Until the late 19th century, most fiber dyes were derived from plants, fungi, or insects. Today the fibers and colors found in most clothes, linens, rugs, and carpets are overwhelmingly derived from fossil fuels. Like many elements of modern life, even the colors in the most intimate spaces of the home are marked by the fossil fuel industry. This collection of botanically-dyed, handwoven wall hangings is a reminder of origin––of the craft that has long provided a sense of identity and connection to place for many cultures.

From collecting dried hollyhock petals on the sidewalk to harvesting tango cosmos in the garden to collecting food scraps in the kitchen to gathering sawdust from a neighbor’s fallen osage orange tree, Wentling’s practice is an attempt at forming a relationship with the ecosystems she inhabits. After dyeing yarn with these plants, she weaves them on a four-shaft loom that belonged to her grandmother Maxine––an act of carrying on a craft tradition. The process is also a practice in slowing down, moving at a pace that aligns with seasonal shifts. Tinctoria Altar is a reminder of who we once were, who we still are beyond a culture shaped by fossil fuels, and who we will still be amid a future marked by climate change.

Michelle Wentling grew up in rural Northeast Ohio where her family has worked in the rail and steel industries. In 2018 she moved to Salt Lake City to study at the University of Utah. She has a background in Environmental Humanities and is interested in the connections between craft, ecology, and community. Michelle currently works at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art and is learning how to weave on a Macomber loom passed down from her late grandmother Maxine.