Artist Statement
I have been drawing and painting for decades but working with fiber is more recent. Maybe not entirely true, as the seeds of this project were planted in the 1980s. I found a box of tangled yarn remnants in my parents basement, and after teasing the strands apart I twisted them into nine cords whose character seemed so interesting I wanted to make more. I spent the following decades buying up yarn from yard sales and thrift stores, but for years it just sat in large boxes. Then at the start of the pandemic I unpacked the yarn, built a rope making machine, and began spinning the yarn into ropes.

I find the process of making rope from yarn very engaging. In one sense it is a repetitive mechanical process that feels like a form of manufacturing. But it is also an art, involving a number of aesthetic decisions as I pick out and blend together a series of different yarns, twist them up, judge the effect, and then pick out and blend in some more. In just an hour or two I feel like I’ve done something productive whose end results can be quite beautiful. There is also an element of surprise or discovery. I rarely know how one will turn out until the very end. I originally thought I might coil them like braided rugs or weave them on a loom, much as one would make a rag rug, but using ropes and cords in place of rags. I still might try that, but so far I’ve mounted sets on canvas panels, hung sets from poles (for an effect a bit like a beaded curtain), and most recently I’ve been weaving them onto sections of heavy gauge wire fencing and wire panels salvaged from collapsible kennels. I eventually want to create large installation projects with more of a social message but for now I’m just focused on aesthetic beauty.

Brief Bio
Philip Harding is a longtime Richland artist with degrees in Architecture with a minor in Fine Art from Washington State University, Art History from the University of Washington, and an MA in The History of Art from The Ohio State University. His work can be seen at www.hardingfineart.com.

Sales
All the works shown here are available for sale, unless otherwise noted. However, rather than complicate my life with retail sales, “buyers” can make a donation to one of several nonprofit organizations in the amount of the asking price. I will then give them the work of art to show my appreciation. The “buyer” may either write a check to the organization, or we can bring up the organization’s website where you can donate directly using a credit card. So long as I am confident that the donation was made, and you assure me that the donation is not one you would otherwise have made, then I will give you the work with a receipt noting the work’s value and the donation. (No need to mention the art if you decide to deduct the donation on your taxes.)

• American Civil Liberties Union, aclu.org
• The electronic freedom foundation, eff.org
• Amnesty International, amnesty.org
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, naacp.org
• And any progressive political campaign willing to take on Dan Newhouse, and flip the 4th congressional district seat from red to blue.

Studio Tours
Care for a studio tour? Come see how I make the work and see a much larger collection than what is on display here today. Call, text, or email to arrange a visit. (509) 420-4644, philipeharding@gmail.com.