Eleanor Giese

My name is Eleanor Giese, and I am an artist from Wisconsin who explores the formation of identity, family, and community through sculpture and printmaking. Stemming from generations of female quilters, crocheters, and sculptors, I find inspiration from traditional craft. I am especially interested in the idea of homemaking in the face of domestic violence and mental illness, some things that also run in my family. A Dutch word learned from my grandmother conveys my driving concept perfectly: ‘gezellig’ ‐ roughly translated as ‘being able to make home wherever you go.’

While enrolled at the U of M I began experimenting with sculptural pieces made of recycled material. Chicken wire offered a simple matrix through which to begin. I weave scrap fabric ‐ bed sheets, curtains, clothing ‐ or items (the collector cards in Memorabilia) into the wire to make artworks that allude to handmade domestic textiles. This combination of fabric and metal creates a duality that questions how one makes home despite the sharpness life can bring and stresses the importance of creating comfort and security in one’s surroundings.

In the midst of a pandemic, I opted for printmaking as a more mobile practice to explore my ideas, mainly in intaglio and linoleum relief. An interest in repetition and storytelling carries over to this medium as I use the printmaking process to work through trauma. With figurative imagery and metaphor, my prints express collective feelings of discontentment during the pandemic, and employ humor to address struggles with mental health.