Alumni Art: Fiber Arts Artist Emily Pierce

Traverse City-based fiber arts artist Emily Pierce (’08), recently completed work for Daughters of the King, Province V.

Chasuble and stole set

Chasuble and stole set for Daughters of the King, Province V. Non-seasonal painted linen vestments, lined in raw silk.

Being non-seasonal, there were no color mandates so I chose to use a palette of blues, which is the primary color for the Daughters. From there I gravitated towards using water imagery, not only is Christian tradition rich with water symbolism but water has also been associated with women for centuries. Since this is an Holy Order for women, I also wanted to give the vestments a very feminine feel that traditionally vestments do not have. This allowed me to bring more non-traditional elements into the vestments and the finished works have a great sense of energy about them.

Fiber Arts Artist Emily Pierce

Pierce runs the Etsy shop FernCreations. From her about page:

“It’s a dangerous business Frodo, going out of your door,” he used to say. “You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

That’s how I feel about my shop, I’m not positive that I’ve been able to keep my feet under me but so far it’s been a great journey.

I’ve been making stuff for as long as I can remember, from snitching fabric scraps from my mom’s stash so I could make doll cloths to my first actual sewing project (a pillow!) I was (and still am) a total tomboy growing up and only started wearing skirts as a teenager when I realized that they were really fun to make.

See more examples of her work at FernCreations.etsy.com.

This is a regularly appearing piece on finlandia.edu highlighting the incredible work of Finlandia University International School of Art & Design alumni. View more alumni artwork.