Venezuelan artist Yelitza Barrios works with 90% recycled cotton and organic threads and is inspired by nature, especially plants, trees, and the ocean. As a child, she learned to weave and knot from her mother but rediscovered this craft decades later when her own daughter asked her to weave something. Her re-embracement of textile arts also coincided with a divorce after 27 years of marriage. Barrios’ hobby of weaving and knotting is now a professional pursuit, and she enjoys mixing textures and techniques to give her creations individuality. Barrios also finds making her time- and labor-intensive creations a meditative process, leading her to a feeling of inner spiritual peace. She infuses sculptural pieces with meanings and shapes that identify phases of her life and hopes they serve as messages of empowerment to women. (Text by Rebeca Dunham)
