Molly Koehn is a former HCCC resident artist and Houston-based artist who melds a practice of weaving and teaching. She engages in a deep process of learning local ecology through observation, recording, and sampling, using local plant fibers for textiles and baskets. Koehn’s current work explores how to document, catalog, and share gathered knowledge through community exchange. This work is fueled by material kinship and a vision to preserve and expand urban green spaces through community making.
Photo by Lisa Bridges.
Sourced from the HCCC Craft Garden, these platters were woven with umbrella sedge (Cyperus alternifolious), tended to, harvested, and processed by Koehn. While umbrella sedge originates in west Africa, it is widely cultivated throughout the Houston Region, and many species of flat-sedges (family Cyperaceae) have been used all over the world for baskets, mats, and bags, connecting these platters through a diverse lineage of craft and plants. The windmill knot weave originates in Māori flax weaving and is now, too, found in cultures across the world.
