A member of Dutch Alley Artist Co-Op since reopening post Katrina, Valerie Wozniak has worked with textiles her entire life and in the more recent years has done a variety of dyeing processes. Most recently she had continued with Shibori, an ancient Japanese technique, and a printing technique using leaves from her yard. The pandemic resulted in many hours of “yard sitting” so use of the nearby plants was a benefit.

As she is now an octogenarian, she is looking at ways to utilize her rather large inventory of dyed fabrics, many of them up-cycled. This includes small items like cat-nip toys, hot pads and prayer flags but also kimono jackets and scarves. As the daughter of a career Army officer, Valerie traveled a lot during her youth, including 3 years in Okinawa, these travels have influenced her love of textiles and view of the world.

The item is a hand dyed piece inspired by Tibetan prayer flags. Traditionally used to promote things like peace, strength, and wisdom hung high in places of prayer and are kept up until they fade; being later replaced to remind of change and the circle of life. My prayer flags have symbols of peace, hope, love, and thankfulness that many resonate with, and help encourage us to live positively through every stage of life.