About Me
I use found botanical material such as leaves, seedpods, and branches to explore human connection to the physical world. By combining these organic objects with the rich traditions of needlecraft, I bind nature and the human touch. Both tender and ruthless, this intricate stitch work communicates the idea that our relationship with the natural world is both tenuously fragile and infinitely complex.
The way I think about and make art mirrors the way I think about my life and how I walk through the world. What I do is about elevating details. It is about noticing cycles and connections. It is about regarding a familiar object in a new way. It’s about seeing things and considering their connection to you, their potential futures and possible pasts. There is a depth and an importance to what is present, and what is absent. Invisible narratives are woven into and around each piece, each interaction. As I gather materials with which to work, I consider what connections might exist between us, or how each object might be related to another. I am a cartographer, drawing and plotting an imaginary map, from one object to the next, intervening with each. These objects naturally fit into categories, which relate to my own experiences, but also to their origins and how they came into my hands. The vertices of experience and the actual life trajectory of an object are what interest me the most; the points at which the object and I intersect.
I grew up in Western NY, and earned a BFA from Buffalo State College, and an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University.
If you’d like to see more, Please visit my website!
hillary fayle 
been a while, you work is quite lovely! but I would expect that. glad to see you are doing well!
Just discovered your work on The Textile Blog on Facebook – I’ll be following you for a long time I think. Exquisite, innovative.
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Greetings Hillary:
I have a natural attraction and liking of your work, the ideas you seem to be developing your own craft around. My Grandma with whom I was very close (she and I were born on the same day in March) was skilled at knitting and crocheting. She did it all through her life. She knit and sewed together wonderful and humorous toys for my two sisters and I when we were kids, ornaments, made blankets, sweaters, socks, mittens, all kinds of things, and never ceased to amaze with the skill which came so naturally to her. She didn’t consider herself an artist. She made things with thread and yarn for its own sake, a pure joy in craft, and loved giving what she made as gifts. To a large extent, though I tend toward the grotesque, I feel my own artistic ability in its impulse is an extension of her own. The thread or string which moves and connects and seems to embody its own magic is an essential metaphor to me.
Recently I discovered these two other women artists whose work is remarkable to me, wonderfully inventive, and with whom it appears you share some affinity: Lisa Kokin, and Ines Seidel. Perhaps you’re already aware of their work. I haven’t contacted either of them or left any remarks with them, but I admire their work from afar. All this kind of work is new to me, these charming and delicate little crafted objects, but I sincerely love this kind of work, including your own.
John Dockus
love your leaves, they are so beautiful and delicate. wondering what product you use to preserve and strengthen them then leaves. when i was a kid i used to iron leaves between pieces of wax paper…that seemed to preserve them for a long while but not sure how strong it makes them. very inspired by your work.
Your art is so creative, delicate and original! It makes me happy to look at it! Cheers from Ohio, Johanna