Heidi Hooper (BFA ’81) was working and teaching as an award-winning metalsmith in Boston when a cancerous tumor in her right arm destroyed her ability to work. Hammering metal was out of the question, and even sculpting clay was too painful. But when a laundry accident produced a large volume of dryer lint, Hooper decided to try working with an unorthodox material. Today, her dryer link artwork appears in museums around the work, and sells to galleries for thousands of dollars. VCU Alumni reached out to her to learn more about her artistic process and what inspires her.
Hooper credits her time at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts with giving her the skills she needed to make her new medium work. “The sculpture department goes out of their way to try and have you learn every possible technique, even if you’re doing it for only one day, just to get the feel of different stuff,” she says. “That’s what I pulled on.”
Gradually, Hooper shaped the process she uses today. She draws a sketch of what she wants to create, takes a photo of the sketch for reference and covers it with archival tacky. She then layers colored lint on top of the glue until it’s a half-inch to an inch thick. She photographs the piece at this point so she can make prints. After that, she covers it permanently with glass for protection.
Read more about Heidi Hooper at the VCU Alumni news page.
The post Alumna’s dryer lint art helped her overcome cancer and save her career appeared first on VCUarts.