Concept:  My field site was a Haitian cafe in Hoboken, NJ.  I wanted to represent the cafe in an abstract way, visually representing the vibe of the place.  It was small, very friendly/full of conversation, and there also was a lack of communication due to the abundance of people working on their computers.  So, I made a tapestry to create this feel of a “barrier,” and I used vertical and organic elements to also represent this contrast.  I chose to use bright colors because I was inspiried by the bold, colorful art from Haiti on the cafe’s walls. I died my fabric with tea, coffee, and spices, and I used recycled materials since the cafe stressed their earth consious values.

Reflection: Throughout the process of making this piece, I found that it could be interpreted in many different ways.  Shari mentioned that you could view it on the other side, where the punch needle created a wild, organic, growth-like patterm.  A few classmates pointed out that the piece could be staged between two people for symbolic purposes, or that the piece could be a sort of flag.  With this, I found that the piece could be versatile and up for interpretation.