Emily Gordon

BFA ’20 Textile Design

Emily Gordon is from Jamestown, North Carolina. She is graduating with a Bachelors in Fine Arts with a concentration in Textiles Design from East Carolina University. She originally got into textiles to someday be a pattern designer but through her studies has learned to love weaving, especially on the TC2 digital loom. Working digitally has given her the opportunity to work with patterns along with weaving. Emily has always had a passion for the environment but only recently started to dedicate her work to climate change. She feels it is something that needs to be more socially acknowledged and tries to show that through her work. She is intrigued by colors and color blending through weaving and puts a lot of thought into how different colors are going to blend with one another and how they correlate with the specific piece. Emily was awarded 2nd place in textile design in the 2019 school of art and design undergraduate exhibition.

Artist Statement

I have been concerned about the environment my entire life and, through my research, have become more aware of the negative impact humans have on it, such as killing trees, dumping plastic, and destroying our oceans. Trees are being cut down, burned, and destroyed all over the world every minute of every day. It seems as if humans forget that we need trees. Our lives literally depend on them. This body of work focuses on these environmental issues.

I have created a body of work that is brightly colored and inviting to the viewer but focuses on very real and disturbing facts about the destruction of our environment. At first glance, it may not scream environmental issues. The concept is revealed more deeply in the title, correlation of colors, weave structure, and design. My goal is that, after reading the title and looking back at the piece, the viewer will contemplate the statistics and reflect on their own personal conclusion for a solution.

I find inspiration in textile design and repeat pattern, and it has been an important part of my design process. I utilize the element of pattern in my artwork as a metaphor for human behavior. It suggests the idea that humankind will only continue to repeat the harm we do to our environment until there is a break or a change in the cycle, represented by a change of color, weave structure, or pattern.