Doubt Is a Part of the Process

'Doubt Is a Part of the Process' blends oil stick’s raw, expressive energy with the tactile intimacy of embroidery, tufting, and paper threads. The work explores the tension between creative frustration and artistic breakthrough. Across the heavily worked canvas, delicate embroidered cursive reads the titular phrase, offering both a confession and a quiet reassurance.

Textiles in this piece are not decorative or functional but conceptual carriers of emotional truth. The stitched phrase cuts through the dense surface like a whisper through noise, a vulnerable thread within a chaotic field. This contrast between clarity and obscurity mirrors the artist’s own inner conflict: the compulsion to create often entangled with self-doubt.

Tufted fibers erupt through the paint-covered surface, introducing a sculptural dimension that disrupts the flatness of the canvas. White paper threads extend from the edges, partially covered in oil stick, resembling nerves or antennae. These elements evoke impulsive thought, emotional urgency, and a refusal to stay within the frame—both physically and conceptually.

By merging traditional techniques like embroidery with more experimental approaches such as tufting and the use of paper fiber, the work pushes the boundaries of textile art. Embroidery, often linked to patience and precision, contrasts with the immediacy of oil stick and the electric presence of erupting fibers. Here, process is inseparable from meaning. Every stitch, tuft, and smear reveals the emotional labor embedded in making.

This mixed-media work positions doubt not as a barrier, but as a generative force. Through stitched language and layered gesture, the piece invites viewers to consider how struggle, far from clouding clarity, often becomes its source.