theclothingball series originated in a visit to an historic dry goods store in New Zealand. The several hundred-year-old store had recently been restored. Objects and items discovered in the walls, and beneath the old floorboards, had been assembled into an impromptu museum. In a display case marked Toys, I leaned in to inspect a ball (about the size of an American baseball) more closely. I was surprised to see a shirt button on it. Then I realized that the small ball had been made from what was once a shirt sleeve. At a time in history when nothing was disposable, a thread-bare shirt had been converted into a simple toy for a child.

These balls were made from items of clothing I found dumped into the streets of my city. I documented the piles as I found them, extracted the clothing, marked the site on my map + archived the clothing to that location.

I laundered the clothes, then sewed them into balls.