I find myself drawn to repetitive making; most of my work requires tens, even hundreds, of hours of intensive hand labor to create. I enjoy the meditative nature of this slow unfolding of the work and the space it allows for ideas to fully manifest, for the threads of thought to untangle and re-weave themselves into new forms.
![](https://debraeck.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/with-women-hold-up-half.-the-sky.jpg)
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My obsessions have always been the space in which women work, and how work intersects with the domestic and the ideas of home.
More simply, it is about sewing and threads, and how those activities are written into the mythos of women’s work. Working in this way I feel connected to the long history of women’s work which was handed down to me when my mother taught me how to embroider and sew.
Lately, I spend a lot of time contemplating the price of art’s beauty, mitigating my impact as best I can. In my studio practice, I have gradually shifted away from using new materials to using donated or thrifted materials and those locally abundant in the natural world.
![](https://debraeck.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/at-the-clay-house.jpg)
making a space for community
For a very long time I’ve wanted to create a space for creativity in the community I now call home. I was so fortunate to be offered the opportunity to work with a local not-for-profit to create a beautiful new community art studio.