Carroll Cradock

Artist Statement

As a textile artist for several decades, my inspiration comes from the ordinary world I see and live in every day. My mission in life is to make visible the often-invisible, good realities around us that can inspire us. Through tapestries, I highlight moments of beauty and hope that emerge in unexpected places—living details from daily life that are easily overlooked. We often overlook the beauty of tree trunks as our eyes look upward to dramatic branches.
It’s rare to find a stone wall without a small plant pushing through a crack, reaching for light and life. This one of a series of eight tapestry stone walls was inspired by seeing sprouts poking through a split in a rusted steel wall and by lyrics in Leonard Cohen’s song Anthem: “There is a crack in everything. That’s where the light comes in.” The rough texture of these stones is intended to elicit an urge to touch them, as do stone walls. The color, shape and texture of each stone varies as do those in walls, yet together they create beauty and a background for hope. The strong, tiny plants push through and out of cracks to the light they need. Often, those who see these tapestries later tell me - or send me a photo---of a plant they would have never noticed, such as a sprout growing out of a sewer lid.