Amy Stein works with plants, roots, sticks, rocks, and found objects to make botanicals, textiles, wearables, and sculpture. She runs a collaborative art space, Craftwork Somerville, where she hosts classes, pop-ups, and talks. She has spent years studying and teaching natural dyeing and herbalism. She hopes to educate and share with others the many ways that plants contribute to our lives. Amy is always looking for ways to work with the natural world without infringing upon it. Her work with found objects is a direct response to the ways in which Somerville so easily allows the construction of the new with no care for the old. She is obsessed with the shape and beauty of everyday things.
Artist Statement
As I walk around Somerville, I look for beauty in discarded objects. As a natural dyer, I work with rusty objects to create color on textiles. Ferrous oxide (rust) is a bright orange; when mixed with a tannin, it can give anything from grays to purples and even pitch black. I have been collecting these rusty bits (as I call them) for over ten years and decided in the spring of 2023 to work with them as objects on their own. Each day during April 2023, I would wrap or weave with the objects I found. Things that are considered disposable can be quite beautiful: a rusty safety pin, a hand-forged nail from 1850, or even rusty scissors from the 1960s found on the Lowell Street Bridge. As they age even further, the rust will shift the color of the string or yarn. They are tender and feel good to behold. I hope you love them as I do.
Instagram: @CraftworkSomerville
Personal website
images of work
