Ferne Jacobs Catalog Revised

and takes on its own form over the months in which she
shapes the artwork.
Jacobs plays with duality in terms of textures, contrast of
color, interior and exterior, solids and voids. In terms of
concept, she investigates the significance of masculinity
and femininity, spirituality and religion, and the destruction
of the natural world. She seeks strength in softness and
beauty in slowness. Each piece, with individual threads
forming a cellular network, is filled with her devoted
focus and imbued with powerful energy. Her pieces are
meditations on the fiber of society and the nature of
humanity in the modern world.
“When I begin a piece, I create a line by wrapping thread
around a cord, with a color that has been in my mind. From
then on I live in a mystery, creating each cell (wrap) and
connection, of what I hope is a living form. The cells make
up a body, and I have no idea about what it will become
until it is finished. There is no direct intention, only a hope
that it has life and through that, is moving in some way.”
_____________________________________________________
_____
*Based on:
Interviews with Ferne Jacobs, 2020-2022
Artist statement, 2015
Oral history interview with Ferne Jacobs, 2005 August 30-
31, Archives of American Art
30
BUILDING THE ESSENTIALS: FERNE JACOBS