The environment has always been a part of Hanna Washburn’s practice. The artist, who creates hand-sewn sculptures from recycled textiles, says sustainability is important to her. “I’m making art as environmentally consciously as I can, and there’s an endless supply of recycled things in terms of the material and the supply of inspiration that comes from something that’s already lived a material life,” the Beacon-based sculptor says. “There’s something about bringing them together in a new way.”
Washburn credits nature as a source of inspiration in her work, particularly the sensory experience of being outdoors. In 2023, she participated in the group exhibition “Inspired By Nature” at Main Street Arts in Clifton Springs. When thinking about what work she would make to contribute to the exhibition, she was “thinking about how nature is our home,” she says. “People tend to separate inside and outside, and I want to bring those together. Gestures and shapes in nature are often reflected in our bodies and the language we use to talk about nature. Words like ‘limbs,’ for instance. A lot of the terminology about plants is reflected back to the body. It’s about drawing connections between ourselves and the natural world.”
During the early part of the pandemic, when access to the outdoors was restricted, Washburn began to acquire more plants. “I was never a houseplant person before the pandemic,” she says, “but with plants, the shapes that they make in my home, the way that they grow and extend have inspired me.”
Not having access to her usual studio during the early parts of the pandemic meant that Washburn was working from a spare bedroom in her home. She noticed her work becoming smaller and portable. She also took advantage of her backyard to create and display what she calls ‘experiments.’ “I wanted to see how that felt and I took photographs of my work,” she says. “I was interested in breaking down boundaries of inside and outside, and thinking of the outside as an extension of my space and our shared space.”
Spending more time in her home as a result of the pandemic inspired subsequent work, such as the sculptures she created for ‘Home As Situation’ (2020), iterations of ‘Homebody’ at the the James Library and Center for the Arts, in Norwell, Massachusetts (2020), and Home Body at the Arcade building in Albany (2022). “It changed my relationship with the home and also intensified my relationship with the home.”
It is also at home that Washburn learned her skill, which was passed down by female relatives. She believes that working with her hands and with textiles is a rich form of storytelling. “Learning outside the institution or from family has a certain power to it and I try to honor that,” she says. This theme was something she explored in work for ‘Home Spun’ (2023), an exhibition at the Dorsky Museum of Art in New Paltz.
Working in the curatorial department at Storm King allows Washburn to be on the other side of the art world, and it is another place she gets inspired. “It’s hard not to be inspired at Storm King … you’re seeing other artists’ processes and how they problem-solve, particularly those that may have never worked outdoors on such a large scale before.”
Other Hudson Valley places that the artist gains inspiration from include Madam Brett Park and Scenic Hudson’s Long Dock Park. “There are so many places to experience art and nature together in the Hudson Valley other than Storm King, like Art Omi and Olana,” she says. “All these places are different, and their approach to art is different.”
Washburn had two solo exhibitions in the first half of 2024: one at the Olin Gallery in Pennsylvania and the other at the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance in Narrowsburg. Asked whether she works on exhibitions simultaneously, she says, “I work on lots of things at the same time. My process can be really slow as I stitch everything by hand, so when I’m working on larger pieces, I tend to work on multiple sculptures at a time as it helps me stay engaged.”
Upcoming group shows in the second half of 2024 that the artist will participate in include an exhibition at the Susan Eley Fine Art gallery in Hudson. 2025 will also be a busy year, with a scheduled solo exhibition at the Rosefsky Gallery at Binghamton University. For now, she’s thinking ahead to warmer weather. “I’m thinking of the shapes and feelings that spring brings out in me,” she says.
Writer Mazuba Kapambwe holds a master’s degree in Africana Studies from SUNY-Albany. She fell in love with the Hudson Valley on countless bus rides between the Capital District and her family’s home in Scarsdale, N.Y. Her work has appeared in Conde Nast Traveler, Culture Trip, CNN Travel, and more.
