Sondra Bogdonoff
I grew up in Princeton New Jersey, where I roamed the woods around my home, and wandered the research labs of Princeton University.
Three years of architecture school (Washington University, St Louis) shaped my early design sense. After a move to San Francisco, and a year off to explore this new world, I transferred to California College of Arts and Crafts and graduated with a BA in textile design. A move to the Maine woods, and a small house with no electricity or water, turned me toward weaving. I bought a loom and it has been my love (and threads my medium) ever since.
I began a business selling one of a kind woven jackets and vests nationally and doing commissioned wall pieces, that I continued successfully for 25 years. During that time, and while raising three kids, I returned to school for a master’s in public policy and then started a second career in academic administration at the Muskie School, University of Southern Maine. Weaving became an evening and weekend pursuit. In 2016, after 20 years at the university, I left to return to my studio full-time.
As a “re-emerging” artist, my commitment is to simply show up at my studio every day. I’m totally immersed in the journey, grateful that I have the privilege of time and energy to go wherever this exploration takes me.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I look for moments in my day that take my breath away. Something I see on a walk, a doodle in my sketchpad, an idea I wake up with, some discovery while weaving. From that spark I move forward, trying to hold and amplify my response, without ascribing words or meaning.
Weaving is a good fit for me - - a combination of structure and opportunity. Intuitively I know where I want to end up, but weaving is a construction project that takes time and imagination. I make a sequence of decisions before I thread the loom and while weaving that remain a distinct part of the final piece. There is no going back and no jumping ahead. I love the transition from unwoven threads to woven - line to dot - which is always in front of me on the loom, changing and growing, row by row. There is a balance, a rhythm, and a physicality that demands my complete attention. I find great joy in this ancient process that holds me steady and operates in its own space.
The loom imposes structural constraints, and pushing those limits is where I find possibilities. I am intrigued with the play of pattern, color, and light on the surface. Of movement and change within a piece. Taking the work off the loom is always a discovery.
