Maggie Dimmick is an artist, designer, Earth-advocate, long-distance hiker, and auntie.
In her words….
My work explores the transformation of inner and outer worlds via interactions of materials, color, and human intuition. My techniques are rooted in traditional textiles and basketry, yet my practice is oriented towards new methods and connections that emerge through iterations of slow, at times arduous, manual processes. I am commited to using rescued materials diverted from waste streams wherever possible, which is informed by my background in the fashion industry.
In the last four years, I’ve been studying the process of assigning meaning to objects and materials and how they can move from being mundane, to meaningful, to sacred. I’m fascinated by how humans imbue collective or personal meaning onto objects, and how that can in turn cause transformation, purpose, and more within us. I am looking at how we use objects in ceremony, rituals, and mourning practices within and beyond historical and religious contexts. As someone without a religion and having been severed from my ancestors’ place of origin and spiritual connection to their land, what will connect me to my lineage? What are the objects that can capture or hold the sense of sacredness I naturally sense around me? My art-making is a quest to answer this question and more. I’ve been using visual and symbolic aspects of the circle, roundedness, radiating or undulating lines, forms being held by other forms, movement vs. stability, and interconnecting parts as elements with which to explore this.
A bit of background:
Currently based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Maggie worked in the New York fashion industry for brands including Eileen Fisher, where she designed and developed sustainable textiles, along with Elie Tahari, Donna Karan, and Tracy Reese. She studied apparel design at Cornell University and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University as well as environmental sustainability at Columbia University. She was the owner of Ethel Studio, a zero-waste textile studio, which closed in 2023. She is also currently the director of marketing for the e-commerce company Garage Grown Gear.
Artist photo by Drew Arrieta