Reflection of self: Rug making
Reflection of Self: Rug Making is a series of fiber rugs that started as paintings, exploring the intricacies of identity, Self, life, and death through the lense of the Bhagavad Gita and inner exploration.
The Paintings
This is where it all started. Summer 2020.
Reflection of Self: Rug Making began with this series of abstract, organic shapes painted in acrylic on mixed media paper. These works were born from rock bottom—though you wouldn’t know it by looking at them. Two months after the world shut down, I found myself tucked away in a small mountain house in Boone, North Carolina. Perched cliffside in the woods, I was more alone than I had ever been. And yet, I do not say that with sorrow. It remains one of the most cherished times of my life.
It felt like freedom. No obligations, no noise, only solitude, stillness, and peace. With no expectations placed on me, I was able to access a deeper part of myself—gently guided by yoga and the Bhagavad Gita. I spent my days moving, reading, and painting. This work emerged from that rhythm, as if something greater was moving through me.
The rugs
The next phase. The beauty of experimentation.
This stage marked a shift in my process. While my earlier work was rooted entirely in intuition, this phase blended intuition with intention. It was the first time I began applying my ideas in a more structured and tactile way.
These rugs are hand-tufted using a tufting gun, acrylic yarn, and monk cloth, then backed and finished as functional pieces. As a process-oriented artist, I was craving something immersive—something that would allow me to get lost in the act of making. Rug-making became the perfect medium for that.
What began as playful experimentation quickly deepened. I noticed myself tufting the same organic shapes I had once painted, translating familiar forms into a new, tactile language. The work resonated so strongly that I chose it as the focus of my senior seminar project. Without realizing it at the time, this series marked the beginning of a major shift in my identity and direction as an artist.
The Showcase: Reflection of Self
The Showcase: Reflection of Self
This body of work is a visual reflection of self. It traces my internal landscape through moments of stillness, solitude, and transformation. What began as intuitive painting during the summer of 2020 evolved into a deeply process-oriented rug-making practice. Together, these works document a journey of returning inward—of interpreting emotion, memory, and personal truth through color, shape, and form.
The Bhagavad Gita played a pivotal role in this process. Its teachings on devotion, detachment, and self-realization helped me move through grief, uncertainty, and rebirth. Through daily yoga, reading, and reflection, I began to see my emotions not as obstacles, but as guides. In the studio, I translated those feelings into abstract forms—organic, raw, and often unresolved.
This showcase brings those moments together. It represents a search for balance between freedom and structure, stillness and motion, spirit and material. At its core, it is an offering of honesty.
