Wearable ART

Looking back, Tracy Curtis can say that she has been an artist for her entire life, although she didn’t start to refer to herself as one until the past few years.

“It is a title I highly respect,” said Curtis. “And I wasn’t sure I fit into that category.”

Her donated fiber art piece “Feather Circle of Colors” was awarded the American Folk Art Award at this year’s My Own Two Hands event, as recognition for the work that best represents a folk art form in material, composition or technique. Curtis used repurposed or natural materials for her entire piece, including old sweaters, wool roving, silk cocoons, an antler and a fallen birch branch.

“I wanted my fiber art piece to represent several of the many aspects of the theme ‘Connection.’ In many Native American cultures feathers represent spirituality while the circle represents life and spirit,” said Curtis.

In honor of her ancestors and as a way to connect to the past, Curtis named her business Ballokai, a Pomo Native American word for small village. Founded in 2008, the small artisan workshop crafts fashion accessories such as handbags, jewelry and felted items, all from unconventional and repurposed materials.

“I don’t like to do a lot of pieces that are the same,” said Curtis. “When I began felting I mostly made scarves, but I found many people would say ‘I don’t wear scarves, I’d like to hang that on a wall.’ So I started focusing more on fiber art now, though I still love making scarves.”

Ballokai originated with the discovery of a large pile of unwanted coffee sacks, from which Curtis began creating handbags, adding high-quality linings and repurposed items such as men’s neckties and buttons. She began making jewelry when her daughter was learning to play the guitar and Curtis couldn’t bring herself to throw away the used gold, silver and copper guitar strings. Instead, she fashioned them into bracelets, earrings and necklaces.

The newest additions to her handcrafted pieces include felted scarves, headbands and fiber art. Made out of repurposed wool sweaters, the pieces are felted, cut and hand-sewn before being accented with wool roving. As her work continues to evolve, Curtis remains committed to finding new materials and inspiration in the world around her.

“I am passionate about reducing, reusing and repurposing,” said Curtis. “I love being able to take something that someone has tossed out and finding a way to use that in art.”

To learn more about Tracy Curtis and Ballokai, visit www.ballokai.com.