Functional Textile Art: Karenza T. Wall
purse, embroidered, appliqued, distressed cotton with strap hand-knitted from embroidery floss
Vancouver artist Karenza T. Wall creates work under the studio name Chindi Nation – Chindi being a Hindi word referring to scraps of fabric. Drawing on her Indian heritage, Karenza creates works of wearable and functional textile art.
pendant, cotton embroidery floss on wool commercial felt
I love how Karenza uses color with total abandon in her works. The “fabric scrap” aesthetic of her works means she’s often drawing on numerous mis-matched textile swatches to create a single project, and while she certainly pays attention to the colors she places next to one another, there’s a sense that just about hue or texture could fit into the bigger picture.
Some of the handmade works on Karenza's website
Karenza also dabbles in painting, some examples of which are available on her portfolio. Her style is as colorful as her textile works, with slightly abstracted figures are hard, heavy outlines creating striking visuals. A couple of the paintings specifically reference the goddess Isis, but there is a certain sense of feminine energy throughout this series.
