Erica Dincalci
BIO
Erica Dincalci was born and raised in California. Her early education was at a Waldorf school, which fostered her artistic side early on in life. She went to New York University for her AA in general studies. And then transferred to California College of the Arts to be back home in California and focus on art. She got her BFA degree in an individualized major, focusing on textiles and photography. After her undergrad she struggled to find her place, working many odd jobs. During that time the intimate act of creating art helped refocus her life. She is currently a graduate student at School of the Art Institute of Chicago, in the Fiber and Material Studies department. Her focus is on weaving, embroidery, colors and exploring her life, identity and experience through art.
Artist Statement
I explore my lived experience through embodied fiber practice. I use weaving, knitting, sewing and embroidery as a form of autobiographical storytelling mapping the lived experience. I play with tight and loose structures mimicking battling emotional states of being of vulnerability and self-constructed barriers. Through woven structures and translucent silky gauze of bodily knit forms, I translate these tensions of life into my pieces. These creations of beauty are my response experiences of grief, addiction, memory, body, place, and time.
Focusing on weaving, patterns, and color interaction allows me to dive into the constraints of process that facilitate personal introspection, excise demons and give structure the chaos. The use of a vivid spectrum of color draw from nostalgic stimuli of sun-soaked wildflowers, forbidden candy consumption, California hippie culture of my parents’ generation, wildflowers, and silk scarves from kindergarten playtime. I create these atmospheres of saturated color to elicit joy and brighten my engagement with challenging personal experiences held within the work. The material softness of the silk, cloth, and yarn are an invocation for gentle, care, and resiliency within the self.
I am interested in how fabric creation and weaving can act as a potent metaphor for life. How it can hold and disclose our tensions and faults, while simultaneously celebrating and protecting us, my works hold the multitudes that we embody. How the physical creation of cloth through handwork can act to reformat and reimagine life and lived experience.