the fabric I use to the thread—and it is done by hand. Typically, I work on my stitched maps over the course of writing, which is why many of my recent pieces accompany feature articles I have written for various magazines or a novel-in-progress. In that respect, my stitching practice is very similar to my writing: It starts with an idea and an opening, and it morphs as it develops until my writing project ends. About five years ago I began a practice that was a kind of chaos, but a chaos that made sense to me nonetheless. I'd finish those pieces and immediately stored them away. But around the time I moved to my current home of Tucson, Arizona, I found the time to indulge in sewing more regularly. I now have a clearer sense of what I'm after in my craft: I want to be telling stories, projecting my views and dreams onto fabric that has a personal meaning and belongs somewhere between storytelling and handicraft. I know I am still at the beginning of my journey as I look for inspiration and guidance, particularly when it comes to showing my work and reaching an audience.