134 > others to experience the world through a unique art form.
became really curious and wanted to see more of the world ... to learn how we’re all connected.
D > You describe your work as a “personal experience of cultural icons, landscapes and rituals...”. Could you share in more detail how your experiences drive the creative process?
During my first backpacking trip to south-east Asia the pattern titled Bangkok was inspired from observing Thailand’s floating markets. I was amazed how people were doing business. I had experienced typical street markets before, but in Thailand they had a different rhythm. They were cooking and selling things on the river. It was a necessary way of life and I thought a cool way of doing business.
MB > It started because I was fortunate enough to have friends from many different places worldwide. I was invited to visit their homes and participated in their celebrations and daily rituals. Experiencing these things made the trips more endearing. I went to the Gambia, Ghana and India in one summer and was living in rural to luxurious conditions; taking bucket showers. The transition was life changing. I studied my hosts’ connection with family, observing how everyone ate together, just certain cultural things, saying, “Oh wow, we do that!” That’s when I
Moroccan architecture inspired the design of the Marrakech carpet.
My henna-painted hands are the model for the design called Mehndi. While visiting Mumbai I participated in a friend’s wedding ceremony. The experience was unique and intrigued me, because the art is created from memory. I interpreted this experience in a Tibetan wool and silk carpet, so the details of the henna design shimmers where light reflects the pattern. Each malene